MomsRising‘s FoodPower 2014 conference was held last week. This event is near and dear to my heart because I care about these issues and I’m a Good Food Force blogger. Also, last year at this event I met some fab ladies and bloggers whom I have the honor and privilege to now call my friends. This year Food Power 2014 was held partnership with The Blk Projek‘s Not Just Talk conference.
The theme of the#NotJustTalk conference was “Radical Women Creating Resilient Communities.” The Blk Projek’s Tanya Fields made introductory remarks where she shared why we need to have spaces where communities of color can come together to talk about making changes and improving communities. Tanya also shared why she created TanyaTalks, similar to Ted Talks. She created TanyaTalks when she was invited and then uninvited from speaking at a Ted Talk.
Elizabeth Yeampierre was one of the guest speakers. Elizabeth Yeampierre is a Puerto Rican lawyer and environmental activitist. She is Executive Director of Uprose. Ms. Yeampierre spoke about the importance of getting communities of color involved in the environmental cause. She said communities of color need to be involved in decision making and leading, not only in working in the fields. They need to lead in their communities. Change has to come from within, not from outside.
After a delicious brunch sponsored by MomsRising, I attended a panel on using social media to help with our work in food justice and food issues with Migdalia Rivera from MomsRising (aka Ms.Latina, from Latina on a Mission) Migdalia is a great speaker and is very passionate about her work. She asked guests this question:
She says:
When someone is passionate, it comes through in what they do in social media. When you are real, you draw readers in.
Migdalia asked all the attendees to share what their passions were. She says that when we talk about what we are passionate about, our eyes light up and we become excited about it! Everyone in the room was very passionate and real about the causes they care about. You probably know I’m passionate about three things, healthy eating for kids, raising my multilingual son and motherhood.
The panel also had guests Alexandra Morbitzer, aka Fit Latina and Irina Gonzalez, Creator of Healthy Latin Food who spoke about how they became interested in food and exercise and healthy living. They also discussed how they use social media to mobilize their communities and to have real dialogues with readers. Irina’s site offers tips on how to make Latin meals healthy and Alexandra’s site offers tips on how to be fit and healthy and, (I love this!) “Finding Your Healthiest Self Doesn’t Mean Losing Your Nalgas.”
I especially loved this year’s conference for a few reasons:
1. Tanya Fields: I had heard Tanya Fields speak at Food Power 13. She is eloquent, inspiring and passionate about helping communities of color succeed.
2. It was in The Bronx. As an outer borough girl, I love it when other boroughs get some love. Great things are happening in The Bronx and as this conference shows, community members are active and want to make positive change in their communities.
3. I was humbled and moved to receive an award from MomsRising for my participation in social media as a Good Food Force blogger. Among other awardees were Eileen Carter-Campos aka Mommy Teaches and Raquel Negron, The Digital Latina.
Thank you for the award MomsRising!
Can’t wait for #FoodPower15! Thanks to MomsRising and toThe Blk Projek for a great day!
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