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SAVE THE DATE!  The Real Food Summits are Coming!

This February and March, the Real Food Challenge is gonna be blowin' up once again! At any of FOUR regional summits and THREE leadership trainings, you'll get the opportunity to connect with other student and community food activists, explore new tools and resources for campus food change, and lay out BIG action plans for the future of food on your campus and in your region--all in one weekend! These gatherings are being created BY young people, FOR young people, so be sure to mark your calendars and dive right in!

California
Strengthening the Roots: Food and Justice Convergence
Place: UC Santa Cruz
Date: February 12-14

Northwest
Northwest Real Food Convergence: Cross-Pollinating Ideas & Action
Place: Univ. of Montana - Missoula
Date: February 12-14

Southeast
Southeast Youth Food Activist Summit 2010
Place: UNC - Chapel Hill
Date: February 5-7

Midwest
Midwest Real Food Summit
Place: Macalester College
Date: March 5-7

Northeast
Northeast Real Food Leadership Training
Places: Vermont (Univ. of Vermont), Boston (Boston College), New York (City College of New York)
Dates: February 12-14 (Vermont), February 19-21 (Boston), February 26-28 (New York)

Students from all regions welcome. And Northeasterners: don't fret. You'll get your big summit in fall 2010!

Click here for more information.  And don't forget to tell us what YOU want to do at these gatherings by taking our poll!

To learn more about ways to get involved with the planning process, contact your Regional Field Organizer.  Help us make these summits the most fun and galvanizing events of the year!

On Saturday, October 24, students and activists around the country took part in 350.org's international day of climate action, the largest day of international political action ever.  They rallied their peers to come together and send a message to policymakers that we need aggressive climate policy now. 

People from 181 countries took photos of their event, which will be delivered to decision-makers at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in December.  We are calling for policy that limits atmospheric carbon to 350 parts per million (ppm), its highest sustainable concentration.  We're currently at about 390 ppm, so reaching this goal will require sustained action from all of us AND meaningful policy from world leaders.

At left: Students at Southern Oregon University rally for 350.org.

By divesting $1 billion from unsustainable and greenhouse gas-intensive agricultural practices and investing it in a real food economy, the Real Food Challenge is curbing climate change.  Our Regional Field Organizers took the charge to rally students and community members around the link between climate change and agriculture, which contributes about 1/3 of all greenhouse gases.  And their efforts paid off: in each of 5 regions throughout the country, students took part in 350.org actions.  Student leaders held picnics, rallied, coordinated flash mobs, and petitioned to make real change to our food system.  Read on for examples of these actions!

Get out your cameras, grab an apron, and start baking! 

The Real Food Challenge is teaming up with Slow Food to take part in 350.org's international day of action on October 24.  350.org is inviting people around the world to take action to curb climate change by submitting a photo petition to leaders before UN meetings in Copenhagen.  We're urging policymakers to recognize that levels of atmospheric carbon are dangerously high: life on Earth can be safely sustained at levels lower than 350 parts per million.  Right now, we're over 385.  We're telling leaders to set 350 ppm as the target for reducing atmospheric carbon.

The Real Food Challenge is participating in this historic day of action because curbing climate change requires international solidarity--we can't limit carbon emissions without a collective effort.  And we're highlighting that food is central to this: agriculture is a major contributor to climate change. 

To show support on your campus and demonstrate the link between climate change and agriculture, here's a suggested action that's fun AND edible:

RFC wrapped up its summer with the Northeast training in and around Boston, MA, from August 20 to 23.  The weekend was intense (literally in tents) with 25 leaders camping out on The Food Project's farm in Lincoln, MA.  Despite some rain and a few mosquitoes (maybe an understatement), the crew--which included students interested in social justice organizing, sustainable agriculture, and media and communications--kept their morale high for real food and real change through a series of workshops, delicious meals, and fun fireside activities.

The training's first workshop set the weekend's tone when students created symbols of a problem with the food system that resonated with them most strongly.  Discussion ensued about the importance of symbols in food activism and how we can use the RFC's Real Food Wheel as a way to conceptualize the food system.  Students then tossed around a ball of yarn to illustrate the common threads that tie food activists together, creating an intricate web of problems with the food system that could be untangled only through multifaceted solutions. 

In the photo: Students passed around a ball of yarn while discussing the Real Food Wheel.

The workshops that followed helped the group come up with such solutions.  Through workshops like media and messaging, meeting facilitation and leadership, and overcoming oppression, the group generated ideas and actions to push for real food on their campuses.

Northwest
Katelyn Hale
Lewis & Clark, '09
Katelyn pioneered RFC on her campus in September 2008 by launching a student group that negotiated a contract between dining services and a local, organic- and union-certified farm.  Alongside her successes on campus, Katelyn served as a member of the 2009 Northwest Real Food Summit organizing team, where she applied her expertise in event planning and student engagement toward an outstanding conference.  Katelyn is ready to hit the ground running this fall.

Lyra Leigh-Nedbor
Montana State University, G '11
After serving as Montana State's Farm to College Coordinator, Lyra joins the RFO team with experience in campus food administration.  As an undergraduate at Green Mountain College, Lyra was active in promoting and coordinating her campus farm.  As an RFO, Lyra will combine her experience and interest in farm-to-college programs with student organizing to push for drastic change in institutional purchasing.

