Community Food Action Leadership Group

Over the past 6 months, families have been gathering in the Mount Eden neighborhood of the South Bronx to share healthy meals, build skills in cooking with local produce, learn about local food systems, and get to know each other better. Now this group is ready to delve deeper into food justice issues and implement healthy food projects in the neighborhood. Community residents are the experts on the issues affects them most, and the Community Food Action Leadership Group will provide space and resources for them to create their own solutions. The group will be made up of committees which will have budgets for implementing projects - for example, an Outreach Committee might recruit new members and share information with neighbors about healthy food resources. An Events Committee may plan events to start conversations about food issues such as film screenings, educational workshops, and trips to local farms. An Advocacy Committee could identify a food policy issue that affects the health of neighborhood residents, and begin a new campaign or join an existing campaign in support of that issue. The specific projects that we implement together will depend on what issues the group feels are most important.

NAME A VEGGIE: We will be creating a handmade banner to celebrate all of our donors. If you donate, a fruit or veggie with your name on it will be proudly displayed on the banner!

Hold an orientation to initiate the first Council members, provide training on popular education and food system issues, establish a shared understanding of what the Council is and how it will work, and assess the areas of interest that members will explore with their projects.

Hold the first two meetings of the Leadership Group, narrowing down the food issues of highest priority and creating projects to address those issues.

Use committee budgets to implement food projects that the group members have chosen to work on.

The Bronx is home to Hunt’s Point Terminal Market, which 50-60% of New York State’s produce passes through, yet many communities in the Bronx are denied access to healthy food. The Mount Eden neighborhood of the Bronx is a mix of rich cultures - many families have roots in the Caribbean, Central America, the southern United States, and other parts of the world. Neighborhood residents carry these agricultural and culinary traditions with them, and are resilient in the face of an inequitable food system. This Leadership Group will provide opportunities for community members to share their wisdom with each other, deepen their knowledge about food systems, and take action together on the food issues that affect them and their families.