Outreach / Food Justice Meeting 18 Putnam / October 9th, 7-9pm
1. Update from last meeting (see previous meeting notes for further info www.greenehillfood.coop/category/minutes/
1.a NYCHA - New York City Housing Authority www.nyc.gov/nycha Volunteer Opportunity: we still need 2 liaisons to attend Tenant Association meetings and build a relationship with Nycha residents.
1b. BQLT - Brooklyn Queens Landtrust www.bqlt.org/ Natasha will be the liaison with BQLT and she is also contacting other members with their own gardens to create mini garden group
1c. Mission statement: will update by simplifying some of the bigger words 1d. Volunteer Opportunity - still looking for an operations liaison 1e. Education tours Education doing nutrition tours Food Justice looking to do NYCHA tours. Can possibly do a survey with the groups during tours What about the survey - do it during tours?
Volunteer Opportunity: Need education liaison - Next education meeting: OCT 24
2. Updates regarding events
2a. Steering committee update How to deal with delinquent hours Personnel to be hired in mid november
2b. Fall celebration Great turn out! Food presentation, dance, yoga, Check out messages painted on wall $11000 in gross sales Tons of people checking out store Idea to have non member shopping day 2/ year
2c. Childcare investigation: at the Fort Greene Center Located right across the street (beside the post office) They have been around since the 70's (that’s 40 years in the community!)
3 generations pass through those doors everyday. They have helped shape the local community They have daycare, afterschool and senior's program They would be a wonderful partner
- we can learn a lot from them about engaging the local neighborhood They have had a cut in funding from the government, leaving them with vacant classrooms We have investigated the possibilities of setting up GHFC childcare for parent shoppers and shift workers It will be a huge undertaking - ie: staffing (requiring any members volunteering as childcare staff to be fingerprinted by city -organization: how to keep track of kids -how to pay for space -how to integrate GHFC kids into existing programs - will parents even approve of the childcare methods here?
Currently, the Fort Greene Center is looking to fill their classrooms in the next few months. GHFC will not be able to mobilize quick enough to grab these spaces
2d. Race and Place - Race Panel held by Third Root
- Attended by Renee Renata Bergan Her notes:
-The event was very nice...had opening appetizer time with networking options. The panel ran about one hour long. I had to leave quickly there after. - The panelists were GREAT! Some things that I personally took away from the event are the following: -For a food system to be equitable then every race/gender needs representation/opportunity...I didn't catch the year (but I think it was 10+ years ago) Karen Washington called the NY state census and found out that there were 110 black farmers compared to 50, 000 white farmers. -Funding/ers is still color blind and needs to take race into account -Boards need to be diverse (both funding and groups trying to create change)
*personal note, Co-op could use help in this area! -In poor communities, food is lowest on their priority list. To some farm has a stigma of oppression (relating back to the slave era)- *personal note, This is where I see a potential for us to have a strong role, via education of nutritional value, the relationship between nutrition and education, also nutrition in schools how that varies from neighborhood or school depending on funding and demographics. I see these as opps for Food Justice to work with Education to create some powerful political educational programs for the surrounding neighborhoods
-In creating alliances and relationships, it's important for people (particularly white folks or those not living "in the community") to not try to be "saviors". There is a myth that people in poor communities don't know anything....WRONG. It's important to ASK FIRST what is needed, what do people want. When those "helping" see leadership rising within the communities, it's important to step back so that the communities develop and encourage their own leadership..as they know best what they want and is needed.
*personal note: We've discussed this in Outreach and Food Justice, other than doing a survey (which is time and labor intensive), we've discussed asking these questions when giving tours, whenever those start. I really think we need to get these tours going so we can start having these discussion with various potential members and see how we can benefit the community better.
3. Potential partner: Brooklyn Coalition: visitor George Edwards brooklynfoodcoalition.org/
-3 year old organization. 2 wonderful food conferences
- they deal with a variety of issues: ie School food issues, policies, special rights -they have a new special events committee What are their objectives? They are working on the document
-They are looking to see what assistance they can provide What are the potentials for partnership?? Introductions to people in the food movement! They would like to help get word out on GHFC events
4. Childcare and Potential Partner: BIJA: visitor: Lauren Maples www.bijakids.com
What they do: -their classes include: pre-birth, daycare, pre-school, afterschool programs, summer camp -teach self-awareness, connection to nature -art of cooking, composting, yoga -teach about local food - where does food come from?
How we can help: -they have no backyard space, and would love to use ours -wondering where they can take it? Beehives? Chickens? -we need to do some soil testing, and deal with landlord issues How they can partner with us: -they have 2500 sq.ft. space 2 blocks away, with personnel -as they are not a not for profit, they can be creative about programming -Saturday afternoon space is free - GHFC childcare classes/ -coop member discount during parent's work shifts? -rental fee for our use - $40/hour
Volunteer Opportunity: Become an education liaison and work with Education Committee about brainstorming potential partnerships with BIJA
5. Flushing High School - visitor Lindsay Shields, Teacher
Who she is: -Lindsay teaches at Flusing Queens High school -oldest high school in NYC with huge economic gaps -only general education high school left - some kids come from 2 hrs away -lots live in food deserts - some have never seen people cool -some want to start a food club to celebrate diversity
Her Goals: -would like to create a 1 or 2 week curriculum: food education -everything from nutrition, justice, what is a coop -Irene wrote a food justice curriculum they can share -partner with local schools -would LOVE to have VISITING "artist" program to teach kids about different aspects of food justice
Posssibilites: -Brooklyn Coalition and Flushing high school connect - what programs do they have to use as guide? -how can we partner Create School groups and tours -The coop teach-in program -they have curriculum and games and workshops -how to work with them is still a mystery
Volunteer Opportunity: work with Lindsay to develop a curriculum. Will involve working with Education committee, will involve investigating existing model cirriculum (ie: resources from Brooklyn Coalition)
6. Food Justice Reading Group - Nina Goepfort
-a reading group to discuss and engage food justice ideas -continually evolve and push envelope forward -create a list of readings that are useful -read and discuss monthly -how to empower existing members Purpose: -what are the practices that we are challenging?
-analysis on class and race and defining what is "community" Discussion: -some don't come to coop with political agenda -but everything is political -don't want to ostracize members -tolerance -have difficulty in creating common ground - not everything is 100% reconcilable -but the discussion itself is useful Is this how we want to focus our energy? -will take a few months to build energy -encourage food justice to make discussion points at GM -should we "force" an orientation? Learn resources, learn what avenues to take?
7. A member felt ostracized
-one member felt ageism -there needs to be training, a baseline of what is expected -what makes people feel unwelcomed
Work Opps
1) Re moving forward: We REALLY do need someone step up and work with education if we ever want to get these tours going. Write us back if this interests you. 2) This friday Brooklyn Food Conference is having an event on Racial Equality in the Food Movement. It seems kind of essential we represent. Can any one go? Of course you get work credit and it's super cool, educational and fun way to do so 3) TABLING OPPS at some fun local events: a) Sat. Oct. 20, 11-3 (2 shifts): Tastes of Brooklyn, downtown Brooklyn b) Sun Oct. 28, 1:30-5:30 (2 shifts): Myrtle Village Green Fall Community Health Festival, Myrtle Ave btwn Franklin and Kent.