Lately, I’ve kind of been on somewhat of a learning craze (because I am that boring.) This has mostly entailed podcasts and lots of reading, but also in the next month, two really cool conferences. The first one, this weekend, is PJALS’ Peace and Economic Justice Action Conference. The second, the “Power of Our Regional Food Economy: 2013 Conference” (April 19) covers a topic that desperately needs addressing, especially in Spokane: the local food economy.
In brief, the workshops listed give me the idea that the organizers and presenters will be covering all the bases of local food systems in a clean, promising and probably funtastic manner. With a pretty awesome list of sponsors, including Project Hope, EWU, and Spokane Regional Health District, the appeal here is a pretty balanced view from several interested parties.
Now more than ever, local food has the power to totally enhance Spokane. Look to the left of our fair city, and you see….farms. Look to the right and you see…well, farms. Not to mention the urban agriculture brilliance that has been spilling out of West Central — so, basically, local food is something we have the potential to truly harness as a way to feed our city.
Why is this important? A lot of reasons, but mostly for sustainability and public health. The bigger the farm it comes from, the more likely it is to make you sick. And the further the location your food comes from, the more likely it’s going to make the planet sick. Simple enough.
Registration for the conference is a cool $35 (which includes lunch; who doesn’t want to eat lunch at a local food conference?).
I found the featured image for this story here.
Alayna Becker, The Spovangelist editor-in-chief, finds enough time in the day to grow plants, keep tabs on every single thing going on in Spokane and blog most of it.
i had not heard anything about the “PJALS’ Peace and Economic Justice Action Conference”, what is it and how do they promote thier events, because it seems hard to access promo material.