Advocate for Food Equity & Justice

What is Food Equity & Justice?

Simply put, having a choice. Food Justice is communities exercising their right to grow, sell, and eat healthy food. Healthy food is fresh, nutritious, affordable, culturally-appropriate, and grown locally with care for the well-being of the environment, workers, and animals. People practicing food justice leads to a strong local food system, self-reliant communities, maintenance of the cultural significance of food, and a healthier environment across all facets of life.

Hunger and Nutrition

Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship – The Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program trains the next generation of anti-hunger leaders through a combination of community-based field and national policy work. Participants learn about a range of approaches to eliminate hunger, poverty, and social inequality (particularly racism), and develop skills in areas such as program development, research, evaluation, outreach, organizing, and advocacy.
FoodCorps – FoodCorps is a year-long service program designed to promote healthy school food by educating children, building and maintaining school gardens, and bringing high-quality local food into public school cafeterias.
Food Research and Action Center – FRAC is a research and advocacy organization that focuses on community, state, and national level solutions to eliminate hunger and under-nutrition across the U.S. The organization regularly hosts interns and volunteers to develop skills in research, writing, and advocacy.
Hunger Volunteer – A project of New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH), Hunger Volunteer educates donors and the public about the impact of and solutions to hunger across the U.S. The program connects volunteers with anti-hunger organizations nationwide.
Urban Nutrition Initiative – Based in Philadelphia, the UNI program provides paid internships in food education and urban agriculture to high school students during both the school year and the summer. UNI interns play a significant role in improving community food systems through participation in multiple regional and national networks and conferences.

Food Access and Food Justice

The Food Trust – Based in Philadelphia, The Food Trust works to ensure that “everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food and information to make healthy decisions.” The organization regularly hosts student interns from a variety of backgrounds, including public health, social work, writing, nutrition education, business, tourism and hospitality, urban gardening, special events, community development, public policy, and urban studies.
Food and Water Watch – Food and Water Watch is a national consumer advocacy organization that challenges the “corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources.” Internship opportunities are available three times a year to undergraduates, recent graduates, and graduate students.
Food First – Food First is a think tank that advocates for policies that support a just, ecologically sound food system. Interns contribute to the organization through written work on issues related to food justice and food sovereignty, and many interns complete one or more publications.
Slow Food USA – Slow Food USA supports a global food system that is good, clean, and fair for all. The organization has 170 local chapters and 40 campus chapters across the U.S. and aims to preserve food cultures, cultivate new leadership, and connect communities through food. Slow Food USA offers internships year-round in a range of fields, including development, policy and advocacy, and operations.
The Declaration of Nyéléni (Declaration of the Forum for Food Sovereignty, Nyéléni 2007)
Food Justice Articles from Civil Eats
Food Justice Articles from Food First
Food Justice Series Printable Resources from Our Kitchen Table
Food Security, Food Justice, or Food Sovereignty? By Eric Holt-Giménez for Food First
Food Sovereignty Booklet from the National Family Farm Coalition and Grassroots International

Racial Equity and Justice in the Food System

Soul Fire Farm
Committee on Racial Equity in the Food System– The Center for Environmental Farming Systems, grounded in its partnership of North Carolina’s two land-grant universities – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and North Carolina State University – along with its third partner, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is providing leadership in addressing complex issues of access in the food system. Our most fundamental goal begins with achieving racial equity in the food system. Through our work we seek to combat disparities that underserved populations – especially our children – face in gaining access to food.
Center for Social Inclusion– The food system works for some, but fails too many of us. Yet, we already have a glimpse of the possibility of a just and healthy food system. To get there, we must use a critical race lens to diagnose what is wrong with our current system, assess entry points for change, and determine ways that we can work together to build a better system for all of us. This report shares an analysis of what it means to build a racially equitable food system – from field to farm to fork – and lays out steps toward achieving that goal.
Racial Equity Tools; Food Justice– Racial Equity Tools is designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large.
Anti-Racism Resource Compilation from Setting An Anti-Racist Table
Dismantling Racism Works Resources
Food Justice Resource Compilation from Racial Equity Tools
Dismantling Racism in Community Food Work by Rachel Slocum
Dismantling Racism in the Food System by Eric Holt-Giménez and Breeze Harper for Food First
The Farm Bill Report: Corporate Power and Structural Racialization in the US Food System from the Haas Institute
Leaders of Color Discuss Structural Racism and White Privilege in the Food System from Food First
Statement from the National Young Farmers Coalition on Ending Violence Against People of Color in Food and Farming
What Ferguson Means for the Food Justice Movement by Beatriz Beckford, Malik Yakini, Dara Cooper, Amanda Walker, Charm Taylor and Tanya Fields for Why Hunger
Why Food Belongs in Our Discussion About Race by Kristin Wartman for Civil Eats

