The Center for Public Scholarship, The New School, 80 Fifth Avenue, Room 501, New York, NY 10011

This, the 29th Social Research conference, will examine the complex relationships between food and migration. Food scarcity is not only at the root of much human displacement and migration--the food industry also offers immigrants an entry point into the U.S. economic system and it, simultaneously, confines migrants to low wages and poor, if not unsafe, work conditions. In addition, food allows immigrants to maintain their cultural identity. The conference places issues of immigration and food service work in the context of a broader social justice agenda and explores the cultural role food plays in expressing cultural heritage.

The keynote address will be given by Dolores Huerta, co-founder and first Vice President Emeritus of United Farm Workers of America, on Thursday, April 18 at 6:00 pm. Conference participants include Aurora Almendral, Sean Basinski, Yong Chen, Alexandra DC)lano, Hasia Diner, Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, James C. Hathaway, Saru Jayaraman, Ellen Ernst Kossek, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Arup Maharatna, Fabio Parasecoli, Jeffrey Pilcher, Dwaine Plaza, Krishnendu Ray, Monique Truong, Koko Warner, and Tiphanie Yanique. The complete conference program and speakers' bios are available online.

For more information, visit www.newschool.edu/cps/food/.

12:15 pm, The Union League, 140 South Broad Street, Philadelphia PA

Bruce A. McPheron, Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State University will update the Society on how the University continues to serve the Commonwealth through strong research, teaching, and extension work in food, natural resources, and economic development.

All interested Penn faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend monthly meetings of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Meetings begin with lunch at 12:15, followed by a talk. There is a $30 fee for lunch, which is waived for Penn students. Please contact Lynne Farrington at 215 746-5828 or lynne@pobox.upenn.edu for more information.

The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, 4207 Walnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19104

Collectively known as Les Dames d'Escoffier International (LDEI), the Philadelphia Chapter is a talented and philanthropic group of chefs, restaurateurs, cookbook authors, bloggers, media personalities, wine and spirits specialists, educators, nutritionists and farmers, hosting a fundraiser benefiting its Educational, Scholarship and Green Tables initiatives.

Building on 2011's 1-day Symposium featuring Judy Wicks as keynote, Chapter President Dame Kathy Gold presents this year's program, which will engage a larger, more diverse audience of food enthusiasts. Attendees of CUISINE, CULTURE & COMMUNITY: A Global Celebration Of Women & Food will have the opportunity to meet renowned cookbook author, TV personality and current Grand Dame, Nathalie Dupree, who will serve as keynote speaker and sign copies of her new book, Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking.

The Symposium presenters include flavor expert, Marcia Pelchat (Monell Chemical Senses Center), Amy Hoopes, Chief Marketing Officer, EVP, Global Sales of Wente Family Estates Vineyards, Dame Angie Brown hosts a panel featuring Chef Tia McDonald (The Vetri Foundation for Children) and Delilah Winder on Breaking the Color Barrier in the Kitchen; local legend Chef Georges Perrier and Charlotte Calmels (Bibou) are panelists for Women and Their Role in the French Kitchen, led by Chef MichC(le Haines of the Spring Mill CafC); and Chef Marta Quintana who will teach a hands-on Cuban Cooking class. Gluten free/vegan baking is also on the menu, served up with a special appearance by Jason Roberts from The Chew. Underwriting sponsors include ShopRitetm, The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, Roland Foods, and ESCA Enterprises, Inc.

Event chair Aliza Green, one of Philly's foremost female culinarians, will be signing her latest book, Making Artisan Pasta, recently named one of Cooking Light's Top 100 Cookbooks of the Last 25 Years, and demonstrating how to prepare hand-stretched pasta. Local farmer Linda Geren will be presenting a how-to on raising chickens, working with bees and more. Farm-to-table mixologist Katie Loeb, author of Shake, Stir, Pour will be providing a lesson on making herbal simple syrup and tasty libations, and olive oil expert Fabio Auguardo will test our palates in an interactive olive oil tasting. For a peek at the 2011 event, watch this clip from WHYY's Friday Arts show.

