Workers & Students Connect Farm to Table

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Saying that real food and real jobs go hand in hand, more than 100 food service workers and students from American University, Howard University, Georgetown Law School, Gallaudet University, and Trinity Washington University celebrated Food Day yesterday to promote their vision of a sustainable, healthy DC. “We can’t truly change what it means to work in campus food service if skilled cooks only heat up frozen, pre-processed meals,” said Unite Here Local 23’s Emilio Abate. “And no one will ever get truly sustainable food from farm to table without incorporating food workers’ experience and knowledge along the way.” The Food Day event was hosted by Local 23’s Real Food Real Jobs campaign, with workers, students, faculty, and community allies sharing food, hearing from speakers across the food chain, including cafeteria workers and DC-area farmers, and discussing how to realize the campaign’s goal of building a more sustainable and nourishing food system on DC campuses and throughout the city. "Today's event unites the labor movement and the sustainable food movement, which too often forgets those who produce and serve our food," added the President of AU Eco-Sense. - photo by Chris Garlock