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David and I are excited to attend a symposium on Wednesday, May 8 at Notre Dame: “The Future of Food: Urban Bio-Economies in Europe and America.” We’re especially excited to see Will Allen of Growing Power, as well as Ron Finley of LA Green Grounds.

“6ft 7 inch former professional basketball player Will Allen is now one of the most influential leaders of the food security & urban farming movement. His farm and not-for-profit, Growing Power, have trained and inspired people in every corner of the US to start growing food sustainably. This man and his organization go beyond growing food. They provide a platform for people to share knowledge and form relationships in order to develop alternatives to the industrial food system.Will Allen works with at-risk urban youth, helping them learn farming skills for a more positive life trajectory and food system “that works for everybody.” On Wednesday he’ll talk about “The Good Food Revolution.” You can meet him in this video introduction to Growing Power:

“Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA — in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where ‘the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys.'” On Wednesday, he’ll be talking about “The New Urban Food Forest,” but you might enjoy his talk here about food deserts and what we can do about them:

(You can click on the flyer above and then click again to view it full-size.)

Here’s the Nanovic Institute’s event description:

With a grant from the European Union Delegation to the United States, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies invites you to celebrate Europe Day by attending a symposium to be held on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, entitled “The Future of Food: Urban Bio-Economies in Europe and America.” The event (with the exception of lunch) is free and open to the public.

The purpose of this convivial event is to gather farmers, chefs, restaurateurs, policy-makers, academics, and members of our wider community to discuss new developments in urban food systems. As we know, the world’s population is now more urban than rural, a shift that has had enormous effects on food production and distribution. When it comes to feeding urban areas, what are the most pressing problems, ingenious approaches, and sustainable new practices?

Lunch will be a very special Farmers Market feast, sourced entirely from local farmers and purveyors and designed especially by Chef Don Miller, Notre Dame Food Service Executive Chef.

[Note from Laura: Registration for the luncheon buffet ended on May 1, but the event is still free and open to the public. This is a phenomenal gathering of great speakers, community outreach, visionaries and people embodying the idea that “the problem is the solution.” I feel passionate about food security and and food as a social justice issue, so I’m really looking forward to gathering and brainstorming more ideas to implement at the local level. Please join us if you can!]