2024 Recap: Food sovereignty in our lives & work

In May, Fresh Focus and the Student Farm hosted campus and community organizations engaged in food culture work. Building on the 2023 Food Security Collaborative, the convening focussed on articulating and exploring different ideas of food sovereignty. Janaki Anagha, attorney, creator of the Marigold Project, and UCD alum, opened the event with an interactive discussion about the history of land grant universities, student activism that created the Student Farm, the connection between colonization and the destruction of land and life, and how we can apply ideas of food sovereignty in our shared work. The group came together to share rice, salad, and frijoles de la olla - cooked by Fresh Focus students - and discuss how these ideas relate to their projects and personal goals. Participants shared out questions and realizations, highlighting points of continued action and collaboration. With  25 participants and over 5 campus groups represented, it was an evening, filled with delicious food, nuanced conversation, and new community connections!

Takeaways and Next Steps

• Prioritize opportunities for campus and community groups to engage together in food security work.
• Create more space for discussions about food access, sovereignty, and justice in relation to  larger social and economic systems.
• Learn, organize, share, and support each other through cooking & eating together.
• Sharing cultural and familial recipes and dishes with community is food sovereignty work. 

For more information or to get involved, contact jcavins@ucdavis.edu

To support this work, visit https://give.ucdavis.edu/AASI/SEFVRDR and mention Fresh Focus in the comments.

Thank you to Aggie Basic Needs, the UC Davis College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, and community members  for supporting the Fresh Focus team. 

Recipe: Frijoles De La Olla

by Ruben Gonzalez, Fresh Focus Lead Student Farmer

Ingredients: pinto beans, onion, salt

Directions: Sort and rinse beans. Bring water to medium boil in a large pot. Add halved onions. Add dried beans and boil for 3 hours, remembering to stir and add water when needed. Add salt half-way through boil (to taste).

>> Download a PDF of this summary, with additional pictures: