Love that you're doing programs on home cooking and regional food systems resilience! I got a lot of pushback on home cooking from food security activists 10 or so years ago--along the lines of the book Pressure Cooker--which of course makes sense that if you have no kitchen you can't cook! We used to talk about having community kitchens all over, such as in elementary schools with kitchen facilities, libraries, community centers, etc., where communal cooking could happen.
I'm still working on local resilience. It's a hard sell. There's theoretical interest, but the pressing food insecurity seems to keep people and local gov't from funding real structural change and support for small farmers, at least where I am. Plus, U.S. property rights system keeps aspiring small table crop farmers from getting onto farmland either as owners or with decent rental terms.
Thanks for reminding me about Pressure Cooker. I’ve never been a fan of a lot of arguments re: food systems that act like these problems are insurmountable. They’re not! The panel at NYPL is more about rejecting food tech’s narrative around the future of food.
For the Farm to People event, I’ll be talking about efforts in NYS to strengthen resiliency and tackle food insecurity, and of course Puerto Rico’s issues and non-governmental work to strengthen the local food system. It’s really strong agenda in my home state, which I hope can provide good examples and motivation, and in Puerto Rico, we see the significance of interdependence and people power.
Wish I could attend! I think we can both address immediate needs and structural change, and you’re right about people power. I just wish there was more money to support the structural change.
Love that you're doing programs on home cooking and regional food systems resilience! I got a lot of pushback on home cooking from food security activists 10 or so years ago--along the lines of the book Pressure Cooker--which of course makes sense that if you have no kitchen you can't cook! We used to talk about having community kitchens all over, such as in elementary schools with kitchen facilities, libraries, community centers, etc., where communal cooking could happen.
I'm still working on local resilience. It's a hard sell. There's theoretical interest, but the pressing food insecurity seems to keep people and local gov't from funding real structural change and support for small farmers, at least where I am. Plus, U.S. property rights system keeps aspiring small table crop farmers from getting onto farmland either as owners or with decent rental terms.
Thanks for reminding me about Pressure Cooker. I’ve never been a fan of a lot of arguments re: food systems that act like these problems are insurmountable. They’re not! The panel at NYPL is more about rejecting food tech’s narrative around the future of food.
For the Farm to People event, I’ll be talking about efforts in NYS to strengthen resiliency and tackle food insecurity, and of course Puerto Rico’s issues and non-governmental work to strengthen the local food system. It’s really strong agenda in my home state, which I hope can provide good examples and motivation, and in Puerto Rico, we see the significance of interdependence and people power.
Wish I could attend! I think we can both address immediate needs and structural change, and you’re right about people power. I just wish there was more money to support the structural change.
I also have the luck as a food writer to mostly talk about aesthetics, lol — we need good fresh food because it tastes better etc.