The North Country Food Justice Working Group has announced the third annual Winter Food Justice Summit, “FEED BACK: Everyone Eats!” has been set for Thursday, February 27th, at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake.

Previous Summits began the process of identifying priority projects, working to strengthen existing initiatives, and aiding collaboration. This year’s Summit profiles the theme of poverty and food in three main tracks: farmers, consumers, and educators.

Breakout sessions will explore how structural change and transformational policies answer the challenges identified in these areas:

• Farm Policy
• Farmer Poverty
• Food Insecurity on College Campuses
• Rural Food Insecurity
• Teaching and Learning about Poverty and Food
• National Climate and Agricultural Policy
• Farm to School Initiatives

The Summit will include a keynote address by Austin Frerick, the Deputy Director of the Thurman Arnold Project at Yale University, an initiative established to generate and disseminate scholarship to impact competition enforcement and policy. He is currently working on a book that calls for restoring the balance of power in America’s food system in favor of farmers, workers, and small businesses.

Breakout session topics will include:

• Farm Bill 101
• Day in the (financial) life of a small farmer
• Food Pantry 101 – Food Insecurity on the College Campus
• Local Food & Rural Food Insecurity: Challenges and Opportunities in Expanding Access to
• High-Quality Food
• Food Justice Education: Kindergarten to College
• Agriculture and the Green New Deal
• Food, Farming and Government Panel: View from the front line
• Adirondack Food Pantries

The Summit’s morning and afternoon breakout sessions will be punctuated by coffee, snacks and a lunch of local food prepared by The HUB, all included in the $20 registration fee. An afternoon discussion hour will round out the day with topics including: Considerations for the Next Farm Bill, the Green New Deal and NY’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act; and Strengthening Linkages Between the Food Insecure and Food Producers in the North Country. More than 20 presenters will include farm owners, town supervisors, local service providers, and distinguished guests such as Jim Goodman from the National Family Farm Coalition.

This event will take place from 9 am to 5 pm. Registration is open and spaces are limited. For more information or to register, click here.

The Food Justice Working Group is a coalition that has come together to start the conversation about creating a more equitable food system in the North Country.