Action Corps Offers Up Awesome October!

Through the month of October the Oxfam Action Corps has come out stronger than ever before. With 18 self-organized events and participation in over 50 events during the course of the month, October has been one of the most active and successful months yet. Not only has the Action Corps hosted and organized a World Food Day event in each of the 15 cities, each city was also the host to several World Food Day dinners each. Together, the 15 separate Action Corps branches conquered and surpassed our 300 Action Corps dinner goal with an astonishing total of 365 dinners! Wow! 

Take a look at some of the events that helped us smash our 300 dinner goal:

Albuquerque participated in Bread for New Mexico’s dinner and prayer circle and had a community dinner using leftovers from a local farmers market!

At the World Food Day event in Columbus!

The Farmer’s Tour trailed across the eastern US, allowing speakers Susan Godwin, Oxfam America’s Food Hero 2012, and Dienaba Diallo to speak on panels in South Carolina, DC, New York, Pennsylvania, Columbus, and ended in Des Moines, Iowa at the World Food Prize!

The World Food Prize brought great minds together to learn about the newest innovations in agriculture and what they mean for our planet’s food security. The Iowa Action Corps (plus volunteers from around the country) were there, stopping for tea with some of food’s finest thinkers!

Tabling at the World Food Prize

Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, and Albuquerque munched on some GROW friendly eats at their own Grubwithus dinner! 

The poster for Minneapolis' benefit concert!

Minneapolis jammed to some tunes to raise money for the Sahel at a benefit concert before hosting a public potluck for World Food Day!


Indianapolis hosted a Congressional Forum to discuss food issues, while Burlington added a GROW theme to a local benefit dinner! 

San Francisco had a GROW themed gala to cheer on the Giants, while Madison partnered with Slow Food at the University of Wisconsin for a meal of 100+! Austin hosted a GROW meal in the park, while Kansas City hosted a public potluck.

An Austin volunteer promotes World Food Day dinners!

From coast to coast, each Action Corps city had a role in our huge successes this month. These events are only a small sample of all the incredible things that the Action Corps accomplished for Oxfam America this World Food Day! And things aren’t slowing down yet- the Action Corps is going full force ahead into November with more events, tabling, and Oxfam America Hunger Banquets on the way! Click “Join Us” in the upper left hand corner to sign up for local updates and learn more about what your city’s Action Corps has in the works! To learn more about Oxfam America, click here.

Here are some more photos from World Food Day festivities around the country!

Columbus event attendees munch on local eats!

An Albuquerque volunteer enjoys some World Food Day snacks!

Tabling at the World Food Prize

NYC Action Corps at a GROW themed potluck

Columbus World Food Day Recap!

Check out this great blog from the Columbus Action Corps!  For World Food Day 2012, Columbus helped to host a fantastic event with panelists Susan Godwin, a Nigerian farmer, Bryn Bird, a local farmer, and Noreen Warnock, the founder of Local Matters.  For more on the great things happening in Columbus, check out their blog here: http://columbus.oxfamactioncorps.org

-  -  -

By the Columbus Oxfam Action Corps

After conquering a few technical issues, I am proud to finally showcase a selection of photos from our World Food Day dinner from Friday, Oct. 12. My sincere apologies for the delay, but better late than never as the saying goes.

All the photos were taken by first-time Oxfam volunteer Ryan Gaffke who attended the event with his wife, Louise Davis.

This is a photo of the entrance to the Whetstone Park of Roses Shelterhouse that served as the location for  the Columbus Oxfam Action Corps and Local Matters World Food Day Dinner 2012.

 Oxfam Action Corps Co-leader Djeynaba Be directed our guests to information about Oxfam America and the Grow Method in particular. She, with assistance from volunteers Nancy, Ritsu and Louise, signed up 37 people to learn more about Oxfam America.

Volunteer photographer Ryan Gaffke took this fantastic photo of the only family to attend the event. It's wonderful to see toddlers learning about using their resources wisely and knowing where the next meal is coming from. 

