Bay Area Food Policy Councils Will Discuss Achievements and New Programs at Berkeley Event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – download this press release

Contact:
Leonor Hurtado, Food First Senior Advisor
Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy
398 60th St. Oakland, CA 94618
Email: lhurtado@foodfirst.org
Tel: (510) 506-9359

OAKLAND, Calif., January 27, 2015 – On Wednesday, February 18th at 6:30 pm, Oakland-based Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy will host a panel of representatives from Bay Area food policy councils. Food policy councils bring together food activists, community members, urban planners, and both municipal and state governments to make recommendations on how to make a food system more accountable to its constituents.

During the event, panelists will share their respective council’s most recent achievements, ongoing initiatives, and goals. Afterwards, audience members will have the opportunity to respond, ask questions, and engage with the representatives and each other.

The panel will feature food policy council representatives from several East Bay communities including Martin Bourque from Berkeley, Doria Robinson and Laneisha Whitfield from Richmond, and Esperanza Pallana from Oakland. Additionally, Michael Dimock will represent the statewide California Food Policy Council. Food First Executive Director Eric Holt-Giménez will moderate the discussion.

Partnering to create local food initiatives that build food justice in communities, food policy councils work to establish an equitable and sustainable food system. There are more than 200 food policy councils in North America. Reflecting on the goals of the Oakland Food Policy Council, council director Esperanza Pallana notes: “We believe that we need to focus on equity first, as sustainability flows out of equity. We can’t have sustainability without having equity first.”

This event is part of Food First’s Third Wednesdays Event Series at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, which fosters community discussion about topics related to the right to food. The event will begin promptly at 6:30pm, and the public is advised to arrive early to secure seats. La Peña Cultural Center is located at 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705.

For more information about La Peña Cultural Center, please visit http://www.lapena.org.

For more information about Food First, please visit http://www.foodfirst.org.

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