Archive by Author | oktable

Please support the Walk for Good Food! 

Mar16
3 15 post

#Walk4GoodFood

As food pantries across the nation begin to look at root causes of hunger and under-nutrition, they are beginning to address the injustices in the food system that make food charity a necessity. Access of West Michigan has been on the leading edge of this movement, as is reflected in the new name they’ve given their annual fund-raising walk, The Walk for Good Food.

Please support the Walk for Good Food! The Southeast Area Farmers’ Market is one of the recipients of Walk funds — and OKT manages the market! Open from the first Saturday in July to the second Saturday in November at Grand Rapids’ Martin Luther King Jr. Park, our market ‘s vendors are primarily women of color from Grand Rapids’ Southeast neighborhoods. Most of our sales are completed with food assistance dollars. Because the market takes part in the Double Up Food Bucks program,  our patrons using SNAP benefits can purchase twice as much fresh, local produce. This means that our neighbors with income challenges can feed their households even more nutritious food –even though they live in neighborhoods that otherwise have very limited access to healthy foods.

When you support the walk you support the market. Sign up today to join the OKT walk team or pledge your support through an online donation. OKT also seeks corporate donors to be our sponsors for the event. Download the corporate sponsor packet here.

Oakdale Community Garden seeking garden stewards

Mar7

oakOakdale Gardens Park, corner of Evergreen St SE and Marshall Ave SE, near River City Scholars Charter Academy, reserves some beds as sharing gardens that anyone may harvest from. They are looking for one or more people who’d like to take charge of the herb bed and flower bed.

While both beds have a mix of perennials and self-seeding annuals,  the new stewards would be free to redesign the plantings and add signage.

Priorities are to grow herbs that people can use for cooking, tea, or medicinally, and flowers that people can use for cut flowers or flower crafts. The stewards can work in the beds whenever their schedules permit Oakdale Gardens Park during, and may enjoy joining one of the posted weekly gathering times. For information, email info@oakdaleneighbors.org and joan@hhcreatives.com.

OKT tabling at Women & the Environment Service Fair

Feb22

Artboard-Copy-3-845x321The Women and the Environment  Service Fair hosts dozens of non-profits at Linc Up, 1167 Madison Ave. SE, Saturday Feb. 24 from 10 a.m. to  1 p.m.  Community organizations, including OKT,  will be looking for people like you to step up and volunteer to protect our community.

The 7th Annual Women and the Environment Symposium will be spread across the community from February 19th through February 27th. Events will highlight various aspects of how women advocate for themselves, for others, and for the environment. The event will culminate with our keynote speaker and awards reception on February 27th.

This year’s multi-day symposium will deliver inspiring social and learning opportunities throughout Grand Rapids, raise awareness towards actionable environmental issues in the community, bring together a wide-ranging network of women, as well as provide connections and resources for civic engagement. Hundreds of women and men participate annually.

The Women and Environment Symposium will include:

  • A networking night
  • An advocacy workshop with skills development
  • A community organization service fair featuring local nonprofits
  • An environmental justice film with a panel discussion
  • Culminating with a keynote lecture and reception with Peggy Shepard, co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, at Grand Valley State University Charles W. Loosemore Auditorium

SPLC reports rise in hate groups for third year in a row

Feb21

unnamedThe Southern Poverty Law Center  yearly report on the state of extremism in America has found that the number of hate groups grew for a third straight year in 2017.  SPLC believes that white supremacists were energized by the Trump presidency and black nationalist groups rose in response.

SPLC has identified 954 hate groups — a 4 percent increase.You can find out where these hate groups are on their Hate Map.

According to the SPLC, the radical right started 2017 on a roll, with allies in the White House. But then came Charlottesville, and white supremacists faced a backlash. Still, they report that Trump’s rhetoric and the country’s changing demographics continue to energize them.

Here are the highlights:

  • For the first time since 2009, hate groups were found in all 50 states.
  • Neo-Nazi groups were up 22 percent, from 99 to 121.
  • Anti-Muslim groups rose for a third straight year. After tripling in 2016, they added 13 more chapters last year and now have 114.
  • Black nationalist groups expanded from 193 to 233 chapters in reaction to Trump and the rising white supremacist movement.

You can read the full report here.

Partners for a Racism-Free Community announces 2018 conference

Feb13

unnamed (3).pngPartners for a Racism-Free Community hosts its 2018 conference, Standing at the Intersection, noon to 6 p.m. March 5 at DeVos Place. The conference will focus on intersectionality and how racial bias often intersects with other aspects of an individual’s identity that can be marginalized- such as gender, sexuality, ability, religion and so forth- even within spaces they identify with.

