Meet Our VISTAS

VISTA terms at Just Food are coming to an end! Read the last stories from their year below.

Matt Chan, Food Security VISTA, Just Food

I've been told multiple times that I have a voice suitable for radio. (Once I was told that I had a "crazy Barry White" thing going on.) Why am I telling you this? Because you can hear it on Just Food's podcast page. There are two up so far, with a possiblity with a third and final one coming soon. Each podcast are meant to profile a member of the local food community and give some insight into their particular food related field.

Needless to say, given that this was the first time I had ever worked on a podcast, it took longer to produce than I thought they would. I mean, do you realize how important properly cued music is? It's crucial! Not to mention the tedium of listen to the same hour long interview over and over again in order to pick out the few select phrases to finesse into a few minutes of story. (Listening to an interview several times over has a way of ingraining certain words/phrases forever in your head in fairly particular ways —— I can't help but giggle whenever I hear the word "challenges".)

Nevertheless, over the course of several weeks the podcasts on the website came together after much editing, narrating, and general hair pulling. The process has certainly taught me much about producing podcasts and given me a deeper appreciation for public radio in general.

Monica Gagnon, NYC Field Coordinator, WhyHunger

Over the past year at WhyHunger I had the opportunity to co-produce this film on the food and climate connection with WhyHunger Global Movements staff and filmmaker Sara Grady.  In addition to helping create the outline for the film, I traveled with Sara to the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania to interview agroecology expert Tim LaSalle, and worked on various other aspects of the film’s production over the year.  I’m happy to finally be able to present the completed film – check it out!

The Food and Climate Connection from WhyHunger on Vimeo.

Kristin Pederson, Development Associate, Food Systems Network of New York City

Somewhere in Detroit, orange braceleted activists were discussing the rights of domestic workers, pushing for more transparent democracy, and taking breaks to eat ice cream in support of rural farmers. It did, in fact, seem like another Detroit was happening, as promised in the addendum to the week’s slogan: “Another World Is Possible, Another U.S. Is Necessary.”  This U.S. Social Forum, which took place June 22nd through June 26th, was the second time such a gathering has happened in the U.S. The first occurred in 2007 in Atlanta, growing out of the World Social Forum movement. This time, over 15,000 activists and organizers had descended on venues throughout Detroit to discuss, build, and act. 

Meanwhile, I was uprooting Bermuda grass. Organizers with the Brooklyn Food Coalition had arranged the transportation and lodging for nearly forty food justice advocates and allies making the trip to Detroit. Furthermore, they found work brigade opportunities for us to volunteer at the wonderful Smallville Community Farm with our Detroit host, Michelle Jackson. We were able to assist as Smallville installed its first hoop house. The hoops may not have all turned out exactly the same shape, but overall we had an inspiring time getting dirty and connecting with a group helping to reconfigure Detroit and educate its youth about urban farming. 
Besides the work brigade mornings, there were over 1,000 workshops from which we could choose. I learned more about food sovereignty from farmers working with Via Campesina in Haiti, Honduras, and Palestine. I thought about my own connection to the history of food production in “By Any Greens Necessary.” It was a week for building movements, and the energy created during the forum will carry those returning to NYC and other communities around the country forward into a more interconnected future of grassroots power and opportunity.