Adam Olson, regional advocacy leader for Oxfam America, provided the introductory remarks for the World Food Day dinner. He introduced Nigerian farmer Susan Godwin, local farmer Bryn Bird, and Local Matters Co-founder Noreen Warnock.

 Oxfam CHANGE Leader Evan Boyle and other attendees helped themselves to a buffet of salad, bread, butter and pasta primavera made from locally sourced produce.

 Local Matters Co-Founder Noreen Warnock stands next to Nigerian farmer Susan Godwin and Godwin's traveling companion after the event. The ladies had a long day of traveling and talking but maintained a merry disposition throughout the evening.

So, so many people spent hours helping our Word Food Day dinner event go smoothly. Unfortunately, not everyone could fit into a single photo. The people in this photo represent a few of the many hands and minds that went into crafting the event. We applaud all their efforts!

The World Food Prize Recap!

The Iowa Action Recaps the World Food Prize, one of the most prominent events in Agriculture and one of the Action Corp's most important and influential events!  For more on the Iowa Action Corps and the World Food Prize, visit their blog here.

- - -

On Sunday, October 14th, we started “World Food Prize Week” with a Des Moines Area Sisters on the Planet potluck. We were able to hear from the 2012 Female Food Hero Susan Godwin fromNigeria about the challenges she and her community has overcome such as changing market demand for products, low prices offered by middlemen buyers, and weak institutional support for smallholder farmers.

Tuesday, October 16th, was the kickoff of the Iowa Hunger Summit. Howard G. Buffet (yes, that Buffet!) was the keynote speaker and spoke to a room of 700 about the fight against world hunger. He said, “The solution is not setting goals and campaigns, the solution is changing our mindsets…When I started, I thought if we could produce more, we could feed more people. I was wrong.”


Wednesday, October 17th was the kickoff of the 2012 Borlaug Dialogue at the Downtown Des Moines Marriott. For three days (well, two and a half), leaders, panelists, and other stakeholders gathered to discuss the variety of ways that partnerships lead to food security and how to set an agenda that feeds the world. Oxfam America hosted a GROW luncheon and we, the Iowa Action Corps, had a great dinner with the Oxfam staff. We spent the day tabling, asking folks to sign-on to our World Food Day Dinners, and sharing a “tea time”.



Thursday, October 18th was another day of the 2012 Borlaug Dialogue and the evening saw the Laureate Award Ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol Building. Watch the recorded version here. Great speeches all around! We were excited to have such honored guests (like the U.N.Secretary General) in Iowa!

Friday, October 19th we traveled to Marshalltown Community College and visited their Rural Entrepreneurship Incubator (REI) and student gardens on campus. We heard about “Harvest from the Heart of Iowa” – an initiative to bring local producers and distributors of Central Iowa together as a resource for the community. That evening, we traveled back to Des Moines to experience the Global Youth Institute’s Oxfam America Hunger Banquet. 300 students from all over the country (and others) gathered to experience our world’s food security problem.

Saturday, October 20th saw the departure of our beloved Action Corps visitors and Oxfam staff. We spoke with many visitors at our table at the Downtown Farmers Market and had a chance to share the GROW Method with them. Farmers markets are so much fun and a great way to show people first-hand how their purchases benefit small farmers. We had a sample platter with fair trade chocolates and locally-grown and chemical free sweet peppers, spinach, and apples.

Whew! Can you really be exhausted and rejuvenated at the same time? (The answer is yes!) So many thanks to our fabulous volunteers for their time and energy over the long week and we have many exciting things coming up for our month of November! Hope you can join us! If you haven't signed our pledge and would like to get involved, email us here. Don't be shy - we'd love to have your support.

Oxfam Action Corps at the Prize!

Heisman Trophy or World Food Prize?

Entry #1 in a 3-part series on World Food Day from the Iowa Action Corps. Check out Iowa's blog for more pictures and stories from the World Food Prize and the World Food Festival!

In my opinion, the World Food Prize (WFP) is to food as the Heisman Trophy is to collegiate football. Where the Heisman Trophy is awarded to the most outstanding college football player whose “performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence”, the WFP is awarded to an individual whose contribution (also see: performance) has advanced human development in improving (also see: pursuit) the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world (also see: excellent).