Intersectionality is a term coined by scholar Kimberle Crenshaw as a way to help explain the oppression of African-American women. FORUM 2018 will aim to center the voices of intersectionality and will feature organizers, educators, and leaders from within the Grand Rapids community.

unnamed (4)Keynote speaker, Charlene Carruthers, is a young social justice activist from Chicago who focuses on Intersectionality. Ms. Carruthers’ career in justice advocacy spans over ten years, working with some high-profile activist organizations including Color of Change and Women’s Media Center. She was an integral member in the creation of the Black Youth Project 100, and has served as National Director or National Coordinator since the organization’s founding in 2013.

Tickets available now! Take advantage of the Early Bird Special by purchasing your tickets before February 15th. Group Pricing is available for groups of 5 and 10. Student Pricing is available at a discounted rate.

Purchase Early Bird tickets      Visit Facebook Event page

Visit the OKT table at Entrepreneurial Gold

Feb6

PromoCard_FebFinalFb (2)Start your Black History Month of right by attending Entrepreneurial Gold this Thursday, Feb. 8 from 6 – 8:30. Th event features two powerful speakers, both of whom are the first African American presidents of their organizations.

  • Mr. Bill Manns is the President of Mercy Health Saint Marys.
  • Dr. Bill Pink is the President of Grand Rapids Community College.

The evening includes a drawing for two tickets to the premier of Black Panther, music by Nu Soul and DJ Monk Mattheaus. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with the GR Urban League, NAACP, Our Kitchen Table, Grand Rapids Hip Hop Coalition, and more! Join us at Brush Studio, 50 Louis NW for a power discussion and community collaboration.

“Hunger Walk” now the “Walk for Good Food”

Feb2

#Walk4GoodFoodokt web logo

Save the date!
Access Walk for Good Food
Sunday May 6, 2018
Join the OKT Walk Team today!

Access of West Michigan has again designated Our Kitchen Table to receive funds from its annual Access Walk for Good Food! OKT is thrilled that these funds will again be available to help fund our management of the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market. The Walk prioritizes organizations seeking to transition from typical charitable models into models upholding community organized and equity-focused efforts, health and nutrition standards and overall movement toward food sovereignty.

Formerly the Access Hunger Walk, the Walk for Good Food changed its name because “hunger” can be hard to define and even harder to solve. While feeding people to address hunger is important, the goal of the Walk has been to fund organizations that are addressing root causes of food insecurity and poverty. The name change more accurately reflects the mission of the organizations that receive funding from the Walk as we together seek to cultivate a Good Food System, namely, a system in which food that is healthy (provides nourishment and enables people to thrive), fair (no one along the production line was exploited during its creation), affordable (all people have access to it), and green (produced in a manner that is environmentally sustainable) is available to all.

OKT is more than a recipient of funds from the Walk. Our staff and supporters play a number of vital roles in making the Walk a success. We attend monthly planning meetings, help recruit walkers and donors from Grand Rapids area congregations and businesses, publicize the event via our website, social media and e-newsletters, and recruit walkers and volunteers for the event.

 

A whole lot of whole foods

Jan22
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Baxter Community Center Marketplace

Our Kitchen Table’s Collective Whole Foods Purchase Group added a new member about a year ago. Baxter Community Center began ordering whole foods for its pantry program in 2016, when OKT leveraged grant dollars to create the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market “Market Bucks” program. Run in partnership with the Urban Core Collective, most Market Bucks end up in the hands of income-challenged individuals seeking to access healthier foods for their families. These individuals, for the most part, have spent their Market Bucks on locally grown fruits and vending vegetables offered by neighborhood growers vending produce at the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market.

 

However, Baxter Community Center is also a Market Bucks recipient. They’ve been using them to purchase whole foods for their pantry patrons. Their last order included quick rolled oats, pinto and black turtle beans, black-eyed peas, organic pasta Market Bucksand yellow grits. These staple, whole food items not only offer excellent nutrition but also encourage patrons to cook healthier, affordable meals from scratch at home.

Thank you, Baxter Community Center, for being a vital part of OKT’s Collective Whole Foods Purchase Group!

If you are interested in purchasing Country Life Natural Foods bulk whole foods with OKT, email media@OKTjustice.org for information. Southeast Area Farmers’ Market patrons can also place orders at the market during the growing season, June through November. No fees! No mark-ups! EBT accepted. View the catalog here.