Event: Food Justice Summit, Street Fair, Walk-a-thon, and more

This Saturday, September 22 is the Food Justice Summit, an amazing collection of events to promote regional food sustainability at 201 Hancock Street (formerly P&C). Music, speakers, workshops, a street fair, walk-a-thon, junior Iron Chef competition, and, of course, lots of food will highlight what's happening in the local food justice community. Here's the complete schedule of events.

What exactly is food justice? A fair and just food system is one that promotes health, equity, and community control of essential resources, according to Greenstar Community Projects, the main sponsor and organizer of the event.

Here's another definition, from Just Food: "Food Justice is communities exercising their right to grow, sell and eat healthy food. Healthy food is fresh, nutritious, affordable, culturally-appropriate and grown locally with care for the well-being of the land, workers and animals. People practicing food justice leads to a strong local food system, self-reliant communities and a healthy environment."

Recently I revisited an article I wrote about food scarcity in our region of plenty for edible Finger Lakes, and I thought it was worth mentioning in light of the Summit this weekend:

"The Finger Lakes region produces an amazing array and quantity of food on more than 2 million acres of farmland. Common staples, cutting-edge varietals and rediscovered heirlooms sprout from the landscape. With so much abundant fresh local produce, some might assume that we all enjoy full bellies and excellent health.

"But that’s not necessarily the case. How healthy food gets from the field to the table—or doesn’t—is a complicated issue. Our agricultural bounty is just one piece of the puzzle.

"What is a healthy diet? Do we have an accessible supply of healthy foods here? Can we afford those foods? Do we buy them?" read more