People’s Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture to be held in Louisville

Deadline for food justice tours approaching fast

by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service

A quilt urges an end to hunger. (Photo by Andrew Kang Bartlett)

LOUISVILLE — If you’re passionate about food justice and live in or near the Louisville area, now’s the time to register for the People’s Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture, which will include the unveiling of an action plan for food equity and showcase local organizations tackling food access and food insecurity.

Food in Neighborhoods (FIN), a coalition that works to improve food and farm systems in Louisville, is hosting the summit, which will open with food justice tours on Aug. 16-17 and conclude with a one-day conference at the Louisville Central Community Center on Sept. 13.

“The People’s Summit will amplify the voices of those who strive for food justice and energize dialogue and action toward that end,” said Andrew Kang Bartlett, National Hunger Associate for the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP). “Everyone who wants to be part of this grassroots movement and vision should join a tour and come for the conference day.”

PHP is one of several co-sponsors of the summit, which receives major funding from Kentucky State University and has two registration deadlines. Sunday, Aug. 11, is the recently extended deadline to sign up for the tours, and Aug. 28 is the deadline to sign up for the one-day conference.

The tours, which include optional work projects in the morning, “will highlight local success stories of people and groups building the solutions to food insecurity, opening space for inspiration, networking, popular education, and skill sharing among participants,” Kang Bartlett said.

The Aug. 16 tour will focus on efforts to teach various generations how to grow food as participants journey to visit The Food Literacy Project and Common Earth Gardens.

The second tour picks up on Saturday, Aug. 17, and will focus on Black-led efforts to address limited access to healthy food in west Louisville. Participants will be introduced to Change Today, Change Tomorrow and 5^th Element Farms/Apocalyptic Acres.

The conference portion of the summit will include plenaries and workshops as well as a youth research poster display and the chance to have conversations with students. There also will be features on the newly formed Greater Louisville Food Council and the unveiling of Food Vision 2030.

Andrew Kang Bartlett speaks during a conference held at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Alex Simon)

“The conference day on Sept. 13 will feature the release of the Food Vision 2030, a multi-year strategic plan that evaluates the post-pandemic local food system landscape and identifies priorities for policy and for directing public and private investment to achieve greater equity, sustainability, and resilience,” Kang Bartlett said. “We’ll introduce the new Greater Louisville Food Council and have time for art, poetry, learning, networking and sharing of participants’ vision. And we will eat really well, thanks to Cultured Mornings, with many locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.”

The summit and the work of FIN align with the priorities of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and PHP around hunger, poverty and food and climate justice, Kang Bartlett said.

“Food — the ways we produce and share it — is at the core of our daily lives, our economy, and our society,” he said. The summit is part of an overall goal to bring about “transformative changes we are working towards in the food system, supportive infrastructure, policies and economy.”

For more information, go here.

The Presbyterian Hunger Program is one of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.