Fit to Eat | Adamah

Without sustenance, there is no Torah. Without Torah, there is no sustenance.
Pirke Avot 3:21

The link between food and faith obligates us as Jews to challenge the injustice of hunger, champion the right to food, and steward the land on which our sustenance depends.

For Jewish institutions, aligning with the food justice movement and local food security efforts challenges your institution to be relevant and respond to your community’s needs, to live Jewish values, and to provide meaningful opportunities for members, congregants, and students to mobilize change.

Fit to Eat: Food Security and Justice Resource and Action Guide is a resource for Jewish institutions to self-organize actions that deepen and broaden efforts to create a more just, fair food system.

This guide provides a framework to learn more about our food system and Jewish traditions surrounding food justice; identify challenges specific to your local community; and create a plan for action that builds on the existing programs, skills, and assets of your Jewish institution. We welcome your feedback and suggestions and hope this guide can be a forum for all Jewish institutions to share best practices around food justice and food security action.

Click on the chapter titles below for summaries.

Preface by Oran Hesterman

There is undeniably a growing passion for food system transformation in our country– from changing what is in our own refrigerators to revising national policy and practice. Just as the peace movement captured the imagination of my generation in the late 60’s, so the food movement and food justice issues are calling many of us to take action now. Breakthrough ideas and inventive solutions are emerging, both here in the U.S. and worldwide, to advance the field and reinvent our food system. The Hazon Food Action Guide is a blueprint for the Jewish community in our efforts to restore the fundamental relationship with the earth and the food that sustains us. It is based on the foundational principles of food justice and the creation of a fair food system.

Our health and economic vitality depend on creating a more just and sustainable food system. An equitable food system benefits all, strengthening our communities and our nation. Everyone must have equal access to safe, fresh food as well as fair access to good jobs and healthy working conditions. In an era where food safety, diet-related chronic illness, pollution, and water scarcity are major issues, we have a powerful opportunity to learn from each other and address these interrelated challenges. The tasks at hand require ambitious ideas, bold leadership, and coordinated action to move us forward, faster.

Many institutions and individuals nationwide are wholeheartedly addressing food access issues and reinvigorating local food economies—making a lasting impact in their community. The Hazon Food Action Guide presents ideas that have been successfully tested in communities, based on what these places and people know to be effective. The replicable, scalable model programs shared here can help communities, organizations, synagogues, and other institutions and groups continue to engage their constituencies and drive change. The programs range from awareness building activities, advocacy actions and service-learning, to establishing farmers’ market and community gardens, where members dig deeply, on a variety of levels, to grow food for their neighbors and the larger community.

Fair Food Network’s healthy food incentive program, Double Up Food Bucks is just one example of a program making it easier for low-income residents to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, while also supporting farmers and growing local economies. Through programs such as Double Up, and the others you will read about in this guide, motivated individuals are tackling the job of reinventing their food system within our own Jewish institutions as well as in the public schools, college cafeterias and hospitals in their communities to create healthier and more resilient models of change.

As an alum of Hazon’s 2013 Israel Sustainable Food Tour and a Hazon board member, I am continuing to learn more about the diversity and power of the inspiring and practical visions of what is possible for our nation’s food system. We, as Jews and as members of our larger communities, can be continuously inspired, and reinspired, to take a meaningful part in the growing food justice movement. Thank you for taking the time to delve into this guide, and even better, for acting upon what you learn. Change is possible– together we will create a more just and sustainable food system.

Dr. Oran Hesterman is the President and CEO of the Fair Food Network , a national nonprofit pioneering multi-win solutions that increase access to healthy food in our most underserved communities, support farmers, and stimulate economic activity. In just five years, Fair Food Network’s signature program, Double Up Food Bucks, has become a national model for healthy food incentives.

Chapter 1 – Looking at the Modern Food System in a Jewish Framework

Chapter 2 – Organizing Your Food Action Team to Learn and Mobilize

Chapter 3 – Programs to Spark Dialogue and Inspire Action

Chapter 4 – Programs to Take Action and Effect Change

Appendix and Sources

Food Discussion Points

We’d love to hear from you. If you have questions about Fit to Eat, or want to share your challenges, successes and stories, send us a note at info@adamah.org.