Celebrate Food Day October 24 premiers "What's on Your Plate?"

This year marks the first national Food Day on October 24th, and the Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council (GGRFSC) wants to celebrate food, glorious food! The Grand Rapids premier of the film What’s on Your Plate? will be followed by a panel discussion, and snacks highlighting local West Michigan farms will be served.

What’s on Your Plate? follows two New York City preteens as they explore where their food comes from. Award-winning filmmaker Catherine Gund follows Sadie and Safiyah as they talk to everyone from storekeepers to food activists in order to find out how and where their food is grown, how far it travels, how it is processed, and where the waste goes. Viewers follow the two girls as they eventually come to seek sustainable alternatives to the way things are currently done in the food system, and think and talk about what that means for society as a whole.

Famous author and food activist Michael Pollan, who has appeared in many similar films and wrote The Omnivore’s Dilemma, says, “What’s on Your Plate” is exactly the film we need now.”

Following the film, a panel of policy experts will discuss how local, state and Federal policies affect everything from urban agriculture and community gardens to healthy diets to Farm to School efforts to healthy hospital food. David Lagrand, owner of Wealthy St. Bakery, Jane Wiedenbeck of Food and Water Watch, and others, will discuss how to get to a Fair Farm Bill in 2012. In addition, Kent County Health Department’s Jill Myer will be there to talk about how to get to a healthier food system. All panelists will emphasize how community members can get involved.

The screening will take place at the Gerald R. Ford Middle School at 851 Madison Ave, Grand Rapids, MI 49507. Local food refreshments will be served.

For more information on the event, call 616-632-7272.

Food Day was started by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The six principles Food Day promotes are: 1) Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods; 2) Support sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness; 3) Expand access to food and alleviate hunger; 4) Protect the environment and animals by reforming factory farms; 5) Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids; and 6) Support fair conditions for food and farm workers.

Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council is a ten-year-old West Michigan food policy council whose mission is to “restore connections to food, place, and community.” Food and Water Watch is a national organization working to ensure the food, water and fish we consume are safe, accessible and sustainable.