The Other Strawberry Festival: Stories of People, Land, and Resistance is a free virtual gathering to explore issues of food injustice and grow solutions. It is hosted by the EFC’s Pesticide-Free Soil Project (PFSP) and MICOP’s Tequio Youth Group. Join us June 4, 2023, from 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. PT to hear from leaders in environmental justice and youth organizers, and view a showcase of winners of the art and poetry contest (see below). The presentation will be offered in English, Spanish and Mixteco.
Strawberry Festivals across the U.S. celebrate the berry industry, bring together communities and offer delicious tastes of strawberry-themed snacks. However, many conversations could be an important part of these events, including talking about the impact of conventional strawberry growing on the health of farmworkers and the planet. The Other Strawberry Festival is a place for these conversations, featuring community leaders, growers, farmworkers and youth organizers who are working to create change for a more just and healthy food system for people and the planet. Join us to grow the conversation!
2023 The Other Strawberry Festival Youth Art and Poetry Contest
The Encampment for Citizenship’s Pesticide Free Soil Project is holding a contest for young poets and artists to create at the intersection of food and justice. Through this contest, we hope to raise visibility for stories about food system injustice and imagine new possibilities for a more just food system. Entries will be judged anonymously by a panel of writers, visual artists and community leaders.
Poets: To enter, submit original work responding to the questions: What are your or your family’s stories of food system injustice and resistance? What do you see when you imagine a future with a more just food system?
For example, you might imagine a planet that no longer uses harmful pesticides to grow food, a neighborhood where people can grow their own culturally specific foods, or a city that makes sure all residents have access to healthy food in a changing world climate … You might write about your own experiences of working in the food service industry or in agriculture, or create work about what good food means to you and your community.
The contest is free to enter and open to youth ages 22 and under. All entries must be 100% original to you. Entries can be in any language, although we ask you to include an English translation of your entry.
Submissions due: May 24, 2023. Anything received after this date will not be considered. Notification: Winning entries will be notified by May 26, 2023.
Register and upload your poem.
For visual artists: Do you live, work or go to school near an agricultural field? If so, you may be exposed to pesticides. Help your community learn how to recognize pesticide exposure incidents! Print & illustrate this flyer to help your community learn about this important issue and what to do about it. Then upload a picture of your flyer to the registration link to enter the contest.
The contest is free to enter and open to youth ages 22 and under. All entries must be 100% original to you. Entries can be in any language, although we ask you to include an English version of your entry.
Submissions due: May 24, 2023. Anything received after this date will not be considered. Notification: Winning entries will be notified by May 26, 2023.
Register and upload your flyer.
Contact:
PFSP instagram – @pesticidefreesoilproject