Change Food is proud to celebrate another year of educating and advocating for a more sustainable food system. July was the end of our 2014-2015 year and marks our second anniversary.  As the scope of Change Food’s impact expands, we are raising awareness, activating consumers and helping make the changes necessary so that healthy, delicious, safe food is accessible to all. Keep reading to learn what we’ve been up to this year.  And check out our recently redesigned and relaunched website!

TEDxManhattan Retires

From 2011 to 2015, Change Food founder and executive director Diane Hatz also acted as licensee, host and organizer of TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat,” a multifaceted and influential series of annual events that explored both the problems and solutions with today’s food and food system. Its reach included 7.2 million YouTube views, 608 million media impressions, and 494 off-site viewing parties. As summed up by founder and president Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group, “This institution, TEDxManhattan, has changed the food movement.”

Though “Changing the Way We Eat” retired as of April 2015, Change Food will continue to produce events and conferences concerning sustainable food and farming (see below!). The official statement released by licensee Diane Hatz and TED is as follows:

“TED and the TEDxManhattan licensee have mutually agreed to retire the TEDxManhattan event as it previously existed under Diane Hatz from 2011 to 2015. TEDxManhattan licensee Diane Hatz will continue with a food and farming focused event separate from TED, the TEDx program and TEDxManhattan. She will be exploring new opportunities and experiences within this exciting field, and while the TEDxManhattan event as she led it will be retired, Diane will continue to be an active supporter and member of the global TEDx community.

All TEDxManhattan videos and photos will remain online and be available to the public to honor the event team, community and speakers from previous TEDxManhattan events.

The TEDxManhattan licensee thanks TED for the opportunity over six years to organize and host TEDxManhattan and to be a part of TED.”

For detailed information about TEDxManhattan and its impact, read this farewell piece by Brittany Barton, Contributing Writer for Change Food.

Change Food Fest

Change Food produces events and uses resulting resources as a way to educate and activate change, and we’re excited to be organizing the Change Food Fest, coming Fall 2016. The Change Food Fest will be a multifaceted experience focusing on live talks, panel discussions, adventures, experiences and viewing parties.  We’re even planning an art exhibition that focuses on food and farming.

At the Change Food Fest, we’ll focus on real change happening with our food system, as well as look at the investment money and startups exploding in the food space.  The insights and information provided by these experts will be transformed into videos and educational resources that will be housed in the Change Food Video Library, so even when the Change Food Fest has ended, its impact can continue to grow. The Change Food Fest will also provide numerous networking opportunities for food movement and food business leaders.

We anticipate a physical attendance of approximately 500 hundred people and hope to see you there! Stay tuned for information regarding tickets, location, and final schedule. If you or your business is interested in potentially partnering with Change Food for this event, a  summary of sponsorship opportunities is available. For any inquiries, please contact Executive Director Diane Hatz at diane (at) changefood (dot) org.

Relaunch of Guide 2 Good Food

After a short hiatus, Change Food’s Guide 2 Good Food Blog returned in September 2015. The Guide 2 Good Food features insights, tips and information about how to eat more sustainably, as well as highlights on Change Food friends and former TEDxManhattan speakers, and reviews of our favorite books, art installations, and general news in the food space.

Since its relaunch, the Guide 2 Good Food has incorporated four new sections: Reading for Change, See Change, Be Change and Community Connections. Under “Reading for Change,” readers can learn about new releases as well as the tried and true books about food. The inaugural post, featured November 2015, is about Dana Gunders’ “Waste Free Kitchen Handbook.” Fans of Reading for Change will be able to catch a new review at least once monthly.

See Change focuses on visual representations of food and the food system and includes film/documentaries, photography, public artworks, and more. Recent posts have included a review of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin’s newest photoseries and the new documentary by Director Susan Rockefeller, Food for Thought, Food for Life.

The third section, Be Change, provides readers with information necessary to make responsible and ethical choices when it comes to purchasing their food, aligning with Change Food’s overall mission. For example, a recent post by contributing writer Brittany Barton outlines how to revamp the traditional Thanksgiving meal, increasing both sustainability and flavor.

Community Connections is our effort to bring the Change Food community closer together.  At least once a month, we will highlight a member of the Change Food network through both our blog and our newsletter.

Since January 2015, the Guide 2 Good Food Blog has been visited by readers from every continent except Antarctica, in over 70 countries and by thousands of people — a number that grows every day!

Change Food Video Library and Educational Kits

In July 2015, Change Food soft launched its Video Library. Even though the site is being redesigned and finalized, the library is live and functional. Visitors can choose from a selection of 20 topics, or search by partner (Change Food, TEDx, and TEDxManhattan so far), in order to find information on nearly any subject concerning food. There are currently 100+ videos available for viewing. Our goal is to develop an Educational Kit for all Change Food/TEDxManhattan videos and, if possible, for all the videos in the library. Resources include campaigns, discussion questions, publications, organizations/companies working on the issue, and things you can do.

In the 2014-2015 year, Change Food added 9 Educational Kits to the video library, available for free to anyone who wishes to use them. They include:

• Factory Farms, Antibiotics and Superbugs from Dr. Lance Price of George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health
• Using the Legal System to Fight Factory Farming featuring Michele Merkel of the Food & Water Watch
• #GimmeFive with Deb Eschmeyer, Co-founder of Food Corps, Executive Director of the White House’s Let’s Move! campaign, and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy with Michelle Obama.
• Marketing Food to Children by Anna Lappe, best-selling author of Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It and foundind principal of Small Planet Institute and Small Planet Fund.
• Are Insects the Future of Food? with Megan Miller, founder of Bitty, a sustainable food startup that uses cricket flour as the base for high-protein energy bars and gluten-free baked goods.
• Address the Excess – A Recipe for Cutting Food Waste by Peter Lehner, Executive Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council and NRDC Action Fund
• Don’t Let the Good Food Movement Become Only Feel Good by Kendra Kimbirauskas, founder of Friends of Family Farmers, CEO of the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, and sustainable farmer.
• How Small Changes in Food Choice Can Make BIG Everyday Differences with Stefanie Sacks, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Dietician Nutritionist, author of What the Fork Are You Eating? An Action Plan for Your Pantry and Plate, blogger, radio host, and educator.
• How Ugly, Unloved Food Can Change the World by Dana Cowin, Editor in Chief of Food and Wine, Chief Talent Scout for Chefs Club USA, author of “Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen: Learning to Cook with 65 Great Chefs and Over 100 Delicious Recipes,” and board member at City Harvest and Hot Bread Kitchen.

