Food Justice Event with Chef José Andrés

EcoCiv partnered with renowned chef and activist José Andrés to bring together more than 30 non-profit leaders to discuss cross-sector collaboration at Oyamel Restaurant in Washington, DC on September 7th. The event, entitled “Food, Sustainability, and Social Justice: How Do We Increase Our Impact?” used food as an example of an area where multiple sectors of justice work are intricately related. Sectors represented included nutrition, agriculture, food access, labor, climate, sustainable finance, indigenous rights, and women and girls.

Chef Andrés described his experience providing food and emergency relief to Puerto Ricans in the days and months following Hurricane Maria. A panel of experts — Stephanie Burgos (Assoc. Dir., Oxfam), Timothy Carter (President, Second Nature), Mary Ellsberg (Dir., Global Women’s Institute at the George Washington University), Karenna Gore (Dir., Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary), and Radha Muthiah (CEO, Capital Area Food Bank) — expanded the discussion to other sectors. Moderators Philip Clayton (EcoCiv President) and Steven Knapp (EcoCiv Board Member) focused on the challenges participant organizations face and ways to facilitate more effective collaboration.