For more information, visit http://lesdamesphiladelphia.com/les-dames-descoffier-events/cuisine-culture-community-a-global-celebration-of-women-food/.

Kevin Hicks, Research Leader of Sustainable Biofuels and Co-Products Research, will review the history of this pioneering research lab, built in 1940 just outside of Philadelphia. This lab was where low-lactose milk and the ingredients that make Pringles potato chips were invented and where scientists now work to protect our food supplies, make sustainable biofuels, and find new uses for farm products.

For more information, contact Lynne Farrington at 215 746-5828 or lynne@pobox.upenn.edu.

12:15 pm, The Union League, 140 South Broad Street, Philadelphia PA

Maitreyl Roy and Claire Baker of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society will speak about a city-wide local food production system that engages a network of gardeners and farmers to raise naturally-grown vegetables and distribute them to Philadelphians who lack access or means to purchase fresh vegetables.

All interested Penn faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend monthly meetings of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Meetings begin with lunch at 12:15, followed by a talk. There is a $30 fee for lunch, which is waived for Penn students. Please contact Lynne Farrington at 215 746-5828 or lynne@pobox.upenn.edu for more information.

12:15 pm, The Union League, 140 South Broad Street, Philadelphia PA

Gary C. Pavlis, Rutgers University Professor of Plant Physiology, who does research on blueberry, grape, and other small fruits in New Jersey, will speak about his research on this topic.

All interested Penn faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend monthly meetings of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Meetings begin with lunch at 12:15, followed by a talk. There is a $30 fee for lunch, which is waived for Penn students. Please contact Lynne Farrington at 215 746-5828 or lynne@pobox.upenn.edu for more information.

10:00 am-4:00 pm, William Penn Charter School, 3000 West School House Lane, Philadelphia PA 19144

The Philadelphia Beekeeper Guild presents its third annual symposium, featuring Michael Bush, author of The Practical Beekeeper

For tickets and more information, visit www.phillybeekeepers.org.

6:30-9:00 pm, Friends Center, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia PA

The Garden tells the story of the country's largest urban farm, backroom deals, land developers, green politics, money, poverty, power, and racial discord. The film explores and exposes the fault lines in American society and raises crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.

For more information, visit www.envisionpeacemuseum.org or call Rob Hassler at 484 269-4371.

12:15 pm, The Union League, 140 South Broad Street, Philadelphia PA

Brian Snyder, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture since 2001, now serves in the same capacity for the Food Routes Network LLC, which operates the national Buy Fresh, Buy Local program and will speak about the importance of understanding the link between the community and the food system on which it depends. Christian Herr, Executive Vice President, PennAg Industries Association, with eighteen years with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, eight as Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs, will tell the story leading to the unveiling of the Farm Show exhibit featuring more than two hundred live animals and thousands of living plants and share much of what was learned about the relationship of the farmer and the consumer.

All interested Penn faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend monthly meetings of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Meetings begin with lunch at 12:15, followed by a talk. There is a $30 fee for lunch, which is waived for Penn students. Please contact Lynne Farrington at 215 746-5828 or lynne@pobox.upenn.edu for more information.

Feeding Cities is a juried exhibition that will feature journalistic and artistic photos from the Penn community. It will showcase images that illuminate the complex systems of food production, distribution, consumption and nutrition in the face of rapid urban population growth and climate change. The exhibition is the visual companion to Penn's international Feeding Cities: Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World, which will be held on campus March 13-15, 2013. The exhibition will be open to the public and conference attendees, and will be held in the Morgan Fine Arts Building on the Penn Campus. In addition, the exhibition materials will be made available in an online gallery.

For more information, visit http://www.feedingcities.com/photo-exhibit/.

Are you always thinking about food? Wondering what kinds of careers relating to food are out there for you to pursue after four years at Penn? You'll hear from people who are working in food right now--about how they got where they are, what they like about their careers, and what advice they have for you. Presenters include Jillian Brainard, Director of Community Programs with SHARE Food Program; Collin Flatt, editor at Eater Philly; David Galligan, Professor of Animal Health Economics at Penn Vet School; Aliza Green, Chef, Author, and Consultant (most recently on Wharton's Bridge & Plaza Cafes); and Jarrett Stein, Urban Nutrition Initiative (part of Penn's Netter Center for Community Partnerships). Bring your appetite for information to this diverse panel.

