Cultivating Community through Food

2019 NC Food Council Gathering
What happened?
More than 200 community leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, farmers, youth, local government and health professionals coming together to build healthy communities through food.
Special thanks to our event sponsors:
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
NATALIE S. BURKE, CommonHealth ACTION
Here are just a few of the powerful takeaways from Ms. Burke’s keynote:
- The data on inequities tell why we must focus on systems and institutional change.
- Equity is about fairness. Fairness means whatever is necessary to get to the best possible outcome.
- Equitable Leaders use an Equity Lens, asking themselves “who experiences benefits and burdens?”
- The impact of your power must be greater than your intentions.
Natalie ended with words of encouragement, reminding everyone that the equity journey is one of evolutionary change, not revolutionary change. On this journey, we will make mistakes. The important thing is to continue to show up, do the work, push through this discomfort and make impacts that are even greater than our intentions.
JESSICA HOLMES, Wake County Board of Commissioners
Our Keynote Speaker for Day 2 was Jessica Holmes – a workers’ rights advocate, policy expert, and fighter for fairness and social justice. In 2014, Jessica became the youngest commissioner ever elected in Wake County’s history. She is currently serving her second term as chair of the Board of Commissioners.
Jessica shared with the group her own lived experiences, and discussed many of the innovative programs that are addressing food insecurity in Wake County. She also challenged us to have a deeper awareness of whose voices we are elevating with our work, and to continually ask ourselves if our communities are genuinely engaged in problem solving.
We are thankful for Jessica sharing her perspectives with us, and for reminding us that not all heroes wear capes – and WE are the ones who will create lasting change within our families, neighborhoods, schools, institutions, and faith communities.
–
–
2019 IGNITE PRESENTERS
An exciting series of quick 5-minute presentations highlighting community work.
Randi Byrd,
UNC American Indian Center
Julius Tillery,
Black Cotton
Sarah Daniels,
Cape Fear Food Council
Mark Anthony Lucas Jr,
Conetoe Family Life Center
Ashley Page,
Columbia SC Food Policy Committee
Ryan Morin, Terrence Smith, and Noran Sanford
Growing Change
Randi Byrd, UNC American Indian Center
Sarah Daniels, Cape Fear Food Council
Julius Tillery, Black Cotton
Mark Anthony Lucas Jr, Conetoe Family Life Center
Ashley Page, Columbia, SC Food Policy Committee
Ryan Morin, Terrence Smith, and Noran Sanford, Growing Change
16 WORKSHOP SESSIONS
THURSDAY WORKSHOP 1
1:15 – 2:30pm
NASH ROOMS 1-4
I Can See Clearly Now:
How to Use Your Equity Lens
Natalie Burke,
Common Health Action
The Faces of Poverty
in North Carolina
Dr. Gene Nichol,
Boyd Tinsley Professor, University of North Carolina
Creating Resiliency Hubs in the Face of Climate Change (pdf)
Jodi Lasseter,
NC Climate Justice
Lessons on Preserving Farmland Alongside Development (pdf)
Margaret Sands (Triangle Land Conservancy), Tandy Jones (Grassy Ford Farm)
THURSDAY WORKSHOP 2
2:45 – 4:00pm
NASH ROOMS 1-4
Incorporating Racial Equity Principles
LaShauna Austria (Alamance Food Collaborative),
Sue Perry-Cole and Kendrick Ransome (Just Foods Collaborative), Ashley Heger (Orange County Food Council)
Raychel Santo,
Food Policy Network, John Hopkins Center for Livable Futures
Double Up Food Bucks Impact and Implementation (pdf)
Sonsera Kiger (Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC); Christina Bailey (Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture and the King St. Market, Watauga Food Council)
Accountability and Values in Sustain Community Food Systems Work:
A Funders’ Dialogue
Jen Zuckerman (Duke World Food Policy Center), Sohnie Black (Fund for Democratic Communities); Merry Davis (BCBSNCF); LindaJo Doctor (W.K.Kellogg Foundation); Monica McCann (Resourceful Communities)
FRIDAY WORKSHOP 3
8:30 – 9:45AM
NASH ROOMS 1-4
Ancestral Awakening: Waccamaw Siouan Tribal Healing Greenspace
Mrs. Darlene Graham (Waccamaw Siouan), Mrs. Sue Young-Jacobs (Waccamaw Siouan), Mrs. Jean Brown (Waccamaw Siouan), Randi R. Byrd (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
Lenesha Northington, Zachary Clemons, Coreya Lynch, Chester B. Williams (ABC2), Anthony Gregg,
Chance Snowden (YA, MWYUF), Randolph Keaton (MWYUF)
The Financial Realities of Farming
Scott Marlow,
Rural Advancement Foundation International – USA
Reshaping Communities By Grounding the Work of Health Equity into the Community Health Assessment Process
Ann Meletzke (Healthy Alamance, Alamance Food Collaborative) & Zo Mpofu (Buncombe County Public Heath)
FRIDAY WORKSHOP 4
11:15 – 12:30PM
NASH ROOMS 1-4
Race Wealth Gap Simulation
Rosa Saavedra (Bread for the World), LaShauna Austria (Benevolence Farm)
Racial Equity in Local Government (pdf)
Ariana Flores (Race Forward), Shorlette Ammons (Center for Environmental Farming Systems, Committee on Racial Equity)
Celebrating Stories of
Black Farmers
Moderator Gabrielle Eitienne (Revival Taste Collective), plus a farmer panel
Youth and Food Justice in NC (pdf)
CEFS Food Youth Initiative – Transplanting Traditions, Jovenes Lideres En Accion (JLA), Growing Change, Men & Women United for Youth & Families representatives
Break Out Session Notes
SPEAKER BIOS
Jessica Holmes
Sarah Daniels
Julius Tillery
Food Youth Initiative
Ann Meletzke
Youth Ambassadors
Rosa Saavedra
Jodi Lasseter
Emi Yoko-Young
Gene Nichol
Tandy Jones
Randi Byrd
Jen Zuckerman
Darlene Graham
Scott Marlow
Sue Young-Jacobs
Monica McCann
ABC2 World Changers
Jean Brown
Raychel Santo
Christina Bailey
Sonsera Kiger
Natalie S. Burke
Margaret Sands
Growing Change
Ashley Page
Sohnie Black
LaShauna Austria
Gabrielle Eitienne
Ariana Flores
Scholarships:
Each food council in the North Carolina Network of Food Councils will receive two free registrations and travel allowance for one hotel room and one vehicle. We will be sending all food council leaders information on how to take advantage of these scholarships.