Real Food Summit 2007

Read the Real Food Declaration

“Change is possible. As a group with a common vision, we can make anything work,” said one participant at the Real Food Summit in the Northeast, which took place at Yale University, November 3-4, 2007.

At the Summit, a collaboration of The Food Project in Boston, the Yale Sustainable Food Project, and the Brown Sustainable Food Initiative, over 150 students from 47 colleges and universities throughout the Northeast gathered to discuss “real food” – food that truly nourishes people, communities, and the earth. Joined by faculty, administrators, non-profit leaders, activists, and professionals, students set their sights on a future when campuses embrace the principles of just and sustainable food in their dining halls and in their classrooms.

The event was part of the Real Food Challenge, a new national campaign initiated by The Food Project, CSSC, and their parters, whose goal is to transform college and university food systems. As part of that effort, the Summit aimed to provide students with concrete strategies on how to incorporate sustainable practices at their school and create a network for them to share resources, knowledge, and support. It was an opportunity for students to raise their voices, get their questions answered, and create effective plans for implementing positive change.

Through a series of breakout sessions and a panel on institutional dining, students learned about a range of topics including fair trade, slow food, college gardens, and farm worker’s rights. Special emphasis was placed on strategies to increase procurement of local, sustainable food in university dining services. Keynote speeches from young leaders in the field, including Josh Viertel of the Yale Sustainable Food Initiative, Anim Steel of The Food Project, and Gerardo Reyes-Chavez of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, inspired students to continue and expand the great work they are doing at their schools.

A major output of the Summit was the Real Food Declaration – a document outlining student principles and values regarding just and sustainable practices on their campus. It will be a useful tool for students to present their vision to administrators and raise support to bring more students into the movement. There are also plans to continue organizing at the sub-regional level in the northeast; during the state meetings, post-Summit events were discussed to further collaboration between schools.

From the rhythms in the opening plenary to the buzz in the hallways, the incredible energy of the summit was contagious. It was clear students are passionate about these issues and ready to tackle the challenges they face on their campus. As one student wrote, “The push for real food is bigger than I thought. Not only can we rework the systems, but I feel that we will after this summit.”

Executive Committee
Marissa Grossman, The Food Project
Laura Hess, Yale Sustainable Food Project
David Schwartz, Brown Sustainable Food Initiative

Planning Committee
Katy Anderson, Princeton University
Siv Lie, Boston University
Sarah Lydia Lince, Mount Holyoke College
Sam Lipschultz, Sarah Lawrence College
Annie Myers, New York University