Monday, March 11, 5:00-6:30 pm, Location: Class of 55 Conference Room, 2nd floor, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library.

Penn's Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR), in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania Schools of Arts & Sciences, Design, Education, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Social Policy, Veterinary Medicine and Wharton, is pleased to present "Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World," the first international conference to examine the critical link between urbanization and global food security. The nexus between food security and urbanization touches on one of the most fundamental challenges facing modern society—how to provide an affordable, sustainable and nutritious diet to the world's burgeoning population of city dwellers.

With some 6 billion people projected to inhabit urban areas by 2050, this task is not only urgent but immensely complex. It will require coordinated management of the myriad agricultural, ecological, social, economic, and land use systems that underlie global food production, distribution, consumption, and nutrition. To ensure an accurate portrayal of the complexity of this global challenge, Penn IUR is collaborating closely with seven schools from across the University of Pennsylvania.

For more information, visit www.feedingcities.com.

12:15 pm, The Union League, 140 South Broad Street, Philadelphia PA

Joan and Drew Norman, who operate a major farm complex outside Baltimore, will speak on the constant demand for the freshest top-quality natural produce and the problems with regularly supplying their diverse markets. They will address the issue of why, despite receiving the Pioneer of Organic Award from the Rodale Institute in 2011, they surrendered their USDA Organic Certificate after twenty-six years.

All interested Penn faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend monthly meetings of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Meetings begin with lunch at 12:15, followed by a talk. There is a $30 fee for lunch, which is waived for Penn students. Please contact Lynne Farrington at 215 746-5828 or lynne@pobox.upenn.edu for more information.

Please join us on Sept. 5th from 1:15-2:45 pm for the second in a series of free webinars on Urbanization in a Growing World, presented by the Security and Sustainability Forum. It will explore the availability and quality of food in urban environments and the effects of urbanization on food production. Partnering organizations for the series include Abt Associates, the World Bank, the Woodrow Wilson Center, the Penn Institute for Urban Research and the International Housing Coalition.

Registration is open. To register, go to www.penniur.upenn.edu/events/2012/09/05/food-security-in-an-urbanizing-world.

6:00 pm, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Mrs. Goodfellow was a cook and confectioner who conducted cooking classes in her pastry shop in early 19th-century Philadelphia. Becky Diamond, author of Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America's First Cooking School, will discuss what it was like to be a student under her tutelage and Philadelphia's role as the premiere food city of its day. The lecture will be accompanied by a display of documents from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's collection, including several historic cookbooks.

For more information, visit hsp.org/calendar/mrs-goodfellow-the-story-of-americas-first-cooking-school.

Feeding Cities is a juried exhibition that will feature journalistic and artistic photos from the Penn community. It will showcase images that illuminate the complex systems of food production, distribution, consumption and nutrition in the face of rapid urban population growth and climate change. The exhibition is the visual companion to Penn's international Feeding Cities: Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World, which will be held on campus March 13-15, 2013. The exhibition will be open to the public and conference attendees, and will be held in the Morgan Fine Arts Building on the Penn Campus. In addition, the exhibition materials will be made available in an online gallery.

Deadline for submissions is October 1, 2012, and selected works will be announced on November 19, 2012.

For more information, visit www.feedingcities.com/exhibit/.

12:15 pm, The Union League, 140 South Broad Street, Philadelphia PA

Beverly Gruber, President of the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs, will speak on the past, present, and future of state fairs in Pennsylvania. She has been involved in the fair industry since 1957 and has recently co-authored a book with the same title.

All interested Penn faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend monthly meetings of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Meetings begin with lunch at 12:15, followed by a talk. There is a $30 fee for lunch, which is waived for Penn students. Please contact Lynne Farrington at 215 746-5828 or lynne@pobox.upenn.edu for more information.

