Hi All,

The 2018 Long Island Food Conference is behind us, but the work to make Food a national political issue is still ahead of us! When I say Food, I mean a fair food system where everyone has access to affordable, healthy food. Where our food is unadulterated with pesticides, chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, plastic, PCB’s, GMO’s etc, and where the people growing our food are paid a fair, livable wage, with good, safe, working conditions. Where access to land is available, where caring for the soil and water is paramount, and where caring for the animals is kind, humane and compassionate. It was clear in all of the discussions we had that day, that the food movement is growing, but, as Tom Colicchio said, “We need to make food a political issue, in order for it to change”.

After 40 years, Frances Moore Lappé is still my hero! Back in the ’70’s, when she wrote, Diet for a Small Planet, she changed the way I eat, and she changed the way America eats. In her keynote talk on Saturday, she talked about our broken food system, about the corruption, marketing and influence that big business has on the foods we eat, and about the green house gas emissions associated with the production of our food. However, her talk was not all about doom and gloom. It was also about hope, and the innate good in people that we can foster. Empathy, Cooperation, Sense of Fairness, Need for Meaning, Need for Power, Imagination and Curiosity, are all qualities in human nature that can help us get out of this mess!

She went on to talk about the concept of a “Living Democracy”, what that would look like, and how a true democratic system would put the needs of the people in front of the wants of the wealthy. We need to remove money from politics, and then the politicians would be free to listen to the people. We need transparency and a dispersion of power, so that our elected officials are accountable, and we can build harmony and trust back into democracy. That is what she called a “Living Democracy” and she invited us all to check out this new organization called, “Democracy Initiative”. They are doing great work in pulling together other organizations that share this common goal. Please spread the word, and lets help create the world we want to live in!!

Coat Drive and Cooking a Thanksgiving Feast for the River Fund NY

This time of year is about “Giving Back”, but we need to make every day about giving back. People who are hungry are not only hungry during the holidays, they are hungry everyday. Unfortunately, we can not change the system that feeds homelessness or hunger, but we can do what we can, in our own personal lives, to donate our time, energy, money, and political will, to try and make it better. For the past 24 years, I’ve been gathering people in my community to cook for the folks who visit the River Fund NY Food Pantry, and offer them a delicious, home cooked meal, infused with lots of love, during the holidays. (Christmas event will be Dec. 15-18) There are still some spots open for the Thanksgiving Feast, especially on Monday evening for turkey carving, if you would like to participate. You can sign up here!  I also collect warm clothing and blankets to share. Please help me gather coats, hats, gloves, scarfs, sweatshirts, blankets, sleeping bags, tote bags, boots, etc, to share with those in need, to help them stay warm during the coming winter months. Donations can be dropped off at the iEat Green Homestead in Old Westbury, anytime between now and Nov. 18th. ( I’ll be doing it again for Christmas)

In addition to the River Fund NY, I love to support other non profit organizations that are doing great work on the ground. One of them is the Sierra Club, (who, by the way, are members of the living Democracy Initiative) Since what I do is food, what better way to support them, than providing them with some delicious food for their events. Monday, I cooked up a storm for their Adventure Film Festival in NYC! The Roasted Curried Eggplant and Cauliflower that I made for them will be this week’s recipe!

The Results Are In!

Democrats take back control of the House! This is great news, but unfortunately, we did not take back the Senate and we lost some governorship’s that we had hoped to win. However, we did increase our voter base significantly, and if we can keep everyone engaged, we can start to work on making Food Equity an issue in the next election!

This Week’s Guest, Jon Chin!

My guest this week on the Progressive Radio Network is Jon Chin,  the founder of Share Meals, an organization dedicated to ending hunger and isolation among students. He is also an educator, poet, software engineer, 2nd dan blackbelt, and social entrepreneur. His greatest concern is how to leverage breakthrough technology to address the human condition in new, disarming ways. His classrooms are often attended by laughter, sometimes so much so, that they’re asked to pipe down. He is currently researching the intersection of English Education, natural language processing, and machine learning, to support better language learning in the classroom.

Remember, my show is recorded live, every Thursday, from 10-11 am, EST.  To tune in, navigate to PRN.fm and click the “Listen Live” button on the left.

PRN has a new app! Just download the app from your phone app store, and take the station with you wherever you go! You’ll be able to listen live or access the archives, all from the app! If you want to call in during the show with any questions for me or my guest, the call in number is 888-874-4888.

If you missed the show, you can listen to it in the PRN archives, or through the PRN app. Of course you can also access the shows through my website.

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With love and gratitude,

Bhavani