Education and Academia

Agriculture Sustainability Institute at UC-Davis – Students majoring in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems (SA&FS) focus on the social, economic and environmental aspects of food and agriculture – from farm to table and beyond. (This is the only undergraduate major in the field)
American University Master of Science in Nutrition Education – For those looking to promote better nutrition in their communities, American University offers an online degree program that targets healthy changes in large institutions.
Berkeley Food Institute – BFI is an interdisciplinary institute at U.C. Berkeley designed to promote more resilient and just food systems, both on the local and global levels. BFI has over 75 affiliated faculty and staff on the U.C. Berkeley campus.
Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture – CUESA offers education programs for urban eaters to learn more about local farmers and sustainable agriculture, and operates the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market in San Francisco. CUESA regularly posts opportunities for volunteers to develop skills in community education, communications, and outreach.
Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC-Santa Cruz – CASFS educational opportunities both on the farm and in the classroom. The program aims to increase “ecological sustainability and social justice in the food and agriculture system.”
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – JHBSPH offers academic programs in health and behavior, public policy, and nutrition. The university also houses the Center for a Livable Future and the Global Center on Childhood Obesity.
Marylhurst University Department of Food Systems and Society – Marylhurst has a Masters of Science program in food systems and society. The interdisciplinary curriculum focuses on equity, justice, and sustainability in our food system.
NYU Steinhardt School Food Studies Program – NYU offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in a range of issues across the food system, including public health and nutrition, food and culture, and public policy.
Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy – Tufts’ food studies curriculum focuses on two main areas of study: Health and nutrition and food and agriculture policy.
University of Vermont Farmer Training Program – Those aspiring to step into the field and begin farming can participate in UVM’s six-month beginning farmer training program. The course of study covers several topics in sustainable land management through hands-on, experiential learning.
Yale University – Yale offers undergraduate courses and graduate programs in agrarian studies. The university also sponsors the Yale Sustainable Food Project and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

Government

U.S. Department of Agriculture – USDA offers internship and career development opportunities for young people in high school, current undergraduate students, and recent college graduates. USDA also partners with organizations who offer stipends for students of color interested in pursuing unpaid internships with a federal agency.
U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry – The Senate Ag Committee offers internships and fellowships in the spring, summer, and fall. Individuals with interest in agricultural-related policy are encouraged to apply. While all candidates will be given full consideration, preference is given to students, and also those whose permanent residence is the Chair or Ranking Member’s home states. In order to proceed in submitting an application, please select the office to which you are applying, the Democrat or Republican office of the Committee.

International

FairTrade – FairTrade certifies products sold in the U.S. as fair trade in order to promote sustainable, ethical entrepreneurship across the globe. The organization regularly offers internship opportunities that build participants’ skills in research and writing on international development.
HelpX – HelpX includes listings for farms and ranches who invite volunteer helpers to stay with them short-term in exchange for room and board.
Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellowship – The Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellows Program is a two-year program that builds fellows’ skills to eradicate hunger and poverty worldwide. Fellows spend the first year working directly to promote food security in the field, and the second year applying their experiences to develop sound national and international development policies.
Oxfam America – Oxfam aims to end poverty and hunger worldwide by focusing on long-term solutions to injustice. There are several ways to get involved both in your local community and in the organization’s national offices in D.C. and Boston.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) – WWOOF offers workers the opportunity to connect with sustainable farmers across the globe, exchanging labor for on-farm room and board.

Additional Resources, Job Sites, and Listservs

General

COMFOOD Jobs – Allows individuals and organizations to post and search for jobs in the food and agriculture sectors. Based out of the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
Farm and Food Jobs – Connects job seekers and prospective employers in agriculture and food related industries across all steps along the food chain.
Good Food Jobs – Help job seekers looking for meaningful food work find opportunities with farmers, restaurateurs, policy maker, economists, ecologists, and more.
- GFJ’s gastrognomes blog profiles food professionals across multiple sectors to highlight how people develop their careers in the food system.

Farming

Food Policy Action

http://foodpolicyaction.org/