“What I’d like to see is a shared vision and strategy of how we are going to end hunger with good food together.” The conference opened with a panel who answered the question “where are we seeing threats to the common good? And where are we seeing glimpses of hope?” Panelists included Patrick Brown, a fourth generation family farmer, Dr. Derek Hicks, Professor of Religion at Wake Forest University, and Wendy Peters Moschetti, the Executive Director of Nourish Colorado. Each brought their own perspectives on the food system to the conversation.
Brown talked about what he’s learned through growing food and operating a diversified farm business. “We have to get back to the land and grow our own food,” Brown began. To that end, Dr. Hicks spoke about the Black Church’s role in maintaining and establishing food sovereignty, citing the work of minister and civil rights leader Pastor Vernon Johns, who preceded Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. For Johns, Dr. Hicks maintained, “the church had to be about social entrepreneurship, land sovereignty, and the control of food.” Indeed, “the coalescence between faith and spirit and church and food and sovereignty and ownership was the way to feed the whole person.” Brown’s work within his own farm reflects this hope: their farm diversifies their production so that they can pivot when there are threats outside of their control (such as policy changes, funding limitations, or climate change). “That’s one of the ways I’ve seen our farm grow over the generations: we don’t put all our eggs in one basket.”
Peters Moschetti understands the need to pivot during unpredictable times, and for her it comes back to a lack of shared vision amongst food systems leaders. If we want to end hunger with good food, then we need to better understand what each key player can bring to the work. Whether it’s the government, philanthropy, nonprofit sector, or churches, “what I’d like to see is a shared vision and strategy of how we are going to end hunger with good food together,” Peters Moschetti proclaimed. While we seek out that shared vision, nonprofits and churches are stepping up in times of crisis.
“The church has traditionally functioned as a way to mitigate and offset what was happening in the community,” Dr. Hicks reflected, which is why the church must continue their work in “creating points of access” for the broader community. Brown feels hopeful when people can identify what the real issues are in their community and are acting: “they are standing up, advocating for BIPOC producers and addressing food insecurities.” This type of work inches us closer to a common good.
“We are currently living in a system of winners and losers,” Peters Moschetti said, “but I think what you’re trying to do is different: if we actually build structures that intentionally work for those who are currently marginalized, that intentionally removes oppression, then you’re going to building a food system that works best for everybody.”
In his work weaving together the food system, faith and race, Dr. Hicks’ students are starting to see the connections: “They’re tying these loose ends together and realizing that they aren’t that loose.” Opening our conference with three distinct perspectives on the food system emphasized the importance of our common work together and the interdependence between us, whether you’re a farmer, faith leaders, advocates, or someone who eats.
