We commit to real action and real justice in our work for a good, clean, and fair food system for all.

Slow Food Portland stands in wholehearted support of the Slow Food USA Manifesto for Equity, Inclusion and Justice. We'd like to start by sharing some important words from our National Chapter, the following introduction is from the Slow Food USA EIJ webpage.

Like Slow Food USA, Slow Food Portland is dedicated to the development of an equitable, just, and healthy local food system that truly works for all of us. We recognize that injustices — theft of land; farmworker, fisher-harvester and other food and seafood chain worker exploitation; lack of access to land, oceans, freshwaters, and healthy foods; food apartheid neighborhoods; and diet related health problems — are rooted in race, class and gender disparities. As these injustices continue, all too often the voices of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), poor or low-income people and women are excluded from the mainstream food movement.

Following Slow Food USA, Slow Food Portland is committed to listening to those most impacted by food injustice; to being honest about how white supremacy, economic exploitation, and cultural domination have fundamentally shaped the agricultural history of the U.S.; to furthering our own education on how to build a just and equitable food system; to honoring knowledge; and to taking appropriate action to support, deepen or create local food justice and food sovereignty efforts. We also believe that it is essential to encourage a diverse range of perspectives and experiences within our board of directors so that we are making decisions that best reflect the varied needs of our entire community and that are especially inclusive of BIPOC.

Slow Food USA has challenged all local chapters to commit to Joy + Justice Next Steps, i.e., concrete action steps toward enacting the Slow Food USA Equity, Inclusion and Justice Manifesto within our chapter and in our community work.

We recognize these Joy + Justice Next Steps are a start, that this work is ongoing, and it will continue to evolve. In order to allow us room to listen and learn, some of the following Next Steps are not completely mapped out yet. We expect that as we increase our efforts to listen and educate ourselves, we will be able to better define Next Steps. We will do a mid year review of our Next Steps in March 2021 to ensure we are on track. Please know our intention is to do and implement these Joy + Justice Next Steps by September 2021.
Thank you for holding us accountable to these Joy + Justice Next Steps and helping support good, clean and fair food for all.*

- Slow Food Portland Board of Directors
Beth Gates
Madison Taylor
Stephanie Celin
Noah Cable
Margo Hartenfeld

Slow Food Portland Joy + Justice Next Steps 2020

Knowledge Goals
Provide board members educational opportunities on the topics of racial justice and equity, food justice, and building Slow Food Portland to be an equitable organization. Each Slow Food Portland board member is committed to furthering both our own education and our communication skills to better understand, navigate, discuss, and act upon issues of Equity, Inclusion and Justice (EIJ).

Joy + Justice Next Step 1
We will dedicate time at every monthly board meeting for board members to share and discuss EIJ resources (books, articles, podcasts, videos, workshops, organizations, etc). Each month a board member will lead a group discussion about a specific EIJ resource and how this resource applies to Slow Food Portland’s work.

Empathy Goals
Familiarize all Slow Food Portland board members, volunteers and participants to our EIJ mission and goals, and support them in incorporating these values into our work. Create an environment where all board members, volunteers, and event and program participants are seen, respected, and supported to participate fully. Acknowledge the huge agricultural contributions made by BIPOC growers, farmers, and fishers throughout history and reject the whitewashing of this history.

Joy + Justice Next Step 2
We will devote a 2020 board meeting to revisiting and revising the Slow Food Portland board materials and volunteer orientation guides with an EIJ lens / focus. We will share these commitments to honor diverse world views and life experiences with all current and future board members and volunteers, as well as our newsletter & blog readers.

Joy + Justice Next Step 3
We will learn and practice meaningful ways to invoke the Indigenous ancestral homelands and waters where and when we hold events going forward.

Joy + Justice Next Step 4
Through our various communication channels (newsletter, website and social media) Slow Food Portland will consistently highlight regional NW agricultural contributions made by BIPOC growers, farmers, and fishers. We will include placeholders for content featuring these BIPOC contributions into our 2021 editorial calendar (scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2020).

Action Goals
Develop supportive and collaborative relationships with local BIPOC leaders and organizations who are working toward meaningful change. Extend and deepen our support for local BIPOC growers, farmers and fishers including immigrant and refugee farmers and community-based fisher-harvesters. We will make space for and encourage a diverse range of perspectives and experiences within our board of directors, volunteers and participants.

Joy + Justice Next Step 5
We, as both individual board members and as Slow Food Portland, will actively seek opportunities to show up for, support, and partner with local BIPOC led organizations serving BIPOC communities. Slow Food Portland, as an organization, will use our online and social media presence to share information about events and amplify the work of local BIPOC individuals and organizations. By March 2021, we will identify how Slow Food Portland can provide technical and / or financial support to local BIPOC organizations.

Joy + Justice Next Step 6
By January of 2021 we will determine steps on how to effectively and equitably grow the Market Scouts program (currently taking place at the Lents International Farmers Market through November 2020) to additional markets that serve BIPOC communities.

Joy + Justice Next Step 7
We will support youth leaders to rise up and shape the Slow Food Youth Network Portland to reflect the changes they wish to see to make our food system truly equitable, accessible, and inclusive. By March 2021, we will identify a local BIPOC organization to partner with and support to fulfill this action step.

* Slow Food USA’s Vision
Food represents a common language and universal right. Slow Food USA envisions a world in which all people can eat food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it and good for the planet. In essence, food that is good, clean and fair.

Slow Food USA’s Mission
Seeking to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system, Slow Food USA reconnects Americans with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that produce our food. We inspire individuals and communities to change the world through food that is good, clean and fair for all:

GOOD
Believe in delicious nutrition as a right for everyday life
Cultivate joyful connections to community and place
Advocate for diversity in ecosystems and societies

CLEAN
Protect natural resources for future generations
Help people and the environment depend on each other
Promote food that is local, seasonal, and sustainably grown

FAIR
Build local cooperation and global collaboration while respecting all laws
Require no prerequisite or credential for participation
Fight for dignity of labor from field to fork