9:30 am-4 pm, Arch Street Friends Meeting House, 320 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106

Every year, millions of Americans volunteer their time to feed those in need by holding food drives and serving holiday meals. What more can we do to fight hunger? Ending Hunger Through Citizen Service aims to answer that question. This innovative conference is free for volunteers, nonprofits, businesses, government agencies, schools, religious congregations and community groups that want to: 1) Help low-income children enroll in vital food and nutrition programs; 2) Improve food access and conduct nutrition education that meets community needs; 3) Apply their professional skills to build the capacity of hunger organizations; 4) Serve on a nonprofit board; and 5) Address the root causes of hunger through advocacy.

For more information, visit www.hungercoalition.org/ending-hunger.

7pm, Ibrahim Theater, International House, 3701 Chestnut St., Philadelphia

A screening Oma & Bella, a new documentary about two Holocaust surviving German-Jewish women living together in Berlin, who reminisce about life and their experiences while painstakingly preparing and enjoying Eastern European traditional fare. It's an amazing film, in German with English subtitles, carried by the incredible vitality of the two women, and the smart photography and provocative editing by the director Alexa Karolinski, who will be on hand for Q&A and to promote her cookbook. There is an onion-cutting scene which rivals the one in Like Water for Chocolate!

Link to trailer: omabella.com/about.html.

For more information, visit ihousephilly.org/events/oma-bella-free-screening-and-qa-with-director-alexa-karolinksi/.

Full day trip to the Pioneer Hy-Bred International Research Farm in New Holland, PA, to learn about their genomic plant research and to the Headquarters of New Holland Agriculture for a tour and presentation on the use of GPS tools in agriculture.

For more information, contact Lynne Farrington at 215 746-5828 or lynne@pobox.upenn.edu.

Calling all foodies, outdoorsy types, travelers, doers, and thinkers! We have a spring break thatbo?=s perfect for you. The Jewish Farm School, Hillel and Repair the World present the ASB Farm Trip, a week of learning and cooperative living near New Orleans during Spring Break 2013. Participants will work on an organic farm, cook meals together and build community in this unique, Jewish alternative spring break trip. We'll combine volunteer service with discussions of sustainable agriculture, food justice and how these issues are rooted in Jewish tradition. Participants will learn a wide range of skills in sustainable and organic agriculture such as planting, harvesting, natural building and composting. To complement the physical work, we'll engage in dialogue on Jewish agricultural, environmental and social justice themes. Application is open from now until November 9th!

Contact Abigail Koffler (abigail.koffler@gmail.com) or Leslie Krivo-Kaufman (lesliekk1@gmail.com) if you have any questions.

Houston Hall, University of Pennsylvania

The Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships turned 20 this summer. In celebration of this anniversary, the Netter Center is hosting an International Conference on b"The Role of Higher Education-Community-School Partnerships in Creating Democratic Communities Locally, Nationally, and Globally."

It will feature a number of major plenaries and thematic sessions on key topics related to university-community-school partnerships, including college access, nutrition and health, STEM, arts and culture, education and citizenship, poverty and race, anchor institutions, as well as perspectives from university and college presidents.

Of particular interest to food studies is the panel on Nutrition and Health Promotion, moderated by Frank Johnston, which is occurring on Monday, November 12, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm in the Golkin Room.

More details and conference registration can be found on the Netter Center's website at www.nettercenter.upenn.edu/20th-anniversary.

12-1:30 pm, Steinberg Hall - Dietrich Hall, room 215, 3620 Locust Walk, University of Pennsylvania

Featuring Dr. Helen Lee, a Senior Research Associate at MDRC, and Dr. Allison Karpyn, Director of Research and Evaluation for The Food Trust. Dr. Shirki Kumanyika, Associate Dean for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, will moderate.

For more information and to RSVP, visit www.cphi.upenn.edu/user_documents/December5.pdf.

