Since April, I have been traveling across the continent promoting the release of my book, and also seeking to spark a dialogue about how we should direct our efforts as a society toward ending hunger. I have been in Toronto, Boston, Seattle, Mt. Vernon, WA, Minneapolis, New York City, and Portland, OR.
I met so many incredible people aligned with this cause, like Smita Narula, who participated as a respondent at a talk at the bookstore collective Bluestockings in NYC. Her powerful insights and passion for protecting food as a human right are influenced by her years fighting against human rights abuses in India. Or Fartun Weli, who works at Isuroon, who has shunned the corporate food pantry model to create a program that better meets the needs of the Somali community in Minneapolis (Profits from book sales from the Minneapolis talk are directed to support Isuroon).
I am also grateful for fellow anti-hunger authors and directors of innovative programs who may not agree with everything in the book—or maybe most of it- but still participated in the events, because they value a dialogue. Jan Poppendieck, author of Sweet Charity, and Greg Silverman, of the Westside Campaign Against Hunger in NYC, stand out. The dialogue is what is necessary to create the change.
And I am humbled by the support that friends and colleagues have provided in hosting events (and me), including Ellen Parker of Project Bread, Alison Cohen of WhyHunger, Wayne Roberts, and Nick Saul of Community Food Centres of Canada. Each of them is helping me in significant ways, joining in for interviews, hosting community events, and co-promoting the book. Thank you also to Marion Nestle for listing my book as her "weekend reading", and to Civil Eats, Mark Winne, Robert Egger and others for reviewing the book. Sirius XM Radio and Food Sleuth Radio among others for the opportunity to interview and have in-depth conversations about the book.
