1. FEB 24TH, 2015
E W U S U S T A I N A B L E F O O D F O R U M
CR DESIGN & PLANNING SERVICES
Building Relationships Back Into Food
Mark Loparco, Dave McKay, D.J Jigre, Dane Rice, Kelsey Mae Crane (Left to Right)
“ZERO WASTE” PRODUCTS ARABICA COFFEE BEANS WA GROWN APPLES
#FOODJUSTICE
The Goal of this event was to move the campus community to consider the questions,“What is Food Justice, and what
does it mean to be an eater in today’s world?” Through expert-led discourse, the topic of sustainable food was dissected
down into it’s truest meaning -- no longer satisfied solely by labels such as organic, sustainable, fair, ethical -- but realized
through personal relationships. Discussions were focused around concepts such as “Beyond Fair Trade”, Farm To Table
programs, Community-Based and Driven Business Models, Climate Change, and the Anchoring Role that Institutions like
EWU and the University of Montana inevitably hold to small farmers and local food systems development.
“We should eat food that is not only good to eat, but good to think.” -Michael Pollan
ASEWU-led Photo (Com)Petition
*Prize donated by The Mason Jar
2. The morning began with the two most sustainable coffee
roasters in the Inland North West leading coffee tastings --
Roast House and DOMA. Dr. Julia Smith performed the
opening remarks as well as a “coffee talk” to follow,
covering topics ranging from Climate Change, Coffee
Cherries and Processing, to the Coffee Market as a major
indicator of international food prices. Next, we welcomed
Alison Collins and David Blaine to lead discussion on Farm
To Table and Community Business Practices based on their
current businesses, Central Food and Boots Bakery.
Dr. Julia Smith, EWU Anthropology
Alison Collins of Boots Bakery & David Blaine of
Central Food (Left to Right)
ScottYost, Coffee Educator at DOMA
3. SLOW FOOD & COMMUNITY
Estevan Ruiz,The “Chef”
“Slow Food” Lunch
Slow Food means “Good, Clean, and Fair”. For EWU, this
required sourcing ingredients locally, ensuring that their
purchases would support the local economy and were raised
and traded ethically. It would also demand that the preparation
take more time and intention than what is common practice
on a University serving over 7,000 meals per day.
The menu:
House-made Hummus w/ Baked Pita Chips
Vegetarian Local Split Pea Soup
Campus Bakery Focaccia Bread
Roasted Fresh Candied Vegetables w/ Pearl
Barley, drizzled with Brown Butter
Carved Local Beef Sandwiches
4. STRONG PARTNERSHIPS
Throughout the day, the EWU Food Forum welcomed community
organizer, Jace Bylinga from the Sierra Club to educate on the
interconnections between Coal Energy, Climate Change, and
Exotic Foods, while EWU Dining and the EWU Campus Garden
club displayed posters showcasing projects aimed at promoting
sustainable food on campus. All who attended the Keynote
presentation by the Director of Dining at the University of
Montana left inspired towards higher goals in REAL food
procurement on campus and in the community. U of M has past
their REAL Food Challenge Commitment of 20%, with over 25%
REAL food on their campus.They plan to put as much of their
campus into local food procurement as possible.
For more information on REAL food visit: www.realfoodchallenge.org
Kelsey Mae Crane, Event Facilitator
“Healthy Food Should Be Available To All.”
5. Coffee
Multiple times during the Food Forum, coffee
was referred to as “The Canary in the
Coal Mine” in regards to International Food
Security. Almost all of us can relate to the
morning dose of coffee as a necessary start to
our day; however, how many actually
understand the elaborate process of coffee
from the cherries grown in the developing
world to the beans sent to market? Coffee is
an exotic item grown exclusively in countries
like Ethiopia and Colombia where farmers
struggle just to receive a livable wage for their
work. Meanwhile, international prices continue
to rise in both coffee and food, as Climate
Change has left California and many other
“food baskets” of the world in a state of severe
drought and mixed unpredictable conditions.
Coffee is such a delight, and is clearly
something the world doesn’t want to go
without. It was thus encouraged that we treat
it as such, being conscious about the coffee we
are consuming, questioning if the process and
trade was fair and sustainable.
“COFFEE IS THE SECOND MOST
TRADED COMMODITY IN THE
WORLD -- SECOND TO CRUDE OIL.”