Salons

Change Food had the pleasure of producing and hosting two Salons this past year. Salons are events, debates, discussions, and experiences organized by Change Food, with the purpose of deeply exploring topics related to food and farming. These Salons allow audiences to actively engage with experts in the food movement, while grappling with complex and multifaceted issues. The two Change Food Salons produced this year were entitled “Facing Factory Farms” and “Meat Labels: Natural No More.”

Meat Labels: Natural No More was held November 13th, 2014, in New York City. The aim of this Salon was to confront the mislabeling of meat products in the United States. Why are some meat products labelled “natural” and what does that mean? Many Americans actually don’t know the answer to these questions, and for example, instead believe it can mean that the animal was given more access to fresh air, or less antibiotic exposure. Speakers included:

• Chuck Eggert, Founder and President of Pacific Foods
• Urvashi Rangan, Consumers Union (derivative of Consumer Reports)
• Andrew Gunther, Animal Welfare Approved

For more information on the Meat Labels: Natural No More Salon, as well as educational materials related to the topic, click here.

Speaker Kendra Kimbirauskas at the Change Food “Facing Factory Farms” Salon.

Our second Salon of the year, Facing Factory Farms, was held June 16th, also in New York City. This Salon featured two 2015 TEDxManhattan speakers and their videos: Michele Merkel’s “Using the Legal System to Fight Factory Farms,” and Kendra Kimbirauskas’ “Don’t Let the Good Food Movement Only Feel Good.”

After watching the TEDxManhattan videos, the audience was able to engage with Michele and Kendra regarding the current state of industrial/factory farming and what can be done to combat it. Tickets were sold to students, members of Norwood, and the general public. To read more about Facing Factory Farms, visit the Guide 2 Good Food.

Quickbites

This October, Change Food officially launched the Quickbites series — short video clips from leading experts in the food movement.  They conveniently provide us with the advice, inspiration, and information to make important changes, all in one to two minutes. The videos are still being publicly released but can all be found on the Change Food YouTube Channel.

Questions answered included:

• What are you doing to change the Food System?
• How do consumers impact the Food System?
• Who in the food movement inspires you?
• Name one thing you can do for the Food System.
• How should the Food System change?
• What is your vision for the Food System?
• What is the biggest problem in the Food System?

Quickbites speaker Tom Colicchio in “Name one thing you can do for the Food System.”

These questions were answered by some of the leading experts in the food movement, who offered their perspective to the public in order to motivate, inform, and spark real change. Speakers included Tom Colicchio of Top Chef and Crafted Hospitality, Michele Merkel of Food & Water Justine, Union Square Hospitality Group CEO Danny Meyer, and Food & Wine’s Editor in Chief, Dana Cowin. To date, the channel features 94 videos. Top-viewed videos, by speaker, are as follows:

• Diane Hatz: Who In the Food Movement Inspires You?
• Andrew Gunther: What is the Biggest Problem in the Food System?
• Tom Colicchio: Name One Thing You Can Do for the Food System

Change Food in the Media

Change Food has had the pleasure of gaining media attention for our many accomplishments this past year. Executive Director Diane Hatz has been interviewed by programs like Voice of America, participated as a speaker at the Aspen Forum (Expo Milano), participated in podcasts, sat down with organizers of TEDxBrussels, all of which expanded Change Food’s reach to every corner of the globe. Media coverage of Change Food included, but is not limited to:

• August 2015: The USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 has launched “Mentor Minds” as part of their Innovation Program. It’s a series of more than 70 short interviews that, as the USA Pavilion says, “will inspire revolutionary perspectives through genuine contributions of extraordinary speakers.”  Diane Hatz was one of the individuals interviewed.
• August 10, 2015: “Giving the Food Movement a Voice” Interview with Diane Hatz on Food Tank’s site.
• July 2015: iEat Green radio interview with Diane Hatz
• July 10, 2015: Investing in Innovation: Women and Technologies
• June 2015: Alimentazione, La Sfida del Nuovo Millennio a cura di Alberto Michelinio. Diane wrote a short chapter in this book exploring art and food.  (In Italian)
• May 18 – 19, 2015: Understanding, Learning, and Innovating: The Agriculture and Food Systems Sustainability Challenge. Diane was a participant in this Global Alliance for the Future of Food private meeting in Milan.
• April 22, 2015: Council of Fashion Designers of America. Earth Day article about what one can do to help the planet.  Change Food and the Change Food Challenge mentioned.
• January 21, 2015: W-Cubed featuring a Recap of Diane Hatz’ Interview with Voice of America
• January 20, 2015: Voice America (Radio Interview). Voice of America featuring a TEDxManhattan Preview with Diane Hatz
• December 8, 2014: The Aloha Way – Diane Hatz on why You Don’t Have to Become a Vegetarian To Save the Planet
• October 5, 2014: TEDxBrussels (blog post). Interview with TEDxManhattan organizer Diane Hatz

Donate to Change Food via our Crowdrise Campaign!

Change Food envisions a world where healthy, safe and sustainable food are abundant and accessible to all people. In order to make this vision reality, we work to produce educational resources and organize events so that individuals can become changemakers in their own communities, wherever they are in the world.  Donate to Change Food so we can keep up all our work.

Because of Change Food programs, businesses have been developed, community gardens have been planted and maintained, programs to feed low-income communities via food truck have been initiated, educational programs at places like the New York Botanical Garden have been implemented, a healthy food outlet was introduced to New York’s Battery Park… and the list goes on and on.

