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Free “Food Justice Primer” class tonight & Tuesday morning

Mar23

Food Policy for Food Justice WOMEN OF COLOR online 2Food Justice Primer 

  • Monday March 23 or May 11, 6 to 8 p.m.
  • Tuesday March 24, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
    At Garfield Lodge, 334 Burton St. SE 49507 

Have you heard the term “food justice” and wondered just exactly what that meant? This two-hour introduction to the concept introduces you to the causes of food injustice, how the agri-business industry works against it and proposes actions we can take to make healthy food accessible to all.

Please join OKT food garden coaches, Camilla Voelker and Jeff Smith for this interesting conversation. Knowledge is power!

You might also want to check out OKT’s Food Justice Series. To date, OKT has created eight of these brief introductions to different food justice topics. You can view and download them here for free. And please, feel free to print and post wherever you think the message could be relevant.

Informative Kalamazoo event, “City Repair, Grassroots Place-Making and Urban Permaculture with Mark Lakeman”

Mar17

Free! March 27 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Mark works to educate and inspire communities and individuals to creatively transform the places where they live through: broad participation, local ownership, and transference of authority to local populations, creative expression in planned and unplanned processes, and social capital as the primary economic engine of change.

Trayvon Martin’s mom to speak at West Michigan colleges to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy

Jan14

fultonSybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, holds up a card with a photo of her son when she spoke at the National Urban League’s annual conference on July 26, 2013 in Philadelphia. Sybrina Fulton will speak at Grand Valley’s Fieldhouse Arena on January 19, the federal holiday commemorating the life of slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She will also speak that evening at Grand Rapids Community College, and on January 20 at Davenport University.Matt Rourke/ AP

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin – whose fatal shooting in 2012 sparked a nationwide debate and protests over racial profiling – will speak in January at programs celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids Community College and Davenport University.

Fulton has become an activist since her 17-year-old son’s shooting in Florida that provoked widespread discussion about “stand your ground” laws.

Martin was killed by an armed volunteer neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, who was later acquitted of second-degree murder charges. Fulton established the Trayvon Martin Foundation to raise awareness of how violent crime impacts families of victims, and to support and advocate for those families.

Fulton will speak first at Grand Valley’s Fieldhouse Arena at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 19, the federal holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader. She will join GRCC for its 29th year anniversary celebrating King’s life at 6:30 p.m. in the GRCC Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse, speaking on the theme “Empowering Our Youth.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, she will speak at 10 a.m. at Davenport University at the Sneden Center on the W.A. Lettinga Campus in Grand Rapids.

The colleges collaborate annually on the keynote speaker for the holiday. All King events on the campuses are free and open to the public.

Tracy Martin, left, and Sybrina Fulton, parents of slain teen Trayvon Martin, arrive in court for the first day of the trial of George Zimmerman, accused in the fatal shooting of their son. The photo was taken June 10, 2013 in Seminole Circuit Court in Sanford, Fla.Joe Burbank/ The Orlando Sentinel

Fulton earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Florida Memorial University and worked for the Miami-Dade County Housing Development Agency for more than two decades.

Grand Valley’s commemoration of King’s life and legacy will run January 19-24. A second speaker, Marc Lamont Hill, CNN contributor, author and activist, will speak at the Kirkhof Center on Wednesday, January 21. The time is still being determined. For more information about GVSU activities that week, visit the website.

Monica Scott is the Grand Rapids K-12 education writer. Email her atmscott2@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter @MScottGR or Facebook

Join OKT for session four of our Food Justice series this Saturday

Dec10

Screen Shot 2014-12-11 at 4.07.07 AMFood Justice Wk. 4: Practicing Food Justice
10 a.m. to noon, Saturday Dec. 13
Garfield Park Lodge, 334 Burton SE

Join us for session four of our Food Justice series this Saturday as we center the discussion around how we can collectively practice food justice. In the first three sessions we examined the unsustainable and exploitative nature of the current food system, but now we want to focus on how to respond.
The temptation is this consumer culture is to look for an easy and quick fix to problems. Despite the mantra to just buy local, we cannot simply buy our way out of this mess. We will look at how people have practiced food justice in the past as well as examples of how people are practicing it now, from across the country and around the world. More importantly, we will discuss ways to practice food justice right here in West Michigan.
In preparation, we encourage people to read our Food Justice handout series https://oktjustice.org/resources/hand-outs-and-zines/okt-food-justice-series/, but will provide additional resources at the class. Feel free to bring food to share during the discussion!

Join OKT for week 3 of free Food Justice class

Dec3
farm worker info graphicFood Politics and the Food Justice Movement: Moving Forward
Saturdays Dec. 6, 13 & 20
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Garfield Park Lodge
334 Burton St. SE
For week three of OKT’s Food Justice class, we will explore the exploitative nature of our current food system, both the exploitation of human labor and of animals. Workers in the food system are some of the most exploited in the country and most don’t even make minimum wage, since minimum wage laws don’t apply to most food workers. (See our food justice handout on food workers) In addition, we will be exploring the use and abuse of animals within the current food system.
Lastly, the OKT Food Justice class will begin discussion of how we can collectively practice food justice in West Michigan. We will look at some models from around the world and how OKT is trying to practice food justice right here in West Michigan.
The Food Justice class begins at 10am and is held at the Garfield Park Lodge, located at 334 Burton SE.

“Ferguson Decision Rally” 7 p.m. Tuesday at Rosa Parks Circle

Nov25

Black Lives Matter-Grand Rapids is hosting a rally tonight in solidarity with Mike Brown and Ferguson, MO. “Come out to Rosa Parks Circle tonight at 7pm. Show the world that Grand Rapids, MI is standing in solidarity with Ferguson and ALL victims of police and state violence. Bring your signs, chants, artwork, anger, disgust, and disappointment. Let us all show up tonight and stand together. Thank You.”

For information visit the Facebook Event page

OKT co-sponsored chestnut tree planting at Alexander Park

Nov24

alexanderOn Saturday Nov. 1, Our Kitchen Table’s urban forester, Laura Casaletto, joined a group of volunteers from Friends of Grand Rapids Parks in planting chestnut trees at Alexander Park. Laura shares, ” In a neglected and devalued street of Grand Rapids once thriving with it’s own grocery and large stately homes, Alexander Park took shape years ago when long term residents advocated to gain a public space cobbled together out of the abandoned properties. Now this peaceful play space has a mini orchard of fruit and nut trees. A dozen volunteers showed up to support the beginnings of a permaculture designed to benefit neighbors in years to come with little maintenance. Our Kitchen Table and Yesterdog worked together to feed the cold and hungry crew a good lunch afterwards and hear the latest news about edible chestnuts, urban foraging and sustainable living–and to make some new friends. Long live trees! Long live the feisty spirit of the Alexander residents!”

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The last slide shows  the one-year-old  fruit trees planted at Martin Luther King Park. Last year, they took  a heavy toll of vandalism damage. This year, a beautiful dedication sign was installed and  made all the difference.