Community Gardening :

WESPAC has cultivated an extensive and cooperative network of food justice advocates throughout the county where we work together to enhance the existing expertise within diverse communities in the quest for a more sustainable food shed with more widespread access to fresh, local produce. We are proud of our role in promoting a more inclusive local food movement, and we continue to serve as an important resource for community gardens in the county by providing organizational and material support to both new projects and old.

Rock Steady CSA Delivery in Mount Vernon

Posted on April 2, 2020 by

Nada Khader Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Director's Blog, Environmental and Food Justice, Frontpage

Ruby Olisemeka is a Food Justice leader in Mount Vernon and will be coordinating a new CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery in her home town of Mount Vernon. The food is being produced by Rock Steady Farm in Millerton, NY, and will help provide nourishing, high quality produce to dozens in Mount Vernon. Rock Steady Farm and Flowers is a women and queer owned cooperative farm, rooted in social justice, growing sustainable vegetables, flowers and herbs in a holistic manner for our Hudson Valley bioregion. The WESPAC Food Justice fund has contributed $4,000 to this CSA effort, and we are hoping to raise another $6,000 to help nourish at least fifty people in need for the twenty week growing season. Every person has a right to high quality, fresh and local food.

If you would like to make a contribution for this effort, you may do so here: https://donorbox.org/rock-steady-farm-csa-delivery-in-mount-vernon

Thank you very much in advance for considering,

Nada

WESPAC Director on our Food System

Posted on December 10, 2019 by

Nada Khader Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Director's Blog, Environmental and Food Justice, Frontpage

Corinne Segal has done a fabulous job with this interview on our food system, and how appropriate that it comes out on International Human Rights Day and on the day that we discuss Eric Holt-Gimenez’s book tonight at WESPAC at 7pm on Can We Feed the World Without Destroying It?
Take a look here: https://www.slowfoodmetronorth.org/…/nada-khader-on-the-pol… Thank you, Corinne!

The Story on Soil

Posted on January 31, 2018 by

Nada Khader Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Director's Blog, Environmental and Food Justice

http://woodstockearth.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-storyon-soil-carbon-microbes-and.html

WESPAC Plot at Bethel Baptist Community Gardens

Posted on August 17, 2016 by

Nada Khader Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Director's Blog, Environmental and Food Justice, Frontpage

A big thanks to Sadie’s initiative at the Bethel Baptist Community Gardens in White Plains. The WESPAC plot has produced dozens of pounds of fresh produce for the Open Arms Men’s Shelter in downtown White Plains. Thank you, Sadie, and to all who have volunteered!

Community Earth Day Celebration

Posted on April 7, 2016 by

Nada Khader Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Director's Blog, Environmental and Food Justice, Movement Building

Celebrating New Partnerships and Friends

Join us as we prepare community gardens, composting bins, neighborhood cleanup and more
Sunday, April 17th, from 10am to 3pm
First Seventh-day Adventist Church of White Plains
180 Juniper Hill Road
Greenburgh, NY 10607

Join local farmer Doug DeCandia, DIG Farm, WESPAC, the First Seventh-day Adventist Church of White Plains and local Starbucks employees as we gather in Greenburgh to honor Mother Earth on April 17th and prepare a communal garden and composting bins. Please bring gardening gloves, trash bags, rakes, trowels, spades and shovels. Lunch will be provided by Giovanni Chef D’Amour Green. Blood pressure screening and a health check up will be provided by medical professionals of the congregation. This community gathering is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Pastor Kyran Leo John at 347.989.7700.

Next WESPAC Food Justice Planning Committee Meeting

Posted on November 26, 2015 by

Nada Khader Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Director's Blog, Economic and Human Rights, Environmental and Food Justice, Movement Building

A big thank you to all who attended our community harvest dinner on Monday. By all accounts, it was a memorable evening as we transition now to the holiday season. A special thank you to Professor Tracy Basile at Pace University who brought Micmac elder Evan Pritchard with her as well as the students in her Food Revolution class. We all appreciated Doug’s presentation that expressed a spiritual dimension to our life and work and relationship with the life around us, the plants and the food we eat.

We announced that the next WESPAC Food Justice Planning Committee meeting will take place on Thursday, December 17th, at 7pm in the WESPAC office. People may ask – what is food justice? One definition that we are comfortable with is: Food Justice means communities exercising their right to grow, sell, and eat healthy food. Healthy food is fresh, nutritious, affordable, culturally-appropriate, and grown locally with care for the well-being of the land, workers, and animals. Our collective food justice work can lead to a strong local food system, self-reliant communities, and a healthy environment.

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Please support WESPAC’s 2015 Membership Drive!