But we can only make these changes with you. Transforming the food system is a collaborative effort; one that requires work at the grassroots level, as well as large-scale, macro efforts. Consider doing your part this holiday season by contributing to our Crowdrise fundraising campaign. Your donation, no matter the size, goes towards the management of programs that are changing lives. And there are perks – our friends at ThriveMarket.com have partnered with us to provide you with free memberships at the $30 and $60 giving levels.

Here’s what others have to say about Change Food’s impact:

“Change Food is one of the organizations leading the American food movement. Diane Hatz has the ability to connect eaters, business, and policymakers to help create a better food system! I’m proud to have Change Food as a partner.”

–Danielle Nierenberg, Co-Founder and President, Food Tank

“Diane is passionate and tirelessly dedicated to improving the food system. Not just in her words but in her actions and organization skills, she has given a voice to a community of many small and diverse components working to change the food system. Following her example, we are inspired to do more, believe, and help each other.  I think her broad experience, willingness to listen, openness to new ideas and information, her humility and, not least ability, to execute on all these is unparalleled. In what was TedXManhattan and is now Change Food she has truly created something out of nothing. I am extremely grateful personally for having met Diane and being able to support her and Change Food in any way I can.”

-Tama Matsuoka Wong, Founder & CEO, Meadows and More

“I am in awe of Diane’s ability to identify pioneers and leaders in the food world, and bring them together to share their knowledge and passion with each other and the world.  Diane’s events are powerful and inspiring.  I am so grateful to be included in her Change Food ‘family’  – people who are determined to help improve how we farm and eat in this country.”

-Myra Goodman, Founder, Earthbound Farm

For more information about what your Year End gift to Change Food can do, visit our fundraising page.

The 2014-2015 year has been a developmental year for Change Food; our programs are continuing to grow in scope and influence. It is truly a pivotal, exciting time to be involved in the food movement — the good news is, Change Food makes it easy for you to stay educated and active. The best way to stay up to date with what’s going on is to subscribe to our newsletter, and, of course, for any other information, visit our website.
Diane and everyone at Change Food wish you a healthy, happy and delicious holiday and New Year!

Change Food is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect and transform the food we eat, the people who produce it, and the world in which it is grown. To read and learn more, visit The Guide to Good Food blog.  

November 4, 2015

Five years. 90 speakers. 7.2 million YouTube views. 494 viewing parties. 8 million people impacted. TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” resonated across the world and made great strides for an improved food system. The five influential one-day events held from 2011 to 2015 were a nationally-recognized brand and a sought-after platform for individuals and organizations doing innovative work in sustainable food and farming. It provided innovators with an opportunity to raise their profile and reach far beyond their existing audiences. TEDxManhattan has had a significant impact, acting as a catalyst for new opportunities, spurring media coverage of new projects and leading to dynamic partnerships.

After five years of significant successes, TEDxManhattan has officially retired and we bid it a fond farewell. The impact of each event will live on in the projects, collaborations and new events made possible by TEDxManhattan.

We wanted to take an opportunity to thank and honor all of the speakers, participants, viewing party organizers, sponsors, volunteers and all those who attended the event. TEDxManhattan was all of us combined.

THE CONNECTIONS

More than anything, TEDxManhattan was about the people. It was about the connections, collaborations and friendships the events made possible. The selected speakers were given an opportunity to present their project or idea to a captive audience and each person walked away with a community of champions ready to support them.

And for some it completely changed their lives. Some speakers were new to the food movement and had never been exposed to such a receptive audience. Veteran food activists were ready and willing to lend their expertise. Below we’ve highlighted only a few of the incredible partnerships made possible by TEDxManhattan.

Audience member Susan Haar organized the Harvard Food Law Conference that has led to students organizing regionally and in other groups. She says, “I really want to say it never would have happened without (Diane Hatz) and TEDxManhattan. In one day you completely woke me up to the possibility of changing the food system and the urgency to do so.” The Harvard conference energized everyone in attendance and next steps proposed by students are already in the works – including a website, an alumni network, sharing of administrative resources for starting a student food law society, sharing of ideas for topics of student notes, cross-network projects, and an annual meeting.

Susan was introduced to 2015 TEDxManhattan speaker, Michele Merkel, Co-director of Food & Water Justice and invited her to be the keynote speaker for the Harvard Food Law Conference. It gave Michele’s justice program great exposure and also a view into the future of the legal efforts in the food movement.

Michele’s 2015 TEDxManhattan talk, “Using the legal system to fight factory farms” spurred a Food & Water Watch alert, and over 13,000 people took action against the EPA, asking them to reinstate the rule to create an inventory of CAFOs. This occurred within days of her video release. 

For Sunny Young, her Mississippi Farm to School Network was funded $400k for 3 years by WK Kellogg, shortly after her TEDxManhattan update at the 2015 event. She says, “I feel like my talk was a HUGE reason the Mississippi Farm to School Network started! The network will take the farm to school project in Oxford (Mississippi) and help expand its efforts statewide.”

Wild plant forager Tama Matsuoka Wong of Meadows and More and David McInerney, co-founder of FreshDirect, both spoke at TEDxManhattan 2013 and returned in 2014 to give brief updates. Their conversations led to a partnership in which FreshDirect sells wild plants foraged by Meadows and More to its New York City customers.  In Tama’s words, “This wouldn’t have happened without the ongoing work and get-togethers [TEDxManhattan] made happen.”

Kavita Shukla, Founder & CEO of Fenugreen, spoke at TEDxManhattan 2012 about Fenugreen’s Freshpaper, a product that keeps produce fresh longer, with the aim of reducing the 25% of the world’s food supply now lost to spoilage. Her talk led directly to a Washington Post article by a writer who was in the audience, followed by a massive increase in distribution and demand.  In Kavita’s words: “The response was incredible. Within weeks, we were shipping FreshPaper to folks across the US and launching in Whole Foods stores across the East Coast. This grassroots movement that started at TEDxManhattan, with Diane [Hatz’]s support and encouragement, took FreshPaper from our local farmers market to farmers & families across the globe in over 35 countries.”