I couldn't find a picture of a Quaterback
throwing an ear of corn, so just
imagine the football in this trophy is
actually a watermelon :-)

Before we delve too far into what the WFP is today, let’s take a time-out and learn about where it started: a scientist growing wheat.

In 1944, Dr. Norman E. Borlaug participated in the Rockefeller Foundation's pioneering technical assistance program in Mexico, where he was a research scientist in charge of wheat improvement. For over sixteen years, he worked to solve a series of wheat production problems that were limiting wheat cultivation in Mexico and to help train a whole generation of young Mexican scientists.

The work in Mexico not only had a profound impact on Dr. Borlaug's life and philosophy of agriculture research and development, but also on agricultural production, first in Mexico and later in many parts of the world. It was on the research stations and farmers' fields of Mexico that Dr. Borlaug scored touchdowns by growing wheat varieties with high disease resistance, broad adaptation to growing conditions, and exceedingly high yields.

These new wheat varieties and improved crop management practices transformed agricultural production in Mexico during the 1940's and 1950's and later in Asia and Latin America, sparking what today is known as the "Green Revolution." Because of his achievements to prevent hunger globally, it is said that Dr. Borlaug has "saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived."

Dr. Borlaug, after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, envisioned a prize that would honor those who have made significant and measurable contributions to improving the world's food supply. Beyond recognizing these people for their accomplishments, Borlaug saw “The Prize” as a means of inspiring others. And thus, the World Food Prize was born.

There’s no telling if Dr. Borlaug would have won a Heisman Trophy had he made different career choices, but it can be safely said that this most-valuable player continues to lend his spirit for food justice in the years after his death (a “passing” football/death reference would have been in rather poor taste, sorry!).

Stay tuned for more!

Boston Grubwithus Dinner Success Story!

The Here is a post from August 17,2012 from the Boston Action Corps blog. On August 23rd, the Action Corps hosted a fun and highly successful Grubwithus dinner, a great way to bring like minds together and discuss GROW. What's even better? It counts towards our ever increasing World Food Day dinner count! 

Want to grub in your hometown? Go to  https://www.grubwithus.com/oxfam  to get started!

Last night, we held our first Love Food, Hate Injustice dinner at City Table in Boston. It was a wonderful and enriching experience. Thanks to Grubwithus for picking a restaurant with great food and a beautiful atmosphere.

At first, we were not sure how the evening would unfold, but we were soon reminded that as long as there is good food and kind people sharing the same interests, good times and interesting conversations are sure to follow. 

We were lucky to have Susan Tamoney with us, an incredibly engaging speaker (we even suggested she should consider a career in radio broadcasting), and one of our biggest supporters in community outreach in Boston. Susan came with two wonderful guests, Ed Barker and Melanie Hardy from Land's Sake, who helped us generate ideas for upcoming events like World Food Day, and kindly invited us to pick up tomatoes at their farm in Weston. We will be posting more on all these exciting news soon!

Thanks to all of those who joined us. It was a pleasure sharing good food and ideas with all of you.

NYC World Food Day Event: "Hunger in a World of Plenty" U.S. Premiere Screening and Panel Discussion

Community Engagement Intern Brittany Collins

In just one of many successful and thought-provoking events held throughout the country by the Oxfam Action Corps this past Sunday, the New York City Oxfam Action Corps hosted the U.S. premiere of the documentary Hunger in a World of Plenty.  The screening was followed by a great panel discussion about the issues brought up by the film and the issues very closely tied to Oxfam's GROW campaign!  

Make sure that you've signed Oxfam America's petition to urge Congress to preserve foreign aid (less than 1% of the entire budget) in this time of spending cuts.  

by Avi Smolen

There are many big questions to ask about the causes of hunger today:

• Does it occur because there is not enough food for everyone?
• Does it occur because of climate change?
• Does it occur because of insufficient infrastructure?

