A Winter Food Justice Summit, “FEED BACK: Growing and Sharing the Abundance” is set to take place on Thursday, March 1, 2018 from 8 am to 6pm at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. Organizers say the goal of this event is to create a road map toward a stronger local food system for everyone.

The March 1st Summit will include a keynote address by Andrianna Natsoulas, the Executive Director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY).

Natsoulas has been a social and environmental activist for over two decades. She has worked at several organizations, including Greenpeace, Food & Water Watch and the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance. She has coordinated with global food movements and has served on national and international boards and steering committees to protect fishing rights, fight trade agreements and build alliances. Natsoulas wrote the book, Food Voices: Stories from the People Who Feed Us, which explores the movement towards food sovereignty across five countries.

The Summit’s morning and afternoon breakout sessions will include snacks and a hearty lunch of local foods prepared by the Wild Center, followed by a food system mapping session and action planning facilitated by Tatiana Abatemarco of the University of Vermont. The day ends with a wine and cheese networking and collaborative opportunity featuring local products, all included in the $20 registration fee.

Participants have the option to attend two of ten possible breakout sessions. Topics include:

Fighting chronic Disease and Food Insecurity with a Local Diet, The Farmshare Fund Workshop, Land access for Young Farmers, Farmer and Farm Worker Pay and Rights, How Communities Divert food waste and feed the food insecure, Ending Racism in the Food and Farming with Soul Fire Farm, Farm Bill 101, Farm to Institution in the Adirondack and North Country Region, Migrant Farm Workers: Food Sovereignty and Justice, and Growing the Farm to Prison Movement in the North Country.

More than 20 speakers and presenters will guide participants throughout the day. Guests include Amani Olugbala of Soul Fire Farm, Lela Niemetz of Food Feasible, Renan Selgado of the Worker Justice Center, Margot Pollans of Pace Law, Abrah Dresdale and Angela Roel of the Northeast Prison Gardeners Network, Katie Petronis of Open Space Institute, and many other local and regional leaders, activists and farmers.

This event is hosted by The Wild Center and the North Country Food Justice Working Group.

The Wild Center is located at 45 Museum Dr, Tupper Lake. Registration is open and spaces are limited. Registration options include sliding-scale and work-trade opportunities. Click here for more information and to register by February 22nd.

Photo of Food Justice Working Group at Craigarden, provided.