October 24 is the first national Food Day- a day to celebrate and honor efforts to bring real food back to the American diet. Although it may seem a little gimmicky, this day is a very worthwhile way to gather like-minded people to encourage discussion about the issues of our current food system. Food Day’s goals are these:
1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
2. Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness
3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger
4. Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms
5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers
Events are being hosted all over the country (and some truly fantastic meals being served in Montana!) and I encourage everyone to participate. Events can be found on the website: http://foodday.org/
I was lucky enough to attend and present at the Food Day event in Billings on October 22, where it was encouraging to see how many people there are genuinely interested in food issues in eastern Montana. The isolation of communities out here can often make it seem like I am acting alone, but I could see that this is not the case at all! We watched the film ‘Fresh,’ ate a glorious all-Montana lunch and heard from numerous activists about the efforts they are taking to change Montana’s food system.
I came away renewed in my enthusiasm for my work in Forsyth, and reassured that I am not alone in struggling to introduce my community to the benefits of healthy food.
This Food Day event acted as a reminder for me that all revolutions, whether they are Occupy Wall Street or the Arab Spring or eating local, require energy more than anything else. For the food movement, this means getting people excited about the changes that they can be making and the benefits they find from them. It’s not enough to get people to eat right, because eating thoughtfully requires effort and education. Although it may be a step in the right direction to get someone to shop at the farmers market rather than Walmart, it means little if they don’t understand why they should be doing this. This also means that they won’t be able to tell other people to do likewise. For the food movement to be a sustained movement, the emphasis always needs to be about building excitement through education.
I think it’s important for Foodcorps members- and all food activists- to remember that energy is the main thing we are building. It’s an investment in future action. Our communities might not yet be ready for farmers markets, or our schools not prepared for Farm to School, or families not able to cook for themselves. Getting people excited about food is just as valid an achievement. If we can engage just a couple of people in a conversation about food and educate them about one of the issues, this plants the seed which has the potential to grow into action somewhere down the road.
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