Food Truth Week Brings Awareness of Food System

Carleton College will commemorate Food Truth Week, a week dedicated to celebrating, learning about, and eating local food, from Friday, May 8 to Friday, May 15. Events will include a fair trade coffee break, the planting of a community garden on the Carleton campus, a panel discussion on local food, and the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser in support of the Northfield Area Food Shelf. All events are free and open to the public, although donations are welcomed.

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normal">Saturday, May 9, is World Fair Trade Day, and Food Truth will celebrate the occasion with a fair trade coffee break at 3 p.m. during the International Festival in the Sayles-Hill Campus Center. Food Truth encourages students to “help the U.S. take back the title of largest fair trade coffee break from Finland.”

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normal">One of the major events of Food Truth Week will be the “Dig In,” in which a community garden will be planted on the stretch of lawn between Olin and Boliou Halls on the Carleton campus. Planting times are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 9; noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 10 and Tuesday, May 12; and 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 14. The result will be an Edible Garden designed to grow food for students to enjoy year round.

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normal">Other related events include a showing of the film The Garden, on Tuesday, May 12. This movie tells the story of a community garden in downtown Los Angeles. On Wednesday, May 13, there will be a panel discussion led by Northfield residents regarding land use and the local food system. Food Truth Week concludes with a convocation address by Susannah Morgan ‘91, a Carleton alumnus and executive director of the Food Bank of Alaska, and the Empty Bowls event, in which students sell homemade soup in handmade bowls thrown by Carleton ceramics classes, with proceeds benefitting the area food shelf.

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normal">Food Truth Week is sponsored by Food Truth, a Carleton student-led organization. Food Truth will host an informational table in the Sayles-Hill Campus Center during Food Truth Week. All are welcome to come and learn more about Food Truth, and to purchase Food Truth merchandise, such as t-shirts, reusable shopping bags, and a recipe book. For more information on Food Truth, along with Food Truth Week events, please contact boveej@carleton.edu.