12:15 pm, The Union League, 140 South Broad Street, Philadelphia PA

Russell C. Redding, Dean, School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Delaware Valley College, former Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, and Chair of the USDA Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture, will speak about this crucial need to prepare to ensure we have the labor and skill base to meet growing demand.

All interested Penn faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend monthly meetings of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Meetings begin with lunch at 12:15, followed by a talk. There is a $30 fee for lunch, which is waived for Penn students. Please contact Lynne Farrington at 215 746-5828 or lynne@pobox.upenn.edu for more information.

The film Forks Over Knives asks a profound question: Could diet-based disease be reversed or eliminated by adopting a solely plant-based diet? Join us for a FREE dinner and discussion about being a vegan, food as medicine, and much more!

Monday, January 30. Doors at 6 PM, movie at 7 PM. Location: The Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street).

For more information about AUNI, please visit www.urbannutrition.org. Please email renie@sas.upenn.edu with any questions.

What do matzo ball soup and pastrami on rye have to do with the structure of American Jewish identity? Lots! In this tasty course, we will explore American Jewish history through Jewish stomachs. As immigrants adjusted to a new American home in the early 20th century, Jewish food became a central means of establishing community, continuity, and remembrance. We will ask whether these linkages resonate contemporarily. In this course, we will consider Jewish food's relationship to American Jewish history, religion, cultural identity, memory, longing, and our waistlines. Instructor: Ariella Werden

Monday, February 6, 13 & 27 from 1-2:30 PM. Cost: $75 (for all 3 classes).

To register, please visit www.gershmany.org or call 215-446-3021.

The theme of the 2012 Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND) Conference is "Food Justice." It will cover topics related to food security, health & nutrition, economic development, community development, youth development, and the environment and will feature programs that are partnerships between institutions of higher education and the broader community. We are pleased to announce that the Keynote Lecture will be sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

The keynote speaker will be Malik Yakini, Founder and Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network . Malik Kenyatta Yakini is an activist and educator who is committed to freedom and justice for African people in particular and humanity in general. Yakini is a founder and the Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, which operates a four acre farm in Detroit and spearheaded efforts to establish the Detroit Food Policy Council, which he chairs. He served as a member of the Michigan Food Policy Council from 2008 - 2010. He serves on the facilitation team of Undoing Racism in the Detroit Food System.

A full agenda, including workshops titles and presenters is now available at www.phennd.org

Registration is now open at HERE. There is a small fee to attend the conference to help defray costs. Breakfast and lunch will be served.

Enjoy a tantalizing epicurean 3-course meal (with options) at the very first Cooking Collective, a one-of-a-kind pop-up event held by PGC and UNI. Or, pick up an item from our bake sale!

Join Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative, Penn Gastronomy Club, and the Penn Environmental Education Kitchen at the Women's Center for a special occasion—the launch of the Cooking Collective. This unique event brings together Penn students with high school students from the High School of the Future to set up and operate a restaurant for one night. The event is a fundraiser for the Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative's new 3-acre community farm and food resource center at Bartram's Gardens. We cordially invite you to a dinner prepared and served entirely by fellow students to help this cause. We shall also hold a bake sale during the event and there will be a special performance by Keynotes A Capella group. Cost: $10

Sunday, February 26, 2012, in the evening (6 pm), Location: Women's Center (37th and Locust)

Please RSVP HERE. Reservations are preferred, but you can drop by unannounced! We will be able to feed approximately 75 people, so make sure to bring all your friends and check out our Facebook Event.

The movie What's on Your Plate? offers a fresh look at where the food YOU eat comes from. Join us for a FREE dinner and discussion about the food system in urban areas!

Monday, February 27, 2012. Doors and dinner at 6pm, movie at 6:30pm. Location: The Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street)

For more information about AUNI, please visit www.urbannutrition.org. Please email YDassistant@urbannutrition.org with any questions. We would love to see you there!

At the turn of the century, American Jews and prohibitionists viewed one another with growing suspicion. Jews believed that all Americans had the right to sell and consume alcohol, while prohibitionists insisted that alcohol commerce and consumption posed a threat to the nation's morality and security. In Jews and Booze, Marni Davis examines American Jews' long and complicated relationship to alcohol during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the years of the national prohibition movement's rise and fall.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 7pm. Location: The Raven Lounge, 1718 Sansom Street. Cost: $10 includes the cost of one drink; $30 includes the cost of one drink and a copy of the book.