Student Leadership
A key ingredient to what kind of food is served
on any college campus, particularly one that is
Self-Operated like EWU, has to do with
student demand.A student from ASEWU
addressed the crowd asking,“Does EWU have
plans to double or triple production at the
Campus Garden this year?” Another student,
who attended the Food Forum for the entire
day, ended up seeking out ways in which he
could personally get involved with sustainable
food on campus, after proclaiming that he was
seriously inspired by the days speakers and the
energy of the event.
Food & Culture
From the beginning of time food has been a
major part of culture, from the hunting and
gathering days of roots, berries, and bison, to
the globalized market of today where we have
people likeVictor Azar (Owner atVictor
Foods) making Hummus, Falafel, and Pilaf --
sharing his Middle Eastern cultural identity with
the Inland Northwest.Victor is a strong
example of how important food is in
developing who we are, where we go in life,
our message to the world, and how our
community relates to each other. Food is truly
a sacred cultural experience to be preserved.
6. THE RIGHT THING TO DO
EXHIBITORS:
1. EWU DINING SERVICES
2. ASEWU
3. EWU CAMPUS GARDEN
4. THE SIERRA CLUB
5. ROAST HOUSE
6. DOMA
7. VICTOR FOODS
8. CAPTURE PHOTOGRAPHY
BYVANESSA MATHISEN
9. THE MASON JAR
SPEAKERS:
1. DR. JULIA SMITH, EWU
ANTHROPOLOGY
2. DAVID BLAINE, CENTRAL
FOOD
3.ALISON COLLINS, BOOTS
BAKERY
4. MARK LOPARCO, U OF M
DINING DIRECTOR
5. JEREMY SCHULTZ, EWU
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
6. DAVE MCKAY, EWU DINING
DIRECTOR
7.VICTOR AZAR,VICTOR FOODS
SPEAKERS CONT’D:
8. BETH ROBINETTE, LAZY R
RANCH
9. SCOTT BUCK, EWU
TRANSPORTATION
10. JERRY WHITE, SPOKANE
RIVERKEEPER
11. BART MIHAILOVICH,
WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE
12. JOEL WILLIAMSON, LINC
FOODS
13. JACE BYLINGA, SIERRA CLUB
14. D.J JIGRE,ASEWU PRESIDENT
Torie Foote, LINC Foods Board President
D.J Jigre,ASEWU President
Mark LoParco from University of Montana & Dave McKay from EWU (Left to Right)
Tricia Hughes, EWU Health & WellnessJeremy Schultz, EWU Phys. Ed.
7. COLLABORATION
Event Planning &
Consulting by Kelsey
Mae Crane of
Collaborative Roots
ZERO WASTE
1. SUCCESSFUL: 90 PERCENT
DIVERSION RATE
2. ALL DINING PRODUCTS
WERE HARDWARE OR
BIODEGRADABLE
3. ALL COFFEE SAMPLING
PRODUCTS WERE
BIODEGRADABLE
4. HUMMUS TASTING DONE
WITH COMPOSTABLE PAPER
CUPS
5. NO GARBAGE CANS IN
EVENTVENUE
Joel Williamson, LINC Foods
Jerry White, Spokane RiverKeeperBeth Robinette, Lazy R RanchBart Mihailovich,WaterKeeper Alliance
Deborah DiBernardo, Roast House
Kelsey Mae Crane has her Masters in
Urban & Regional Planning from
Eastern Washington University, and is
focused on creating cutting-edge Zero
Waste Events and investing in local
projects that promote a sustainable
culture. She is theVice President of
The Spokane Edible Tree Project and
is on the Board of LINC Foods. CR
operates using the ethos that business
should build meaningful education and
community resiliency.
www.colaborativa.wix.com/
collaborative-roots
Vanessa Mathisen is a native of
Spokane,WA and found her passion
capturing beautiful moments as a
young girl. She has recently merged
with North West Imaging and has
expanded her scope of photo work.
Vanessa has a passion for making a
difference in others lives, and donates
10% of proceeds to local foster care.
All photos featured here are her work
and have been graciously donated to
CR Design & Planning Services.
www.capturenwifoto.com/
Photo credit to
CAPTURE by
Vanessa Mathisen