Stephen Ritz, Founder of Green Bronx Machine and Dean of Students and Community Partnership Coordinator at Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, spoke at TEDxManhattan 2012.  His talk, “A teacher growing green in the South Bronx,” made the main TED.com site and has been watched approximately 1 million times.  Along with other past speakers, Steve came back to give brief updates at TEDxManhattan 2013, 2014 and 2015.  In his words: “So much more has happened for so many people as a result of my participation.  I’ve spoken at dozens of schools, colleges, CBO’s….My work has been featured on national TV, radio, blogs everywhere….I am being asked to train teachers, K-12, colleges/universities and even Teach for America is using the [TEDxManhattan] video.  Here in NYC, with support garnered from TEDxManhattan, my students and I went on to build two of the largest food producing facilities on THE ENTIRE ISLAND of Manhattan, serving hundreds of residents in two high-need communities.”

Founding Principal of Small Planet Institute and Small Planet Fund, Anna Lappé, spoke at TEDxManhattan 2013 and returned in 2015 to announce the Real Food Media Project winner. She says, “I’ve been speaking to audiences around the country about food and farming, health and sustainability for more than twelve years and no talk has been watched as much, or brought as much attention, to my projects and work as my TEDxManhattan talk has. Now watched more than 707,000 times, the talk has led to new contacts, media opportunities, and new connections to further our collective work to fix a broken food system. TEDxManhattan was a unique event, with a huge impact, and it was an honor to be a part of it.”  

Megan Miller is the Co-Founder of Bitty Foods, a food company making high-protein baked goods and baking mixes from cricket flour. As a result of her TEDxManhattan talk in 2014, she met chef Tyler Florence and he became the Culinary Director for her company. Numerous media outlets have promoted the cricket flour products including Vogue and the New York Times.

TEDxManhattan speaker, Britta Riley spoke in 2011 and her talk,“Windowfarms: Research and do it yourself,” was selected by TED.com to be featured on their main site. The video has received over 1.3 million views.  

Gary Oppenheimer credits his 2012 TEDxManhattan talk for AmpleHavest.org’s ability to reach 20% of America’s food pantries. He was also honored as a CNN Hero.  He met with the former pastry chef for the White House and TEDxManhattan speaker Bill Yosses to help AmpleHarvest.org expand its network. Gary was invited to give another TEDx Talk, “Why food drives actually contribute to hunger in America,” which is now helping people nationwide better support their communities.
Clint Smith drew the attention of the international TED Conference with his 2014 talk, “Celebrating resilience – Reframing the narrative around our students,” and went on to speak at the main TED conference and that talk, “The danger of silence” has over 2.8 million views.

GLOBAL IMPACT

TEDxManhattan live-streamed each year’s event, making it available worldwide. Beyond the 370 people in the audience, each event was watched by organized viewing parties and individuals. Nearly 500 registered viewing parties were hosted across the world from 2011 to 2015 – many more occurred globally and were unregistered. In 2015 alone, the estimated viewer attendance was 8,500 people. Each event was independently produced and spanned across 14 countries outside the United States, including Brazil, India, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Cyprus, South Africa, Costa Rica and Canada.

One TEDxManhattan viewing party host praised, “Everything I heard from all my viewing party attendees was super positive. None of them had ever heard of TEDxManhattan before the party, but they were all very impressed and inspired.”

During TEDxManhattan 2015, the event ranked in the top five trends on Twitter with #tedxman. That same year there were 10,000 tweets and 5,000 replies to @TEDxManhattan. 18,000 more people were reached through Facebook. The topics and issues spoke directly to the audience and ignited direct engagement. Audiences were motivated to share and inspired to play a part in the food movement.

This is one of our favorite quotes from an audience member:

The last time I felt so uplifted from attending an event was the first rock concert I ever went to – Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden. The opening act was a little, upcoming band at the time called Aerosmith! That was quite a while ago…”

– Pat O’Neill, CEO Amp Your Good, LLC

MOST WATCHED VIDEOS

Each year, hundreds of applications were submitted with the hopes of speaking at TEDxManhattan. The event was highly sought-after by everyone in the food community. Media attention grew with each year and in 2015 alone it earned 608,740,892 media impressions including Fortune, Yahoo! Food, and BuzzFeed.  A selection of top viewed videos include:

2011

Turning the Farm Bill into the Food Bill: Ken Cook – 26,851

2012

Green Bronx Machine — growing our way into a new economy: Stephen Ritz – over 1 Million

BrightFarms — a produce supply chain revolution: Paul Lightfoot  – 45,159

Animal factories and the abuse of power: Wayne Pacelle  – 36,952

2013

Marketing food to children: Anna Lappe  – 707,618

Why Genetically Engineered Foods Should be Labeled: Gary Hirshberg – 33,313

2014

The tree of forty fruits: Sam Van Aken – 306,716

Celebrating resilience – reframing the narrative around our students: Clint Smith – 56,724

Are insects the future of food?: Megan Miller – 47,667

2015

Why is organic food so *#@! expensive??: Ali Partovi – 27,916
Using the legal system to fight factory farms: Michele Merkel – 18,151

This is only a snapshot of the momentum brought about by TEDxManhattan. Every speaker is now part of an even more interconnected network of food innovators. And their videos will forever be available on YouTube for anyone, anywhere to access at anytime, which allows their impact to be limitless.

THE END OF THE BEGINNING

“Diane Hatz and the team at Change Food have turned TEDxManhattan into an increasingly important institution in the food movement. It’s an annual showcase of inspiration, invention, trouble-making, indignation and fun that renews my faith in the power of people to overhaul a food system that’s way past its sell-by date. Bring your appetite—for breakthrough ideas, heroic struggles, stimulating conversation and great food—and I promise you this: you’ll leave hungry for more in the year ahead.”    – Ken Cook, President of the Environmental Working Group

That is exactly how we wish to remember TEDxManhattan, as a disruptor that inspired and renewed our faith in the power of people to overhaul the food system, with a side of fun.