The simple answer is that none of these are the simple causes of hunger today. There is enough food today to feed everyone on the planet, though the wealth inequality means that some people go hungry while others struggle to lose weight (U.S. obesity epidemic). Climate change can lead to both insufficient rain and floods that kill crops and therefore affect the quantity of food available. Yet there are also advanced growing techniques that will allow us to maintain an adequate supply of food, at least for the near future. (Both climate change and wealth inequality are major issues about which we should be concerned.) Infrastructure isn’t the problem either. While in some places poor roads or lack of railroads can hamper the distribution of food, there is no reason that local communities cannot grow food nearby.

Panel from "Hunger in a World of Plenty" - (left to right) Vice President for Africa Programs Dr. Idrissa Dicko (The Hunger Project), Director of Education and Community Engagement Stephanie Ives (American Jewish World Service), Senior Campaigns Advisor Rohit Malpani (Oxfam America), and Senator Kirstin Gillibrand's constituent liaison/immigration caseworker Julina Guo (moderator) are introduced by Oxfam Action Corps NYC Co-Organizer - Arielle Cahill-Hassid.

Photo by Adam Fischmann

At the event “Hunger in a World of Plenty,” sponsored by Oxfam NYC Action Corps, American Jewish World Service, Union Theological Seminary and The Hunger Project, these were the topics of conversation. After a screening of the film by the same name, a number of panelists discussed food justice issues affecting world hunger today. The issues are quite complex, but I was left with a few major takeaways.

1. The fluctuation in food prices is caused by excessive capital in commodities markets leading to speculation (in addition to real factors such as weather and production). Regulations can help prevent such severe price increases, and rules have just been passed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (given authority in the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul) to do just this.
2. A rise in food prices that may be a minor inconvenience to middle class residents of developed countries means hunger for many in developing nations. They cannot afford price increases, as many of them already spend a majority of their income on food.
3. The best way to ensure that hunger is reduced and eventually solved is to provide communities with the resources and tools that they need to grow at least some of their own food. In this system they will be able to provide for themselves, they will be less dependent on imported food, and will be less affected by price fluctuations in the market.
4. Developed countries like the U.S. play a major part in preventing this from happening. Subsidies, which significantly lower the cost of production for farmers in developed countries, allow nations like the U.S. to dump excess rice, corn, or other crops in developing nations, often under the guise of food aid. While in the short term such food aid is necessary to combat immediate lack of food, such practices can destroy local economies. A prime example is the dumping of free rice in Haiti in the months after the earthquake, making it impossible for Haitian rice farmers to sell their products and harming their livelihood.

There are so many more complexities to current food justice and food aid issues, but what gives me some solace is that organizations like the co-sponsors of this event are working to change the system. AJWS has a fantastic petition to Reverse Hunger by maintaining funding for food aid (a fraction of 1% of the national budget) and using those allocations smartly. I am hopeful that we can make an impact and I hope to attend an event in ten years about the progress we have made and how close we are to ending world hunger.

Avi Smolen is currently the Communications Manager for Progressive Jewish Alliance & Jewish Funds for Justice, a domestic social justice organization, in New York. He graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a BA in Political Science and minor concentrations in Jewish Studies and Psychology. Previously, Avi worked as a Faiths Act Fellow in Washington DC at the Malaria Policy Center, where he focused on engaging college students in multi-faith global health activism, and as Development and Communications Associate in the New York office of Keren Or, a Center in Jerusalem for blind and multi-disabled children and young adults. Avi is also an active volunteer with Oxfam Action Corps NYC.

World Food Prize update as we approach World Food Day!

Desiree Thayer, San Francisco Bay Area Oxfam Action Corps organizer, wrote two great posts (reprinted below) about her experience at the World Food Prize this week in Des Moines, Iowa!  She is there with organizers Amy and Stephen and other volunteers from the Iowa Action Corps, organizer Arielle of the NYC OAC, organizer Elissa of the Columbus OAC, organizer Nancy of the Chicago OAC, and Oxfam America staff, including Campaigns Director Judy Beals, Agricultural Advocacy Lead Jim French, Organizing and Alliances Coordinator Rebecca Perlmutter, Community Engagement Specialist Clara Herrero, and Senior Volunteer and Community Organizer Brian Rawson.

