WASHINGTON,
Oct. 25, 2013 – Officials, community leaders and citizens participated in 4,700
events across the country in honor of Wednesday’s third annual Food Day,
according to the campaign that coordinated the celebration. Food Day was
created to “shine a spotlight on local solutions to problems with (the) food system,”
according to the campaign’s press
release.
The
event is co-sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
and the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, a non-profit run by the celebrity chef
that works to bring food education into schools and youth-oriented
organizations.
“We
hope that one of the things that comes out of Food Day is a food movement that
is stronger, more united, and better equipped to press for changes that make it
easier to eat healthier year round,” said Michael F. Jacobson, executive
director of CSPI and founder of Food Day. “Today hundreds of thousands of
Americans will add their voices to a growing campaign for food that is produced
with care for consumers, the environment, and the men and women who grow,
harvest, and serve it.”
In
Los Angles, Angelinos observed Food Day in a City Hall celebration of the
city’s Good
Food Purchasing Program, which turned one year old on Wednesday. The
program seeks to encourage the produce of and access to sustainably produced
food, especially for low-income city dwellers.
The
Los Angeles observance also included the planting of edible plants in
residential parkways.
“We
have seen that these parkway gardens can supplement food budgets for struggling
families, beautify neighborhoods, and create a sense of community,” said Los
Angeles city council president Herb Wesson, who coordinated the effort.
“We are also looking at surplus properties owned by the City for their
potential use as community gardens, especially for communities with limited
green space and healthy food options.”
In
Massachusetts, the state’s agriculture department organized more than 600
events.
“Food
Day is especially timely this year as we prepare to finalize the farm bill in
Congress,” said local Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., a leading Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) advocate and farm bill conferee. “In the
richest nation on earth, access to high quality, nutritious food for every
American is a necessary and achievable goal.”
Others
celebrated Food Day online by cooking healthy meals and uploaded their photos to
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with the tag #LetsGetCooking. Photos marked
with that hashtag were entered into a contest for a Jamie Oliver cookbook.
Webcasts
also figured prominently in the event, with broadcasts of a Food Dialogues
debate in Boston including Food Day founder Michael F. Jacobson and a “Food
Policy 101” webinar organized by Policy Link and Philadelphia’s The Food Trust
featured.
#30
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