As we say goodbye to TEDxManhattan, we say hello to a new era of the food movement. Licensee of TEDxManhattan, Diane Hatz, who is also Founder & Executive Director of Change Food, is not only carrying on the work, she is busy planning the Change Food Fest, a 3-day event/conference/adventure/experience to be held in New York City early October 2016.  We hope you’ll join us then.

Watch all the TEDxManhattan talks in the Change Food Video Library.

Brittany Barton is a contributing writer for Change Food. As the creative behind SparkleKitchen.com, Brittany offers real food recipes, sustainable living guidance and inspiration for others to become more sparkly versions of themselves.

Change Food is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect and transform the food we eat, the people who produce it, and the world in which it is grown. To read and learn more, visit The Guide to Good Food blog.  

No matter how old you are, where you live, or how busy you may be, The Food Activist Handbook offers the information, tools, and resources for you to get involved. Author Ali Berlow offers practical advice that can be heeded by anyone, not just the wealthy or those with ample free time. The Food Activist Handbook is an inclusive, no-nonsense guide “to help you energize and organize your local food system and create better access to healthy food for everyone.” The way we eat determines the way we interact with the environment, the economy, our neighbors, and our own bodies. And we are all responsible for whether or not these interactions are healthy, beneficial, and progressive.

The Food Activist Handbook makes it easy to spark real change in your community.

So what exactly can you do? Each chapter of The Food Activist Handbook offers information on topics from labor and immigration justice, to composting, to getting healthier foods in your local school cafeteria. The Handbook reads as an instruction manual meets call-to-arms, and spotlights organizations and individuals across the country who are already working to change their community food systems, as well as their advice for you.

With diagrams, illustrations, poems, discussion questions, reading/film suggestions, and much more, Berlow has made it so easy to act up that we can no longer make excuses to not get involved. If you’re really pressed for time, but are still interested in food activism, the book includes a full index so you can read by topic.

The Food Activist Handbook should be on everyone’s shelf, from the simply curious to the full-fledged active citizen. The information is presented clearly and concisely enough so that the reader can choose to either binge read or take it section-by-section. And it’s not abstract or high-falutin — it’s down-to-earth, easy-to-follow, inspiring, tangible advice. If you’ve been looking for a way to be more active in your community, this is the book for you. The Food Activist Handbook is the perfect guide to get you started on a new project in the coming year. Get ahead on your New Years Resolutions and purchase a copy today. Then tell your friends and family about it. Be a part of something great — be a Food Activist.

Author Ali Berlow writes passionately about local food systems.

Ali Berlow is also the author of “The Mobile Poultry Slaughterhouse” and the essay series “A Cook’s Notebook,” which has aired on NPR. She is the Executive Director of Island Grown Initiative, a non-profit that supports the small family farms and farmers of Martha’s Vineyard. Ali and her husband Sam Berlow co-own Edible Vineyard, a magazine dedicated to the community of Martha’s Vineyard. To learn more, visit www.aliberlow.com.

Change Food is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect and transform the food we eat, the people who produce it, and the world in which it is grown. To read and learn more, visit The Guide 2 Good Food blog.  

In preparing over 100,000 meals each year, Ceres is making real change in Northern California and across the country. In using local teen volunteers and adult volunteer supervisors in their gardens and kitchens, Ceres involves the communities they serve in the food making process in the most intimate of ways — literally growing it from the ground up and preparing it. The teen volunteers take on a mature amount of responsibility in maintaining their garden and kitchen sites, including managing compost systems and pollinator habitats, seed saving, food safety, menu design, and cooking and serving meals, creating an ultimate garden-to-table experience.

Teen volunteers tend to crops at a Ceres Community Project garden, beginning the farm-to-table experience.

Their four (and soon to be fifth) program sites in Sonoma and Marin counties, as well as nine other sites nationwide that have replicated the Ceres model, are seeing real results in the health and eating habits of their clients. Research has shown that there is an added 1.3 million servings of fresh fruits and vegetables amongst clients and teen volunteers, and thanks to what they learn as a part of the program, about 75% of those involved are eating less processed and fast foods.

Depending on their financial standing, clients of the Ceres Community Project receive either free or low-cost meals weekly. These meals include four complete entrees, a pint of soup, a pint of salad, and a healthy dessert. For more information about client services, or how to become a client, visit http://www.ceresproject.org/BecomingClient.html.

The Ceres Community Project emphasizes the correlation between diet and overall health via their meal delivery service and Healthy Foods Classes, which instruct students how to make healthier choices in the kitchen. Over the years, the Ceres Community Project has participated in the National Food is Medicine Coalition, presented at conferences such as the Integrated Medicine for the Underserved, as well as Nutrition & Health and others, and has also published several white papers on the correlation between food and health. Currently, the Ceres Community Project is developing a publication that makes a case for why organic and sustainably raised whole foods are the best fundamentals, and should be the standard, for meal programs and food banks who serve vulnerable communities. At Change Food, we couldn’t agree more and are looking forward to reading the next paper from Ceres Community Project.

Founder Cathryn Couch, who has been named a “Real Hero” by the Red Cross for her work with Ceres Community Project.

Not only is the Ceres Community Project model effective, it is economically and environmentally sustainable, and engages the communities it serves in tangible ways. Ceres is an outstanding example of how providing meals to underserved people can be a mutually beneficial business model that respects their clients. And it’s adaptable, too — any organization wishing to replicate the Ceres Community Project model is welcome to attend a four day training that provides all necessary instruction. So far, every group that has been trained has successfully launched programs in their own communities.

Click here to learn more about the Ceres Community Project, an exciting and transformative organization. Their inclusive website also includes recipes, informative videos, nutritional info, and reports on food and health and can serve as a valuable and inspirational reference to anyone interested in learning more about food as medicine.
Change Food is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect and transform the food we eat, the people who produce it, and the world in which it is grown. To read and learn more, visit The Guide 2 Good Food blog.  