Volunteer Eileen, Organizing and Alliances Coordinator Rebecca Perlmutter, NYC Organizer Arielle, and SF Bay Area Organizer Desiree at the World Food Prize in Des Moines, IA.

Happy World Food Day, everybody!

Posted 10/12/2011

It's been a busy day at the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa. Oxfam Action Corps volunteers from Des Moines, Chicago, Columbus, New York City, and San Francisco are here along with Oxfam America staff and special guest farmers from Colombia and Ethiopia.

The day was filled with talks and panel discussions from many sectors of agriculture and food, including governmental, nonprofit, private business, and academic. Nearly every talk I attended expressed a need to increase food production to feed a growing population of 9 billion people by 2050, though, not surprisingly, the approaches described varied from high tech products and methods to development assistance programs for farmers in developing countries.

Two descriptions of the food system that resonated with me were from Howard G. Buffett from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Judy Beals from Oxfam America. Mr. Buffett said, "Different farmers need different solutions," which he has witnessed on his own research farms here in the Midwest and in South Africa. He shared four stories of projects, all that were unsuccessful but proved to be great lessons in the importance of local and geographic-specific considerations for determining technology feasibility environmentally, economically, and socially. Echoing a similar view, Judy Beals explained how we are faced with the need to reform the food system, which is a complex problem and "there is no silver bullet and no magic seeds".

We were also very fortunate to have two female farmers from developing countries come to share their experiences at an Oxfam-sponsored panel. Nelly Velandia, a farmer from Colombia, and Silas Samson Biru, an Ethiopian farmer, spoke about their work with farmer-led initiatives in their countries. Nelly is a leader for the Farmers' Markets Program in Bogota, which aims to promote the small farm economy and bring fresh food produced by small farmers directly to the consumer at fair prices. Silas participates in a risk-management program: Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation (HARITA). Both women have worked hard as leaders in their communities, facing difficulties as they break cultural norms for women and convince local government to include them in decision-making. Their stories in inspiring, not only for their successes, but also for their perseverance to continually improve their programs.

Tomorrow will be another day full of information at the World Food Prize. Stay tuned for more updates.

Posted 10/13/2011

Today was another full day of learning and sharing at the World Food Prize in Des Moines. Conversations about food and agriculture continued, as many players involved in food production and food-related policies were included on today's schedule.

One of the day's earliest sessions was a report of the 2011 Global Hunger Index by the International Food Policy Research Institute. This report is based on the most recent data about hunger and malnutrition and makes recommendations for ways to address food security. The full report is available online, with much information relevant to Oxfam's GROW campaign.

There were also several panel discussions focused on the inclusion of women and girls in agriculture development. Mary Rono, a dairy farmer from the Kendu region of Kenya, spoke about her experiences as co-founder and chairperson of the Koitogos Dairy Cooperative Society. She described social and cultural barriers she faced in her community and home while establishing her group, which gained status as a coop earlier this year. The coop is now very successful with 350 members, including 33% women and 15% youth. By pooling their milk for sale at a nearby processor, the farmers have secured a good price and steady income. They also have training sessions to learn about better practices to raise and tend their animals. Mary's story is very inspirational, with her determined personality apparent to ensure the livelihood of her family and community.

The Secretary's Roundtable and African Presidential Leadership Roundtable were also held today. It was very interesting to learn about the agricultural development goals and practices of several African countries. On the positive side it seems some of the African countries represented in the sessions are working to improve and maintain small-scale farming. For example Tanzania is using rice seeds from their own research efforts, with rice yields more than twice as much for small-scale farmers compared to large farms. Also, Mozambique has 1000 demonstration plots that are used to educate farmers on improve methods. However, it was surprising, to me, to learn about the use of subsidies for seed and fertilizer in Ghana and Tanzania. Due to the limited budgets of the governments in these countries, the Ministers of Agriculture from both recognize the likely non-sustainability of subsidy programs. One can only hope their farmers will have long-term security if government subsidies are reduced or eliminated in the future.

