Wesleyan’s Bailey College of the Environment and Cultivating Justice co-hosted the Connecticut Food Justice Gathering at Wesleyan on April 29, 2023. The gathering was a chance for knowledge exchange, to build power across intersectional issues, and for the Wesleyan community to learn more about the food justice movement in Connecticut. On the Bailey COE side, the event was organized by Malana Rogers-Bursen, project coordinator for food security, environmental justice, and sustainability.
The daylong event attended by local organizations, Middletown residents, Connecticut high school students, and members of the Wesleyan community, included a panel discussion with representatives from Fresh New London, Connecticut Black and Brown Student Union (BBSU), Husky for Immigrants, School Meals for All — Middletown, and the Katal Center. Attendees also had the opportunity to attend one of several small-group workshops offered: The Connecticut Food System Alliance lead Collective Values for an Equitable CT Food System, exploring how our values show up (or don’t) in our food system; the Katal Center lead Building Leadership and Organizing Capacity (BLOC) Training – Methods of Social Change, focusing on the many methods used to address community, social, and political problems and advance meaningful change; and the Semilla Collective lead Food Justice: Native Corn and Food Sovereignty, exploring the importance of native corn and its relationship with indigenous food sovereignty.
Check out a slideshow of photos from the event, below:
