What Does a Just Local Food System Look Like? Views from Worcester in a Changing Climate

Food and climate are closely intertwined, with the high-emissions U.S. industrial food system contributing to climate change, while a changing climate produces new food system vulnerabilities, which will particularly impact those of the least means. This research is premised on the need to transform our food system, and to define what this vision looks like at the local level, while centering questions of power, justice and rights. It explores how groups, organizations and individuals engaged in local food system change envision transformation and understand corresponding social justice concerns, in a changing climate. It looks at opportunities for food and climate work to intersect, and perceptions of a Green New Deal vision. Using a case study, I explore this topic through the perspectives of food system stakeholders in one small New England city, Worcester, Massachusetts. The findings indicate that visions for a just food system and pathways for change interact with broader ideas about the influence of extractive capitalism, neoliberalism, and structures of oppression. Those who centered broader social and economic transformation in their food vision tended to talk about food, climate and social justice as an integrated whole and to highlight the role of social movements. I found commonalities in ideas for the landscape of change, belief in knowledge-sharing and collaboration, and desire for municipal prioritization of local food. Recommendations include strengthening spaces to develop a more reflexive food justice approach, building collaborations that bridge food and climate, and heightening the municipal commitment toward a just, thriving local food system

Next Steps from a School Gardening Partnership Conference (AGES: Academic Gardening to Enrich our Students): Expanding the Impact of School Gardens Through Higher Education, K-12 School and Community Coalitions

Research suggests that there are many benefits of school gardens for students, teachers and community. Not only can they help children eat more fruits and vegetables and be more physically active, they can help to create learning opportunities and increase teacher satisfaction. In Worcester, Massachusetts, a city with high poverty and food insecurity rates, a broad community coalition formed to brainstorm novel implementation models to improve the use and sustainability of school gardens. The group decided to foster new collaborations among higher education, K-12 schools and community organizations. The innovative idea was that higher education could meet their need for real-world application of various curricula, such as education, business, urban agriculture, marketing, horticulture, sustainable development, and engineering, through the implementation of school gardens. The resulting conference called AGES (Academic Gardening to Enrich our Students) united school teachers, professors, administration and community partners. The sessions featured information on: 1) successful models of higher education-K12 school garden partnerships, 2) building school gardening into the curriculum (psychosocial skills, STEM, environmental sciences, project-based learning, nutrition, healthy lifestyles), 3) research evidence on the benefits of school gardens, 4) strategies for building community through gardening, and 5) garden planning and maintenance. US Representative Jim McGovern was the keynote speaker, highlighting the importance of this collaborative work