Once again a common message was to realize and embrace that different solutions are required to ensure food security in different areas. Though it seems that many see the importance of taking geographical and some social differences into consideration for food and agriculture development, it's not clear whether developed countries have fully realized that there should be more than a one-way exchange of ideas and programs. A two-way exchange between developed countries and developing countries is needed to realize long-term and sustainable success for implementation of agriculture development strategies. We in the developed world are faced with many problems in our own food system (e.g. obesity and nutrition, environmental impact, loss of family farms), and a more holistic approach is needed in developing countries to avoid facing the same problems we face today.

World Food Day Events: Boston, New York City, and Chicago, and more!

World Food Day is just over a week away!  What will you be doing to celebrate?  Why not attend one of these unique and exciting events before or after hosting your own Sunday Dinner?!  A GROW training session in Boston, a film screening and discussion in New York City, and a Crop Mob in Chicago!  Not near any of these cities?  Check the ACT FAST event calendar, Change the World: Start Here, to see what is happening in your area!  


Boston: 

The Boston Oxfam Action Corps is a group of people from diverse backgrounds who come together as volunteers to help Oxfam campaign and win policies that will help tackle hunger and poverty on a global scale.

Join us for a special gathering this World Food Day, October 16. Together with Oxfam's senior organizing staff, we will provide an afternoon training on Oxfam's new campaign on global hunger – GROW – dedicated to taking action for food, fairness and the future of our planet. This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to learn more, meet other Oxfam supporters and get involved.

The training includes an optional dinner to celebrate World Food Day. We hope you can join us.

What: Free training for Oxfam supporters in the Boston area. 

Topics: We will learn about the GROW campaign, share ideas and make plans to address global hunger through action with Oxfam Action Corps in Boston. 

Who: You! Open to Oxfam supporters, members and leaders of allied organizations. Also feel free to bring friends who are equally committed to fighting hunger and poverty. 

When: Sunday, October 16. The training is from 1:30-5:30pm. This will be followed by an optional dinner with tasty food and a chance to chat informally. 

Where: Oxfam America's office – 226 Causeway St., 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02114. 

Cost: Free. The training and dinner are free of charge. Bring yourself and come ready to participate! 

RSVP: Please click here to RSVP online (or email me the organizers boston@oxfamactioncorps.org). Specify whether you will attend the optional dinner and if you have any dietary restrictions. Please be sure any interested friends do the same. 

For more information: If you have questions about the training, please contact Oxfam's Brittany Collins at bcollins@oxfamamerica.org and 617-517-9439.

This is a great opportunity to join a community of action with Oxfam in Boston. We hope to see you there!

Emily Hubbard and Christine Ellersick, Oxfam Lead Volunteer Organizers

New York City: 

Oxfam Action Corps NYC, together with American Jewish World Service, The Hunger Project's Young Professionals Committee, and Union Theological Seminary, is hosting a US film premiere and discussion about how to change our global food system.  Check it out and learn more about why this issue is so important and what you can do to help.

What: World Food Day celebration and film premiere, discussion and recipe tasting.  The film, “Hunger in a World of Plenty,” addresses why, in a world that has enough resources to feed 12 billion people, nearly one billion people are chronically hungry.

When: Sunday, October 16 at 4:00pm – doors open at 3:30.

Where: James Memorial Chapel at Union Theological Seminary, 3041 Broadway at 121^st Street, New York City

Speakers: We’ll hear from Dr. Idrissa Dicko, Vice President for Africa Programs with The Hunger Project, Stephanie Ives, Director of Education and Community Engagement with American Jewish World Service and Rohit Malpani, Senior Campaigns Advisor with Oxfam America, who will discuss topics addressed in the film and ways in which attendees can take action on a local level.

Cosponsors: This event is cosponsored by the Brooklyn Food Coalition, Buddhist Global Relief, DIG (Development in Gardening), FeelGood Columbia University, the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Special Interest Group of the Greater New York Dietetic Association, the International Youth Council, the Small Planet Institute and WhyHunger.

RSVP: This event is free and open to the public – please RSVP today.

