Alanna Boynton is CAGJ’s Food Justice Project Co-Chair
Dear CAGJ supporters,
One cloudy Sunday in May, I pulled on my gardening boots and made the trek out to Kamayan Farm in the Snoqualmie Valley. My family and I were attending a Teach-Out hosted by CAGJ, and I was especially excited to visit after hearing the farmer, Ari de Leña, speak at the 2017 SLEE dinner.
Please consider making a generous year-end donation to CAGJ today—your contribution helps us organize free educational opportunities like Teach-Outs for our local community.
After learning from Ari about the challenges that small farmers face, we got to work. Together, we planted hundreds of vegetable and flower seedlings into heavy clay—a type of soil that most farmers and gardeners would find challenging to work with, but from which Ari is able to coax miracles. Following a break for lunch, we continued planting and helped to build a hoop house, then wrapped up with a discussion about food sovereignty.
The Teach-Out at Kamayan Farm was a good example of how CAGJ cultivates “Solidarity in Action.” We come together to learn and grow—not only by analyzing the wider social, political, racial, and economic inequalities in our food system, but also by forming connections with communities affected by these issues and working alongside them. Your donation allows us to continue this important work.
During 2018, my first year as one of CAGJ’s Food Justice Project Co-Chairs, I marched twelve miles in solidarity with farmworkers and our partner organization Community to Community; I learned alongside a group of amazing people during CAGJ’s Rise Up! Summer School; I helped serve dinner at SLEE in September. Oh, and I’ve also taken a lot of meeting notes! All of these experiences have shown me that building a better world begins with small actions—and I’ve been so inspired to see how much we can accomplish when we work together.
As for those flowers we planted that spring day: despite the heavy clay soil and dry summer, they bloomed nevertheless—and everything came full circle when they were incorporated into the beautiful centerpieces at this year’s SLEE dinner.
You don’t have to look far to know that CAGJ’s vital work in advancing food sovereignty, both in our region and on a global scale, is greatly needed. Will you help us reach our end of year goal of 18 new Monthly Sustainers by joining us today?
In solidarity,
Alanna
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!