Family and friends are gathered around the table, ready to indulge in the Thanksgiving feast. The turkey is looking especially plump this year, and pies with intricate lattice-work line the dessert buffet. Vegetables are present too, although many are hiding in creamy casseroles. Thanksgiving is pinned as the ultimate food holiday, where we celebrate a bountiful harvest and eat one too many slices of pie. Since we are celebrating food, it is the perfect time to consider the effects our meal is having on our environment. What is the real cost of your Thanksgiving meal?

This Thanksgiving, have a meal that positively impacts the good food movement. We have an overwhelming number of choices in today’s food market and it’s the choice you make that will either make or break a healthy food system.

FOOD CHOICES

TEDxManhattan speaker Stefanie Sacks says, “Start to question the foods you choose for you and your loved ones.” Green bean casserole is a good example. This dish is traditionally made with canned green beans and canned soup. These two products are shipped hundreds or thousands of miles, made from non-organic sources and sealed in a BPA-lined can; translating to carbon pollution, pesticides and health risks associated from BPA.

Thanksgiving table photo by David Trainer courtesy of flickr

Now compare it to a casserole made from local ingredients. The foods are traveling much shorter distances, they are grown using natural pest management and the vegetables are sold right out of the farmer’s stand, removing the need for single-use packaging. Stephanie says it well, “Get an edible education…there’s a better alternative for every average choice.” When you understand the impact of your food choices then you can make the changes to a more sustainable diet.

WHO’S YOUR FARMER?

At the heart of it all is the farmer. And we need to support the farmers that are growing and raising food in the most healthful way possible. For your holiday meal, find foods that fall under these criteria: pasture-raised, USDA Certified Organic, sold from local CSAs, non-GMO, and small farms with organic practices.

Dr. Robert S. Lawrence paints a grim picture of conventional farming is his TEDxManhattan talk, “Effects of a High Meat Diet on Public Health.” He points to hidden ingredients like arsenic in our poultry, which comes through the feather meal fed to animals. Antibiotic resistance is another by-product, where over 13 million kilograms are used to promote animal growth. And then there is the issue of concentrated animal waste from CAFOs that generate 280 million tons of waste per year. Let’s keep these harms off our family table to have healthy, safe food.

The best practice is to get to know your farmer. Visit the farmers market, speak face-to-face and ask questions about their growing practices. Foods labeled organic are not the only organically produced foods. Many small farms practice sustainable farming but do not carry the USDA Organic seal. The best way to learn how something is grown is by getting to know the farm, searching their website or asking the farmer directly at the market.

Farmers are often transparent and willing to share their growing practices so you know exactly the kind of turkey you’re putting on the table.

Turkey photo by Olin Gilbert courtesy of flickr

WHERE TO SHOP

-Farmer’s Market Guide – LocalHarvest.org

-Local Farms – Eatwild’s Directory of U.S., Canadian and International Farms & Ranches

-Food Cooperative – Food Co-op Directory

UGLY FOOD

Buy ugly food. Dana Cowin is challenging us all to reduce food waste by buying the ugly, discarded foods. In her TEDxManhattan talk, “How Ugly Unloved Food Can Change the World,” she shares that supermarkets around the county are selling ugly foods at a reduced cost to help lessen food waste. The hairy, three-legged carrot is just as delicious as the perfectly slender one. But it’s not just fruits and vegetables, it extends to seafood and meat as well. Nose to tail eating is the philosophy to adopt. Choose less popular cuts of meat for your family meal and then save the bones to make a flavor stock for soups. Less desirable and ugly foods are just as nutritious as their perfect counterparts. By cutting down on food waste you’ll be saving space in the landfill and reducing the amount of methane gas produced.

INVEST

When we invest in sustainably produced foods and less food waste, we also invest in the economy. Let’s take advice from TEDxManhattan speaker Dr. Robert S. Lawrence. He said quality food takes, “paying a little bit more and getting a much higher quality of food, a much healthier kind of food and getting connected with the people who are growing that food for us.” Every meal and every purchase you make has an impact. Put your dollars to work, choose that heritage turkey this year and have a Thanksgiving meal that supports a planet you’re proud to call home.

Watch all the TEDxManhattan talks in the Change Food Video Library.

Brittany Barton is a contributing writer for Change Food. As the creative behind SparkleKitchen.com, Brittany offers real food recipes, sustainable living guidance and inspiration for others to become more sparkly versions of themselves.

Change Food is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect and transform the food we eat, the people who produce it, and the world in which it is grown. To read and learn more, visit The Guide to Good Food blog.  

Now it’s easy on the eyes as well. Artists Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin have done it again: the duo that brought us Food Maps, a series of photographs depicting the crops produced region by region around the world, has produced a new series of stunning images entitled Food Scans.

August’s range of juicy tomatoes (credit: Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin)

This new series uses the simple yet intricate beauty of produce itself, sliced and placed on a scanner, to create kaleidoscopic symmetrical images. The subjects of each photograph – one for each month of the year – were personally collected by the artists from farmers markets across New York City and Long Island. The viewer is confronted with stunning up-close and personal views of fruits and vegetables, showing off every crack, crevice, and imperfection.

If you’re looking for an aesthetically pleasing way to remember what’s in season when, this series is your new guide. We see carrots for May, figs in July, radicchio in January, et cetera. As Hargreaves explains, “Produce has seasons and not everything is available year-round. We also wanted to present items people are familiar with in a unique and memorable way.” Viewed individually, these images show a wide range of colors, textures, and shapes within each month. Considered as a whole, the series reminds us how diverse and exciting a year of eating can be.

Hargreaves and Levin remind us how colorful winter produce can be with this shot of December pomegranates, brussels sprouts, pears, and persimmons.

Food Scans reminds us how beautiful these everyday objects can be, and how wonderful that they all come from right around us. The kaleidoscopic quality of the images evoke spiritual notions of the ways we interact with our food, and therefore the planet. Be sure to examine the series here, and remember to incorporate in-season produce in your next round of grocery purchases.

