The Food Systems Leadership Network, like the larger food movement it is a part of, is full of incredible people and organizations working tirelessly to transform their food systems and communities. In these features, we have the honor of interview a few of the many individuals and organizations that continue to make this work possible. Check them out!
Featured Leaders
Learn more about the individuals in this network, including their journeys into food systems work, leadership challenges, and words of wisdom that they offer fellow leaders.
Winona Bynum
Detroit Food Policy Council
“The way we can improve the food system is to talk across disciplines and work collectively on goals, whether they are short, medium or long-term.”
Shelley Dyer
Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation
“Food systems leadership means to me that I prioritize centering the voices of people who are directly impacted by injustices.”
Marcus Coleman
Louisiana State University
“It is up to those of us engaged in food systems work to also publicly expose and call attention to the inequities that we see across the food systems, especially for socially disadvantaged communities.”
Featured Organizations
Get to know fellow member organizations and businesses and what they’re learning in these brief posts that shine light on the many different strategies underway to build more equitable systems across the country.
Three Sisters Kitchen
Albuquerque, NM
“Three Sisters Kitchen uses the power and love of local food to create economic opportunity, improve community health, and bring our diverse communities together around the table. “
Alaska Food Hub
Homer, AK
“Alaska Food Hub provides opportunities for Cook Inlet Watershed producers and consumers to connect in a way that will create benefit for both.”
Mandela Partners
Oakland, CA
Mandela Partners’ capacity to quickly respond in a time of crisis was largely due to this systems approach to community work.
Conversations with Food Systems Leaders
Through podcasts and video series, FSLN members dig into what leadership means, discuss ways to achieve transformative change, and explore dreams for a more equitable future.
How to Create More Equitable and Anti-Racist Food Systems: A Conversation with Food Systems Leaders
Watch on YouTube
Listen on SoundCloud
“You can’t talk about food or spices without talking about geography, politics, and food history. Those conversations around anti-racism and equity are so key to building the momentum around a good food movement.”
Video: Corbin Hill Food Project
New York, NY
“I don’t want to just be in the food distribution system. I want to redefine what it is and how it should operate.”
Video: CommonWealth Kitchen
Boston, MA
“We have a universal opportunity to think about food as a way for people to get on a journey of moving out of poverty, moving into a place where there’s opportunities for wealth creation and asset building.”
Video: Southwest Georgia Project
Albany, GA
“Good leadership is when I’m willing to step up when it’s necessary, but also step back when it’s necessary, and understand that I don’t have all the answers.”
Podcast Interview: Paula Daniels
Center for Good Food Purchasing
“It’s not your typical path, but I basically followed my passion. What motivated me to get involved in the first place was being from Hawaii and being exposed in a very personal way what large scale agriculture was like.”
Podcast Interview: Malik Yakini
Detroit Black Community Food Security Council
“We’re not anti-white people, and we certainly accept white allies… but we push back heavily against this notion that white people, or any other ethnic group, should come into our communities and decide for us what should be done.”
Podcast Interview: Anupama Joshi
Co-Founder of the National Farm to School Network
“I realized there was a need for a larger connection to happen at the national level – we were facing the same barriers, we were asking the same questions, a couple of us were constantly bumping into each other and using our peers to learn from each other.”