Posted on September 14, 2015 by

Nada Khader Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Criminal Justice, Director's Blog, Economic and Human Rights, Environmental and Food Justice, Friends of Turtle Island, Immigration, Movement Building, Racial Justice

Nature Walk with local farmer Doug DeCandia

Posted on May 22, 2015 by

Nada Khader Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Director's Blog, Environmental and Food Justice, Movement Building

Fresh Food to combat racial inequity

Posted on January 29, 2015 by

Nada Khader Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Director's Blog, Environmental and Food Justice, Movement Building

http://yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/radical-farmers-use-fresh-food-fight-racial-injustice-black-lives-matter

Upcoming Food Justice Events

Posted on February 6, 2014 by

Nada Khader Posted in Communities & Focus Areas, Community Gardening, Environmental and Food Justice

Upcoming Food Justice Events

Healthy Food is a Human Right! (more…)

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2 days ago

Tanya Keilani is always spot on:

“It's great that Peter Beinart now publicly declares he believes in equality rather than supremacy, and in a one-state solution. His views have evolved dramatically over the years, and that's noteworthy and positive. But I do have some thoughts to share:

Palestinians have been making some of these arguments for decades. We are most impacted and understand this issue most intimately. Now, look up the number of op-eds written by Palestinians vs Jewish Americans/Israelis on this issue published by mainstream outlets. It's absurd. Does this need to be written by non-Palestinians in order for people to believe it? Aren't we the experts on our own experience? Aren't people supposed to listen to and center those closest to the pain?

This op-ed mostly centers Jewish lives and perspectives. Which makes sense, because Peter is Jewish and wants to bring his community along as he evolves. I appreciate that and that is work that needs to be done. But if Peter and others want to be allies (bc let's be clear: Palestinians are the oppressed community in this context), this is some of what I recommend:

-Center Palestinians. Don't make it all about you because the problem is that it already is all about you.
-Teach your community about the Nakba, in detail.
-Talk about & support the Right of Return. Don't be vague about this. I can't underscore enough how important this is.
-Equality is good but understand Palestinians are indigenous to this land and have been ripped away from it/their families and we need to address and repair the trauma and suffering that has caused. Reparations are a thing.
-Encourage mainstream outlets to publish more Palestinian perspectives
-Don't wait decades to believe us. The longer people wait to do the right thing, the more are killed. Trust us and our leadership. The movement for freedom will go on without you, but better you catch up now than later.
-If you're worried about how *your* community will respond to your progress, then lovingly expect better of them. Make that the norm. From Adrienne Maree Brown: "Trust the people. (If you trust the people, they become trustworthy." Trust your community to do better, it can do better. Or enough of them can, at least. This is work all communities/people need to do in general, and the bar will be raised for all.

*Note, all the above is not about Peter but allyship in general. Using this op-ed to highlight these ever-relevant points. And please don't @ me with "but this is huge progress!" I know. I do this work every day. Making other points here so we can keep making progress. Onward.” ... See MoreSee Less

Opinion | I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State

www.nytimes.com

For decades I argued for separation between Israelis and Palestinians. Now, I can imagine a Jewish home in an equal state.

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2 weeks ago

Justice for Black Women Rally in Spring Valley, Manhattan and Staten Island this Friday, July 3rd at 11 am. It is hosted by the Justice for Women Task Force to honor the lives of women who have died from police and prison violence. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nri6-9r2Q3OfhFEUUCFNhw

One of the women honored is Tina Davis, who was tazed to death by police in January in Spring Valley, NY in Rockland County. Her family asks people to attend one of the three rallies with signs that say "Tina Davis". ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

2 weeks ago

Here is the recording of an important webinar with South Dakota State Senator Red Dawn Foster on the work of Return to the Heart Foundation, an Indigenous-led grantmaking organization that empowers women-led initiatives throughout Indian Country. For Native Americans, Covid-19 has hit hard, from the growing number of infections in Navaho and Hopi Nations to the racism that the Lakota continue to face in protecting their borders. South Dakota State Senator Red Dawn goes into detail about how Native nations are staying resilient and how mutual aid can support their efforts. ... See MoreSee Less

Video

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2 weeks ago

Native Resilience in the Age of Covid-19:

Mutual aid support with Indigenous Peoples

Wednesday, June 24

7:00 – 8:00 pm via Zoom us02web.zoom.us/j/87362624991

For Native Americans, Covid-19 has hit hard, from the growing number of infections in Navaho and Hopi Nations to the racism that the Lakota continue to face in protecting their borders. How are Native nations staying resilient? How can mutual aid support their efforts?

Join us for an important webinar with Red Dawn Foster on the work of Return to the Heart Foundation, an Indigenous-led grantmaking organization that empowers women-led initiatives throughout Indian Country.

Areas of focus include:

· ensuring the availability of urgent emergency supplies to fight the pandemic,

· initiating restorative and regenerative farming to provide healthy foods and medicine,

· supporting traditional healers for mental, spiritual and cultural information access.

Red Dawn Foster is currently the South Dakota State Senator with over ten years of experience working with Tribal communities in economic development fields. She is COO and co-founder of Return to the Heart Foundation. ... See MoreSee Less

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

us02web.zoom.us

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom ...

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