Artists Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin.

Change Food is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect and transform the food we eat, the people who produce it, and the world in which it is grown. To read and learn more, visit The Guide to Good Food blog. 

Author Dana Gunders of the Natural Resources Defense Council

According to a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, where Gunders resides as a Staff Scientist, the average American throws out about 25% of all their purchased food and beverages. For a family of four, this ends up being between $1,365 and $2,275 in wasted food each year. Imagine not only the money, but the opportunity cost in time spent shopping, as well as the sheer volume in produce we could save on a macro level if every household were more informed on how to conserve their groceries.

Waste-Free Kitchen is the ultimate handbook for any modern cook — not just the already waste-conscious ones. It conveniently explains effective and realistic strategies for even the busiest of households to cut down on their food waste, from providing recipes featuring ingredients traditionally thought of as “ugly” or “bad,” to how to better organize storage spaces in order to expand the shelf life of staple foods and produce. Heed the advice featured in this go-to reference and watch your kitchen and wallet transform for the better.

Here at Change Food, we believe that individuals have the power to make meaningful changes in the food system. Taking the initiative to cut down on waste is a major way one can reduce their own environmental impact. Waste Free Kitchen: A Guide to Eating Well and Saving Money by Wasting Less Food by Dana Gunders is currently available for order on Amazon.com, so order a copy, study up, share with your friends what you’ve learned, or serve one of the 20 “use it up” recipes featured in the book at your next gathering to prove how delicious conserving food can be.

Order your copy of Waste-Free Kitchen today!

And, of course, stay tuned for more reading recommendations courtesy of Change Food!

Change Food is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect and transform the food we eat, the people who produce it, and the world in which it is grown. To read and learn more, visit The Guide to Good Food blog. 

Food cooperatives impact communities in ways that go beyond food. Right now, over 45,000 co-ops in the country are providing low cost, healthy food to its members. These stores are community-run businesses based on the cooperative principles that each member has a voice in decisions regarding the production and distribution of its food.
One example is The Seward Community Co-op; created in 1972, it remains a staple in its Minneapolis neighborhood. So much so that they have opened a second location, named the Friendship Store. Friend of Change Food and former TEDxManhattan speaker LaDonna Redmond is a key player in it’s creation. The store is located in the Bryant-Central neighborhood, a predominantly African American community that has been without a full service grocery for over 30 years.

Google Creative Commons

Over five hundred Co-op owners joined the Friendship store within the first week. “People are ready,” says Redmond. The store offers quality food and quality jobs, with 50 percent of employees living less than a mile from the store. This is a huge advantage for a community that struggles with employment discrimination. Co-op employees are provided benefits, insurance and paid $15 an hour.

Food price was a priority concern for community members. Many residents are on tight budgets, so the Co-op has implemented unique cost saving measures. Members are encouraged to bring their own containers and stock up on bulk items like coffee, flour, spices and dish soap, as much of the product cost is wrapped up in the packaging. They also have a dedicated discount rack for bruised produce and products with scratched packaging. The store is continuing to look for ways to reduce costs for the members.

Along with the second store, the Seward Co-op has launched the Co-op Creamery Neighborhood Café. The Cafe was designed to highlight the Co-op’s local produce and inspire new ways of cooking. It is a unique farm to table experience using all Co-op ingredients, including produce seconds, or ugly produce. A third of our food is wasted every year because it is unsightly, with bumps, bruises and scratches. The Cafe is salvaging these perfectly nutritious foods in their menu offerings.

To stay aligned with the Co-op mission of sustaining a healthy community, the Cafe offers all employees a living wage. They have done away with the traditional tipping system and are paying everyone set rates. Food prices are a bit higher to reflect this but the Cafe feels strongly that all workers be adequately compensated and not at the mercy of customers.

Redmond’s role at the Co-op is serving her vision of food justice. When she spoke at TEDxManhattan in 2013, she said, “Food justice is not just about the nutrition…. it’s about dignity. It’s about being visible.” The Friendship store is doing just that. It sees a need in a neglected community and is filling the void. Community members feel seen and heard when their needs are met. And quality food is a basic need and human right.

In Redmond’s TEDxManhattan Talk, she explains how the U.S. has a long history of unjust food systems. The act of pushing people off their land to take over cultivation and hunting ground gave way to the industrial food system, or use of slavery in agriculture.  Today’s system is not much better. Redmond states it is based on modern day slavery with the exploitation of immigrant labor.

When Redmond took a long look at America’s food history, she found, ““There has never been a fair, just, or healthy food system in the United States of America.”

Industrial food today breeds other threats, namely chronic diet-related diseases. And these noncommunicable diseases are shown to be closely connected to the public health concern of physical violence. When race, class and gender are brought into the food justice conversation, it becomes a larger issue of social justice.

Redmond has a vision for changing the food system. It calls for dismantling the global food industrial complex. Citizens have to turn non-profit will into political will. She believes our country must go beyond the Farm Bill to create legislation that pays living wages along with providing quality, nutritious food. Food justice merged with social justice is the only way forward.

The Friendship Co-op store and Co-op Creamery Neighborhood Café are steps in the right direction.

Find out more about Seward Community Co-op and Co-op Creamery Neighborhood Café here.

Watch LaDonna Redmond’s TEDxManhattan talk, Food + Justice = Democracy.

Brittany Barton is a contributing writer for Change Food. As the creative behind SparkleKitchen.com, Brittany offers real food recipes, sustainable living guidance and inspiration for others to become more sparkly versions of themselves.

Change Food is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect and transform the food we eat, the people who produce it, and the world in which it is grown. To read and learn more, visit The Guide to Good Food blog.  

How can I incorporate more fresh produce into my diet without breaking the bank? Where are the farmers markets in my area? How can my diet help to heal the Earth? Who are the leaders working to reverse the damages done by the current agribusiness system?