Want to help prepare some of the tasting dishes for the event?  Please contact Arielle Cahill Hassid at newyorkcity@oxfamactioncorps.org.

Chicago: 

Join us for the second annual Crop Mob to Spence Farm!  Sponsored by Chicago Oxfam Action Corps, White Oak Gourmet, and the Spence Farm Foundation, we'll be celebrating World Food Day helping out on the farm.

Click Here to Register on Eventbrite

You'll be joining other Chicago area residents who are committed to a sustainable food supply. We'll be taking a bus from Chicago to Spence Farm 100 miles south of Chicago. Spence Farm in Livingston County was first settled in 1830. You'll be joining the Travis Family; Marty, Kris, and Will, descendants of the original settlers. We'll assist them with harvesting organic farm produce and with fall clean-up chores around the farm. Spence Farm supplies leading restaurants in Chicago like Frontera Grill and Blackbird with specialty produce and its famous Iroquois corn.

Because the farms are typically family owned and operated, most of the labor is done by hand. The term "Crop Mob" was coined by city dwellers who have an interest in sustainable agriculture and would like to help more than just by going to the farmer's market or joining a CSA. The "Crop Mob" gives the farmer(s) a valuable source of volunteer labor.

You'll need to bring the following for the trip:

• Packed Lunch
• Hand held gardening or pruning shears to help with the harvestng
• Sturdy shoes or boots and a change of socks.
• Gardening or work gloves.
• A re-fillable water bottle.
• A hat & sunscreen.
• A sweater or light jacket.
• Snacks for the trip down and return home.
• Money in case you'd like purchase some products from the farm. 

Spence Farm will provide beverages and snacks.

Children are welcome, however, but because the bus trip is 2 hours, and the inherent risks of working on a farm, this trip is more appropriate for children over 12 years of age.

The bus will depart from City Provisions Deli & Catering, located at 1818 W. Wilson, Chicago (Ravenswood) at 9:00 a.m., so please arrive No Later than 8:30 a.m


For those traveling to City Provisions via the CTA, they are just steps away from the Damen Brown Line stop, and the Damen bus. For those in vehicles, There's parking for your car anywhere in the gravel parking lot behind the shop (please don't park under the EL! City Provisions cannot be responsible for damage caused by tar falling from the tracks). For those on bikes, there are ample bike racks to lock your bike securely for the duration of the day.


Questions, need to carpool in from the 'burbs?  Don't hesitate to phone Organizer Tom Leavitt at 847-754-0708.

Click Here to Register on Eventbrite

"Imagine if food could talk. What would your rice tell you?"

This World Food Day, dedicate your dinner to the farmers who produced the food on your plate.  

Oxfam America is teaming up with a host of allies across the US and around the globe.  We have a simple yet compelling idea—to host a Sunday Dinner October 16 that fosters a conversation about where your food comes from, who cultivates it, and how we can make the food system more just and sustainable.  Order your free materials by October 12.  


Archbishop Desmond Tutu, food activist and author Frances Moore Lappé, and activist and organic farmer Ellen Walsh-Rosmann invite you to host your own Sunday Dinner:

How to host a Sunday Dinner:

• Decide what kind of gathering you want. How many people? What kind of food? Have a potluck and ask everyone to bring their favorite dish. You can also make a dish contributed by chefs such as Giada De Laurentiis, Mark Bittman, Eric Yost, José Andrés , and the Mennonite Central Committee, or these cheap recipes for Slow Food USA's $5 Challenge.
• Decide on the time and place and get the word out in order to get your guest count.
• Order Free Materials for your dinner by Oct. 12. We have World Food Day place mats to use at your table and sets of recipe cards to give out to your guests. For large events we have posters, stickers, and more.
• Use our Sunday Dinner Discussion Guide to facilitate the conversation during your dinner.
• Before your guests leave, ask them to join the Oxfam America Mobile Action Network. Text OXFAM to 30644 and we’ll send you critical updates about how you can help during global emergencies, take action when Congress is debating important legislation, and join us when there are Oxfam events in your area. Text STOP at any time to unsubscribe.