Check out this food system news from around our region:
Join the Global Climate Strike RI
September 20, 10am–3pm
Climate Action RI (CARI) is coordinating the RI #GlobalClimateStrike on Friday, September 20th from 10 am to 3 pm at Burnside Park in Providence. The RI #GlobalClimateStrike is an invitation to all Rhode Islanders to rise to the occasion of our time and participate in solutions from wherever they are at. The program for the day is still being finalized around the central theme of building a deeper movement by inspiring everyone to start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can. As we know, the climate crisis is unlike any other issue that humanity has been faced with. It touches everything. While we may not have all the questions answered, we must move forward now and advance the available solutions.
At the strike, we will be breaking out into groups for discussions and making new connections. We will discuss prompts about the climate crisis that will help us develop tools for communicating not just what we know intellectually, but what we’re experiencing emotionally as the stakes rise with the seas. There will be singing, dancing, sharing, and learning. We hope to create an uplifting space for young people to engage with climate leaders and with each other, so they feel ready to take action with the conviction that we don’t just have everything to lose, but everything to gain by coming together.
The Steel Yard Reopens for Another 100 Years of the Industrial Arts
September 17, 2019 – On Tuesday, September 17th, the Steel Yard welcomed the community back into their renovated and upgraded industrial arts studio. The 12,000 square foot historic building is now open year round, heated, ventilated, restored and more accessible. Located in the Valley neighborhood of Providence, the century-old facility operated as Providence Steel and Iron until its founding as the Steel Yard in 2002. The non-profit’s professional workspace enables community access to equipment for welding, blacksmithing, jewelry, ceramics, woodworking and the foundry arts.
In 2016, the Steel Yard received their first Cultural Facilities grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. This funding essentially kicked-off the ensuing capital campaign that has resulted in today’s restored, renovated and accessible studio. Randall Rosenbaum, Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, said, “RISCA is honored to support The Steel Yard, and particularly its Studio Restoration project. In 2014, when the people of Rhode Island overwhelmingly supported a bond initiative for cultural capital improvements, this was what they envisioned. An exemplary cultural organization – The Steel Yard – investing in capital improvements to their studios to make them work better and more efficiently. Today we see the future of The Steel Yard reflected in this project, and wish them every success.”
Campus Farmer Summit — Save the Date & Submit a Session Proposal
Join farm managers, students, food service industry professionals, activists, and educators on Saturday, February 22nd at Stonehill College in Easton, MA at the 2020 New England Campus Farmer Summit to explore the role of campus farms on campus, within our communities, and in building a better food system.
Campus farms, gardens, and other growing spaces serve at the intersection of food justice, environmental sustainability, food access, and wellness. A campus farm can feed the student body and broader community and enriches academic and social life. Just as the farm provides nourishment through programs and produce, so does a campus farm require nourishment in the form of funding, partnerships, and stakeholders.
21 Projects Democratizing Data for Farmers, from foodtank
On fields across the world, phones, tablets, drones, and other technologies are changing how food is grown. Through these devices, artificial intelligence (AI)—technology able to perform tasks that require human intelligence—may help farmers use the techniques they already know and trust on a bigger scale. And Big Data—data sets that reveal telling patterns about growth, yield, weather, and more—may help farmers make better decisions before crises strike.
According to the report Refresh: Food + Tech, From Soil to Supper released in 2018, AI and Big Data may help produce more food, use less water, limit resource consumption, redirect food waste, and lower food prices—all while improving the lives and incomes of farmers and food producers. “Recent advances have the potential for big breakthroughs in the ways we grow, store, transport, distribute, and consume food,” says the Refresh Report. “From production to consumption, this digital transformation, in tandem with new ecological services, will prove critical to reducing greenhouse gasses, addressing the multiple causes of food insecurity, and feeding the planet in the 21st century.”
The Rhode Island Food Policy Council is currently accepting applications for new members until October 5, 2019.
We invite individuals with expertise in policy, research, communications, food justice, food access, food equity, as well as capital access and institutional food markets to apply.
We look for representation from all links in the marketing chain, from farmers and fishermen, to food processors, restaurants, and institutional markets, as well as those that focus on food waste and wasted food.
The makeup of the Council does not currently match the diversity present in Rhode Island. We seek to improve on this thoughtfully and intentionally. We recognize the value of diversity in backgrounds and experience, and the importance of raising up voices that have historically been marginalized, as we all work together to a stronger and more resilient Rhode Island food system.
Harvesting Hope
October 3, 6:00–8:30pm
Have you bought your tickets yet?
Please join Southside Community Land Trust for an evening to support healthy food access in Rhode Island. Fantastic food and drink, delightful company and a gorgeous setting: what more could you ask for in a night out?
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