Perhaps these are questions you are already asking yourself. This October 24th, join thousands of people across the United States in celebrating Food Day, a day dedicated to inspiring Americans to make changes to their diets that will positively impact their health and the health of the environment. This year’s theme is “Toward a Greener Diet” and aims to educate the population on how they can make strides toward a greener plate – both literally and figuratively.

Food for Thought, Food for Life confronts the damages caused by the current agribusiness system, and counterpoints by introducing the viewer to those who are working towards a solution.

While events will be held in all fifty states, one we are particularly passionate about here at Change Food is the official online release of the film Food for Thought, Food For Life. The twenty-minute documentary, directed by Susan Rockefeller (also of HBO’s Christopher Award-winning documentary Making The Crooked Straight, and Planet Green’s A Sea Change), has already been recognized at several film festivals this year, earning an official selection at the Short Film Corner at Cannes. It explains the downsides to the current large-scale farming system (for example, irrigation is currently the largest single use of water in the world). In turn, it focuses on the change-makers (farmers, chefs, researchers, and activists) who are providing solutions to these problems.  The film examines the intersection of our individual health, the health of our communities on a macro scale, and the well-being of our planet.

You may have seen the documentaries about the things that are going wrong with our food system. Food for Thought, Food for Life is an inspiring call to arms; focusing on the positive strides being made every day and how individuals can make an impact simply by making the right choices at the dinner table. Director Rockefeller said it perfectly: “In addition to providing vital information, the film gives viewers the necessary tools to make a difference in their own lives. It explores the connection between the planet and our health and suggests that strengthening that connection will only benefit our future.” The viewer is left feeling like they have just been shook awake, empowered, and ready to do the right thing.

The greatest part about this Food Day event? You can participate from anywhere! The documentary will be shared with over 8,000 partners for Food Day events on October 24th,and you too can get involved. Interested in hosting a screening? Send an email to hello@foodforthoughtfilm.com or fill out a Host Screening form. You can also follow the conversation on social media by liking the Facebook page or with the hashtag “#foodforthoughtfilm” on Twitter.

If you’re in the New York City area, you can attend a Food Day event at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn on October 25th from, 3pm-6pm. There will be a marketplace with local farmers and artisans, a screening of Food for Thought, and a Q&A panel moderated by Brian Halweil (another Change Food friend featured here!).

Food for Thought, Food for Life is currently available for streaming via Eating Well. Watch now, or invite some friends over to view on the 24th to celebrate a happy and healthy Food Day!

This Food Day, start a conversation– use hashtags #foodforthoughtfilm and #foodday on Twitter to join the Food For Thought, Food for Life movement.

Versión en Español

In her TEDxManhattan talk Good Food Can Change Everything, Sunny Young, winner of the 2014 TEDxManhattan Challenge, described the Good Food for Oxford Schools (GFOS) farm to school program in Mississippi. Today, we are happy to share an exciting update on her work!

Photo 1. Sunny Young at TEDxManhttan on March 2014. Slide showing second grade student, Samaria, eating kale chips after meeting the farmer who grew the kale and the chef who prepared them. TEDxManhattan.

Through GFOS in the Oxford School District in Oxford, Mississippi, Sunny helped engage and empower school staff, students, and their families to change the way they think of and eat food.

When she gave her talk in March 2014, GFOS had helped transform the food served in their school cafeterias by:

• Increasing the percentage of food made from scratch served in school meals from 30% to 75% within one year
• Increasing servings of fresh foods from local producers
• Eliminating fryers from school cafeterias
• Introducing salad bars in all the District’s schools
• Bringing farmers and chefs to schools to teach children about good food

A mother reported that her daughter, Samaria (see photo 1), who previously refused to try fruits or vegetables, was now pestering her for fruits, rather than for highly processed products! (Hint: watch related TEDxManhattan talk: Marketing Food to Children, were Anna Lappé explains “pester power”).

The statistics that Sunny shared during her talk show the need for a paradigm shift in the diets of Mississippi children:

• Mississippi is the state with the highest obesity rates in the country
• 40% of Mississippi children eat less than 1 fruit or vegetable on a daily basis
• 40% of Mississippi children are overweight/ obese
• 74% of parents are not worried about their children’s weight

As she explained, farm to school efforts are important because in the Oxford School District alone, academic performance and overall well-being have declined in children who are overweight, malnourished, and/or suffering from diet-related diseases. Students as young as five have been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, a disease formerly only identified in adults.[i]

August 2015 Update

In a state where 80% of students receive free or reduced-cost meals from school (benefits based on annual household income), Sunny Young and her team are hard at work to ensure that the food provided shifts from fried and highly processed, to good for children’s health, and good for the environment.

Photo 2. Students from the Della Davidson Elementary School in Oxford, Mississippi enjoy lunch, including lettuce from their school garden. Sunny Young.

Sunny Young developed a partnership with Dorothy Grady-Scarborough of Mississippians Engaged in Greener Agriculture (MEGA). Together they recently received a large, three- year grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to lead the National Farm to School Network (NFSN) in the state of Mississippi. This grant recognizes the strong grassroots work and interest for farm-to-school programs in the state, and tackles the challenges of limited infrastructure and funding that kept it from expanding steadily.

The goal of NFSN is to increase the participation of school districts in the state by 30 percent in the next three years. Sunny and Dorothy’s priorities include engaging over 500 members and organizations across the state to develop and strengthen the farm to school network in the state, as well as building awareness about these efforts with parents, students, and administrators state-wide. They will also establish a Mississippi farm to school website with information and resources for schools and the community to engage with local food.

[i] “TEDxManhattan Heroes: Sunny Young.” Gracelinks.org. GRACE Communications Foundation, 12 Feb. 2014. Web. 4 Sept. 2015. <http://www.gracelinks.org/blog/3681/tedxmanhattan-heroes-sunny-young&gt;.

Ligia V. Henríquez is a contributing writer for Change Food. She holds an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University, and is interested in the nexus between food, the environment, and health.

Change Food is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect and transform the food we eat, the people who produce it, and the world in which it is grown. To read and learn more, visit The Guide to Good Food blog.