California
Kelsey Meagher
UC Irvine, '10
Kelsey continues to make awesome progress toward real food on campus at UC Irvine.  Among many other successes, Kelsey helped pilot the Real Food Calculator on her campus after securing a grant from the university for her research into real food.  She also played a central role in organizing the 2009 West Coast Real Food Training.  Her expertise in real food research, planning, outreach, and activism is a key asset for the RFO team. 

Midwest
Sally Goodman
University of Minnesota, '09
Sally comes to the RFO team with a strong background in policy research and advocacy.  After spending two years working with Food and Water Watch, Sally developed considerable skills in research and campaign organizing.  Coupled with her passion for real food, Sally's experience makes her an ideal leader among student activists. 

Allison Stewart
Macalester, '11
Passionate about food activism since high school, Allison is active in Macalester's student garden and organizing around sustainable agriculture.  Allison's background with student sustainability efforts and negotiating with university administrators makes her poised to take on and lead the RFC charge in the Midwest. 

Northeast
Shannon Ayala
City College New York, '10
Seeking to "transcend the bulletin board" through effective student engagement, Shannon is eager to engage students in food activism in his region.  He brings an invaluable background in student organizing to the team: from lobbying and rallying to dropping in to classrooms for presentations, Shannon knows how to reach students with his message.  With a background in environmental justice activism and campus greening, Shannon will help drive the challenge in the Northeast this fall.

Southeast
Jordan Treakle
UNC Chapel Hill, '10
As co-founder of FLO (Fair, Local, Organic) Food on his campus, Jordan is highly involved with campus activism around food.  Alongside the everyday demands of leading a student activist organization--from organizing to fundraising to networking--Jordan brings extensive knowledge of southeastern agriculture and food activism to our team.  His past experience with RFC includes planning summits, working with administrators and corporate contacts, and student outreach.  Like the other RFOs, Jordan is a great asset to the RFC team!
 
We are still looking for more RFOs for the Southeast, Northeast, and California regions.  Interested in taking the Challenge beyond your campus?  Want to join this awesome RFO team?  Contact Devon (dahearn@thefoodproject.org) for more information. 

While school may be out for the summer, the Real Food Challenge hasn't taken a break.  We're gearing up for an intense fall campaign.  We're offering trainings across the country where students can make connections to strengthen the campaign.  We're working with other leaders in the food movement for meaningful change.

In June, the Real Food Challenge joined a litany of individuals and organizations leading the charge for real food by signing a letter that calls on Chipotle to reverse gross injustices suffered by farmworkers in the tomato fields of Immokalee, FL.  Check out the letter here.  Chipotle's refusal to improve farmworkers' working conditions and wages is the focus of a campaign promoted largely by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Student Farmworker Alliance.  The campaign has gained widespread attention over the past month after it targeted Chipotle's unsubstantiated claim to support "food with integrity" and the company's hypocritical sponsorship of Food, Inc. screenings.  More on fair food, Chipotle, and Food, Inc.  

CALLING ALL REAL FOOD STUDENT LEADERS!

The Real Food Challenge is seeking up to 10 committed and enthusiastic student leaders and campus organizers for a position as a Real Food Challenge Regional Field Organizer.  Student leaders ready to expand their skill base and take on a new leadership role in the growing Real Food Movement are encouraged to apply. 

Through this opportunity, Field Organizers will have the chance to:

• Connect with inspiring young leaders around the country
• Get an inside perspective on food justice and sustainable agriculture work being done in the nation
• Provide the energy needed to kick the student food movement into overdrive.

The Regional Field Organizers will play a critical role in the Real Food Challenge campaign by providing direct support to student organizing effort, extending the network to additional campuses, and planning regional events. The organizers will help to shape the Challenge in its second full year of operation. We are looking for organizers in the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Northwest, and California.

For a complete job description and TO APPLY, see http://realfoodchallenge.org/get-involved/jointeam.

Deadline for applications = July 1.

The Real Food Challenge has the opportunity to win $10,000!

Please take just 2 minutes to help raise funds to train a new generation of youth food leaders--this could be you! We've already made it to the finals and are only behind first place by 45 votes, so every vote counts. Now's our chance to win big.

Here's how:

1. go to www.ideablob.com and hit "log in" in the top right corner (it's hard to see, but it's up there)
2. create a username and password (no personal info necessary)
3. confirm your registration with the email they send you (don't worry, they won't spam you--I promise)
4. Go back to http://ideablob.com/ideas/4603-The-Real-Food-Challenge and VOTE FOR US!

So you're busy changing food policy and growing organic veggies in your garden (you know, the usual), and you think to yourself...this is awesome, and I want to do more. I want to help strategize for the future of this campaign, organize students nationally, and create tools for students to use on their campus.

Great. Join the RFC team.

We are looking for inspired, motivated, and imaginative individuals to help us shape the future of this campaign. Whether you are interested in the big-picture, movement-building potential, or getting down and dirty with the details, we want you.

Below are descriptions of the three types of positions:
1. Administrative Team
2. Steering Committee
3. Intern

A couple weeks ago America decided that yes, we can.
Now, students across the country have decided that yes, we can...change the food system.

This past month, thousands of students united for real food. They held eat-ins, farmers' markets, and round-table discussions; they filled administrators' offices with 'real food' and held rallies outside the offices of fast food giants.  Students broke ground on new gardens and real food cafes, all to generate support in their communities and educate their peers on the importance of real food.

There were over 200 events held across the country, and over 300 schools are now connected to the network! We have sent student and youth leaders across the country and internationally to build our networks and strengthen the roots...

...and we ain't done yet!