Think Local Geneseo Looks to Celebrate National Food Day

GENESEO — Think Local Geneseo and Geneseo Environmental Organization look to partner up to celebrate National Food Day.

National Food Day is a nationwide campaign for sustainable food access for everyone. Think Local Geneseo is partnering with Geneseo Environmental Organization to host a celebration that will include three speakers, Jennifer Rodriguez, Livingston County Director of Public Health, Elizabeth Henderson, retired organic farmer and author, and Kate Mendenhall, of the Northeast Farming Association of New York, on Thursday October 24.

“I think that Food Day will help attendees to see how they can take action and do a little more toward restructuring our food system, whether it be through collective action or looking into sustainable production and research as a career,” said Madeline Smith, Campus Auxiliary Services Ambassador in Entrepreneur for SUNY Geneseo.

Henderson and Mendenhall are both from the Northeast Farming Association of New York and will be speaking about the role that Think Local Geneseo plays as both a consumer and a producer in the food system.

Mendenhall is the executive director of NOFA-NY and Henderson started Peacework Organic Farm in Warsaw, NY and wrote the book entitled Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen’s Guide to Community Supported Agriculture.

“They are huge in the local organic farming world, and it is my hope that students, faculty, and community can walk away inspired by what they have to say,” said Smith.

According to Smith, Rodriguez will share information about hunger in Livingston County and the Department of Health’s plan for chronic illness in the county.

“By hosting Jenn, attendees will be able to learn more about the community around them and the important role that healthy food can play in making healthier communities and people,” said Smith.

According to Smith, by linking the two topics of community health and sustainable farming, the issue of food access can be confronted in a productive manner that hopefully leads to further discussion and action.

This free National Food Day celebration will be held Thursday, October 24 at 7 p.m. in Newton Hall, room 201 on the SUNY Geneseo campus.

For more information about the event, please email thinklocalgeneseo@gmail.com.