Saturday, October 15, 12:45 pm–2:15 pm
Studio 315
Sponsored by the American Folklore Society, the Division of Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the Arts Institute of Middlesex County NJ, the Politics, Folklore, and Social Justice Section, and the Public Programs Section
Chair: Sally Van de Water (Arts Institute of Middlesex County)
Junious Lee Brickhouse (Urban Artistry, Inc.)
Claire Denny ()
Abraham Moratti (Middlesex County (NJ) Division of Arts & History)
Carolina Moratti (Middlesex County (NJ) Division of Arts & History)
Hayden Roberts (Oklahoma State University)
Isha Vyas (Arts Institute of Middlesex County)
“Food Changes Lives.” Join facilitators as we workshop ideas about how foodways can serve in the pursuit of food equity and food justice. This Festival of Ideas is a format created to invite conversations for attendees to share ideas, resources, problem solving techniques, and experiences around the community-driven interests that connect conference goers together. Join us in conversation with the Share Your Foodways Team and local organizations pursuing food justice to discuss the strategies, issues, and opportunities in this work. Participants will have the opportunity to strategize and develop tangible plans for pursuing food justice in their own communities. Connecting the problem of food insecurity to cultural traditions around food allows for communities to serve those in need in holistic and equitable ways. A program from Middlesex County NJ, “Share Your Foodways,” serves to create delicious, culturally distinct dishes from ingredients available at the local food pantry. Spearheaded by a team of colleagues from the Arts Institute of Middlesex County and funded in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts, Share Your Foodways combines the efforts of regional folklife, food banks, and social service providers to give back to the community through a collaborative foodways program with three goals: 1. Reduce food insecurity during the pandemic; 1. Celebrate the culinary traditions of Central New Jersey; 2. Destigmatize the use of food pantries; and 3. Feed families. Note: The Festival of Ideas, launched at the 2019 Baltimore Annual Meeting guided by the theme “Community Driven,” is not the usual conference session. Rather, we hope to create a space where everyone can ask, “How can we help each other?” This program is sponsored by the Division of Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the Arts Institute of Middlesex County.