Food is key to community and connects us to the land where it is grown, the people working that land, and the systems employed to cultivate the land. Santa Cruz is next to, but weirdly disconnected from, the massive inland farms that grow most of the fresh vegetables in the US. While we build knowledge of small-scale sustainable farming, foraging, and seed saving as antidotes to industrial agriculture, we also build solidarity with the workers who labor on those huge farms, and whose health and welfare are impacted by pesticides, low wages, insufficient housing, and punitive immigration policy.
Our program plans include workshops on seed saving, foraging, and mycology; a Peoples Tribunal on the effects of pesticides on farmworkers; and artists in residence engaged with food-related questions and events.