Special Appeal: Kelly Lake reflects on memorable experiences in 2018!

Dear CAGJ supporters,

When I think back on my first year as co-chair of the Food Justice Project, I realize that every season has been marked by memorable experiences: sowing handfuls of tiny seeds into the rich soil at Kamayan Farm on a gray spring day; joining the twelve mile march for farmworker dignity in Whatcom county under the hot summer sun; celebrating our community with a delicious meal that is truly a labor of love at the SLEE dinner this fall. Each of these experiences shaped me in ways large and small, but when I think about what impacted me the most over this last year, it is impossible to point to one single experience.

Please consider making a generous year-end donation to CAGJ today—your contribution helps us continue to build community through free educational opportunities, monthly meetings, Teach-Outs and more.

Instead, what left the biggest mark on me was watching a new idea take shape and evolve into action.  At a monthly Food Justice Project meeting in 2017, Simone brought up the idea of creating a “summer school” – perhaps a potluck where people could come together to discuss readings centered on anti-oppression and the food system.  There was a lot of energy behind this idea, and a lot of work to be done.

CAGJ’s RiseUp! Summer School Visits the Gates Foundation

Thanks to the dozen volunteers, members, and new faces that initially got involved, it became something even greater than we had originally imagined. The idea grew so that not only were we going to read about these issues but we were also going to schedule a monthly “field trip” to meet with the people who are directly involved in doing the undoubtedly hard but incredibly necessary work of changing, reshaping, and reclaiming our food system.  Your donation allows us to continue this important work.

All in all, about 30 people took time out of their summer to show up, and then show up again, and again. It was strangers finding time to come together at the end of long days to grapple with some of the most difficult and foundational problems that we are facing today, at a time when it feels especially important to make the time and space to fight, to make those personal sacrifices so that you can show up do the hard work of creating change.

It was people like Pedro Torres, one of the founding members of Cooperativa Tierra y Libertad, taking time out of his day during a busy part of the growing season to talk to us in the middle of a blueberry field about how he and his fellow farmworkers fought to start a worker owned cooperative that challenges our current agricultural model of profit over people.

It was a reminder that this work is vital to creating healthy communities and economies– it was needed in 1999 when CAGJ was born out of the WTO protests, and it is needed now.  Will you help us reach our end of year goal of 18 new Monthly Sustainers by joining us today?

I look forward to what CAGJ can do with your support in 2019.

In solidarity,

Kelly

P.S. Don’t forget, when you become a new Monthly Sustainer, we have a beautiful gift for you: your choice of either our new T-shirt with artwork by Heather Elder, or our poster with artwork by Nikki McClure!

Posted in Agra Watch Blog Posts, Food Justice Blog Posts, News, Slider, Trade Justice Blog Posts, Uncategorized.

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