West Coast

Welcome to the RFC West Coast!

This region includes California and Hawaii.

West Coast Leadership Training a success! Check it out.


REGIONAL COORDINATOR
Kelsey Meagher, UC Irvine
westcoast@realfoodchallenge.org

Check out the CSSC's Food Systems Initiative

EVENTS

RFC at Bioneers!
The Real Food Challenge, in cooperation with the Bioneers Youth Initiative and Just Us for Food Justice, will be leading a food and farming focus track for young people at the 2009 Bioneers Conference. This is going to be an awesome opportunity for Real Food representatives to work and network with other young leaders in the food justice and sustainability movement from around the country. The program will take place from October 15th through the 19th. For more information regarding the Bioneers Conference and the Youth Program go to the Bioneers website (http://www.bioneers.org/).

Partial scholarships and free housing are available for all who attend this event- however, space is limited to 10 people! You’ll only have to pay $65 for registration plus travel to the event!

If you are interested in being part of the Real Food team at this conference, fill out the application at this link: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDJsSlJyQWRKZXRKVTVZUjJQMEVLX3c6MA

If you have any further questions please email Anand Parikshak (pariksha@reed.edu) or Alli Reed (alli.a.reed@gmail.com) and they'll get back to you asap!


Real Food West Coast Training
August 13-17, 2009
Santa Cruz, CA

This summer, the Real Food Challenge will convene a cadre of student leaders in California who are ready to revolutionize their campus food systems.  Students will come together to enhance their leadership skills, make new friends and allies, help build the national student movement for real food. We are looking for 2-3 student leaders per campus to join us in Santa Cruz, CA from Thursday, August 13th to Monday, August 17th. This 5-day training will cost only $10-35 on a sliding scale per attendee, covering the cost of food, materials, training facilitation, facilities, etc. Scholarships are available upon request.

The deadline to complete this application is July 15, 2009. We will announce the accepted applicants on July 22, 2009. Students from outside of California will also be considered.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Fortino Morales at fortinomorales@gmail.com.

2nd Annual Strengthening the Roots Super Convergence
Date: Friday Feb 13th at 6:00pm to Sunday Feb 15th at 11 am
Location: UC Santa Cruz

The Strengthening the Roots: Food, Justice, & Fair Trade Convergence will be held in Santa Cruz, CA from February 13th to the 15th. The convergence is organized by the California Student Sustainability Coalition’s Foods Initiative/West Coast Real Food Challenge, United Students for Fair Trade, & the Community Agroecology Network. This regional gathering of students, allies, and other key members of the Fair Trade & Sustainable Food Movement will build upon past accomplishments and serve as a catalyst for regional integration and leadership development. In addition to strengthening the roots of the movement through content explored, the convergence will broaden the leadership community by actively engaging new high school and middle school youth and deepening the commitment of our college level affiliates.
 
Students will gain skills to act for greater social, environmental, and economic justice in their local communities & institutions, learn from successful models and case studies, build lasting relationships toward future collaborations, and return home with an enriched skill set to foster problem-solving and change-based solutions.
 
Outcomes of Attendance:

  • Develop and strengthen inter-school connections and collaboration in order to deepen and expand the Sustainable Food & Fair Trade movement
  • Increase the number of skilled, knowledgeable and confident youth leaders throughout the Western United States.
  • Integrate Fair Trade & Sustainable Food based initiatives in an effort to foster new partnerships toward creating more just and sustainable communities and institutions.
  • Forming relationships, lighting fires, and having fun!

The Convergence will provide an opportunity for students and allies to build relationships with each other and with those within the Fair Trade & Sustainable Food movements whose ideals and goals are similar. It can revitalize and motivate, which is necessary to cultivate healthy and happy activists. Students will leave the Convergence with a greater sense of solidarity and with a deeper com mitment to the movement. USFT & CSSC will share their creativity and experience to provide the resources necessary for action in local communities and around the world.

The Convergence will be the largest regional meeting exclusively dedicated to students and young leaders working on Fair Trade and Sustainable Food.  The convergence will be a rallying point that will inspire continued engagement throughout the 2008-2009 school year!

We are looking for interested students and youth to submit workshops, offer musical and artistic gifts to share with attendees, and much more!

Contact Tim at westcoast@realfoodchallenge.org for more details!