(Photo | Courtesy of High Desert Food and Farm Alliance)
Why are farmers and farm workers struggling to put food on the table? How can our community collaborate to increase food access across Central Oregon? Join High Desert Food and Farm Alliance (HDFFA) April 8 and April 29 as they welcome Jillian Hishaw and Orlando Gómez to the (virtual) stage to discuss an issue faced across North America and one that is prevalent in our own community: lack of access to affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate food. This two-part speaker series is a free event, but ticket quantities are limited. Donations are encouraged with all proceeds benefiting our food access programs. Reserve your ticket at eventbrite.com/d/online/hdffa.
Jillian Hishaw will kick off this two-part speaker series on April 8 from 6-7pm PST. With a background in Agricultural Policy, Hishaw is the Founding CEO of Family Agriculture Resource Management Services (F.A.R.M.S.). Hishaw will discuss rural hunger, often a forgotten topic of focus in farming communities. According to the USDA, 84 percent of U.S. counties with the highest percentage of childhood hunger are rural. Through F.A.R.M.S., Hishaw has focused on procuring and donating produce in rural farming communities over the past eight years. Over one million pounds of produce have been donated in and outside of the U.S.
Part two of this series will feature Orlando Gómez on April 29 from 6-7pm PST. Gómez will be diving into collaborative solutions to food insecurity, focusing on community efforts to increase food access, body positivity, youth employment and education in the community farm setting and more. Gómez is the Community Food Growing Senior Manager at FoodShare in Toronto. Foodshare advocates for food justice by supporting community-based food initiatives and through ongoing advocacy and public education.
Tickets can be reserved at eventbrite.com/d/online/hdffa. Don’t miss out on these important conversations.
Funding for this event is provided through a USDA Community Food Projects (CFP) grant.
For any questions, please contact Caroline at caroline@hdffa.org.
