October 24, 2011, is Food Day! The goal of Food Day, according to organizers, is to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way.
Notice anything missing there in that description? How about the people who produce our food—THE FARMERS?
That’s why Farm Aid’s getting on board! One, we never miss a party; and two, if we want to make positive change in our food system, it’s got to come from farmers and eaters working together.
Food Day is modeled after Earth Day and is intended to generate recognition of the challenges we face in changing the way we think about, produce, and consume food in America.
The ultimate goal of Food Day is to start a movement to “Eat Real” in communities across the country.
What does it mean to “Eat Real?” Food Day is about fighting for sustainable, humane, healthy, accessible and safe food. Specifically, Food Day is aimed at:
- Promoting safe, healthy foods to reduce obesity and diet-related diseases
- Supporting sustainable, family farms
- Expanding access to food and alleviating hunger
- Protecting the environment and animals by reforming factory farming methods
- Promoting children’s health by reducing junk food marketing aimed at kids
- Supporting fair conditions for all food and farm workers
Food Day is all about people power—people coming together for events in their communities all over the world. You can check here to see what’s going on in your neighborhood.
If you’re a farmer, we’d like to encourage you to host an event on your farm. Invite folks to come and learn about the roots of their food!
If you’re not a farmer, we encourage you to organize a potluck or an apple picking party! Or go to a farmers market, go to a farm, meet a farmer… Do something to connect with a farmer… because good food starts with farmers! Check out HOMEGROWN.org for great ideas to help you celebrate good food, from canning and making pear butter to building your own chicken coop!
Let us know what you’re going to do on Food Day to celebrate the source of our food: family farmers!
