As a hunger action advocate for the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia, Jessica Fitzgerald loves to collect goods for farm laborers and their families, particularly migrants and seasonal workers who contribute to the state’s agriculture industry.
Two rampaging squirrels break the silence of the thick forest as our group of 30 walk on a road made from tens of thousands of hand-laid bricks recovered from a landfill.
Ahead of us, on the crest of the road, stood another group. Under a canopy of long-leaf pines and hardwood trees was an old woman in a wheelchair, a young girl, three adult women, a boy, two young men, and Marcus Briggs-Cloud, who I had only met virtually before. All were wearing clothing incorporating multi-colored Maskoke patterns.
The two young Maskoke men held their two-foot-long wooden stickball sticks in front of our group, gently enforcing an invisible barrier. Across the gap between our groups, Marcus gave a traditional welcome speech in the Maskoke language for 10 minutes. Then we were asked to state the intentions behind our presence on their land.
“Food Vision 2030: Food Justice is Racial Justice,” the draft document rolled out and explored during the recent People’s Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture sponsored in part by the Presbyterian Hunger Program, maps out “strategies and organizing efforts necessary to create a truly just city and food system” in Louisville.
The Sept. 13 workshop, “Organizing for Change,” was part of the People’s Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture, hosted by Food in Neighborhoods, a coalition that works to improve food and farm systems in Louisville. The Presbyterian Hunger Program was one of the summit’s sponsors.
In the midst of the devastation from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, Black Mountain Presbyterian Church (BMPC) has become a refuge for those seeking food and comfort in a time of crisis.
In an effort to address the root causes of hunger and poverty around the world, the Advisory Committee of the Presbyterian Hunger Program has voted to approve nearly $1.2 million in new grants to fund projects in 25 countries, including the United States.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently held a White House Faith Leaders Convening on Climate, Clean Energy and Environmental Justice.
The event, attended by Jessica Maudlin, associate for Sustainability and Earth Care Concerns in the Presbyterian Hunger Program, along with other board members and staff of Creation Justice Ministries, gathered faith leaders and representatives of faith-based organizations from across the country, with the goal of discussing opportunities to benefit from and further engage their communities on President Biden’s climate, clean energy and environmental justice agenda.
“Food Vision 2030: Food Justice is Racial Justice,” the draft document rolled out and explored during the recent People’s Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture sponsored in part by the Presbyterian Hunger Program, maps out “strategies and organizing efforts necessary to create a truly just city and food system” in Louisville, Kentucky.
One of six workshops offered during Friday’s People’s Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture carried a title reflecting what many agricultural producers have wrestled with: “We Need Land, Money and Control.”