To register, please visit www.gershmany.org or call 215-446-3021.

See biochemist T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, share his paradigm-shifting work for health and healthcare based in his ground-breaking biochemical and epidemiological research.

Wednesday, February 29 from 7:30 - 9:00pm. Food provided from 6:45 - 7:30pm. Location: Irvine Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania.

For more information, check out the Facebook Event and Penn Vegan Society event page.

Drexel University’s 5th Annual Student Conference on Global Challenges is a daylong conference with six student panels tackling the central theme of Food from various different interdisciplinary perspectives. This FREE conference will bring together students and community groups, as well as faculty, staff, alumni, and friends to address a wide range of issues related to this year’s topic of food.

Keynote Speaker: Marion Nestle is a consumer activist, nutritionist, award-winning author, and academic who specializes in the politics of food and dietary choice. Her research examines scientific, economic, and social influences on food choice and obesity, with an emphasis on the role of food marketing. Her books explore issues like the effects of food production on food safety, our environment, access to food and nutrition.

Click here to view the program schedule.

Each winter, Pennypack Farm sponsors the Sustainability Movie Series to engage the community in discussion about today's environmental issues. Each movie delves into a different aspect of sustainability. Learn how your small changes can make a big difference to the world. Arrive early for a community expo, highlighting local organizations, and stay afterward for a discussion panel.

What's Organic About Organic? March 13, 2012, 7:30pm at the Ambler Theater

For more information, visit www.pennypackfarm.org.

Sicily has long been renowned for the quality and diversity of its cakes, pastries, and confections. A result of the early Saracen domination of the island and their introduction of refined sugar, Sicily was one of the first places in Europe to develop the art of confectionery. Many of these sweets still survive in the form of cannoli, candied fruits and even vegetables, and sweets based on almonds and pistachios (another Arab introduction). Where Saracen pastry cooks left off, monastic bakeries quickly followed; each had a sweet specialty. During the nineteenth century, Swiss confectioners arrived in Sicily, bringing with them new techniques and chocolate. The pastry shops of contemporary Sicily embrace remnants of all these traditions and still produce an astounding array of sweets unequaled elsewhere.

Tuesday, March 20, 5:30pm, Location: Class of 55 Conference Room, 2nd floor, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library. Free and open to the public. RSVPs appreciated but not required. Please email rbml@pobox.upenn.edu.

Nick Malgieri, former Executive Pastry Chef at Windows on the World, is an inductee into Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. Malgieri is the author of several award-winning books on baking and desserts including BAKE! Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking and Great Italian Desserts. Currently, Malgieri directs the baking program at the Institute of Culinary Education and frequently serves as a guest teacher at many cooking schools.

The Home Grown Institute's inaugural conference "Springing Good Intentions into Action" will host two full days of sustainable and regenerative skills you can use in your own home, including beekeeping, backyard chickens, composting, permaculture, aquaculture, organic gardening (beginner and advanced), rain barrel, food preservation, food justice, eco-contemplative practice and lots more.

Saturday March 24, 2012 8:30am - 7:30pm, and Sunday March 25, 8:30am - 5:45pm

Visit www.thehomegrowninstitute.org for full registration and class details.

What if you can’t afford to eat local or organic tomatoes? That was the question award-winning journalist Tracie McMillan couldn't escape as she watched the debate about America’s meals unfold, one that urges us to pay food’s true cost, which is to say, pay more. So in 2009 Tracie embarked on an undercover journey to see what it takes to eat well in America. From the fields of California to an Applebee’s in New York City, she worked, ate and lived alongside the working poor for an entire year to examine how Americans eat when price matters. The American Way of Eating has just hit the New York Times best-seller list, thanks in no small part to some negative attention from talk-show host Rush Limbuaugh.

Tracie will read and discuss her book on Wednesday, March 28 at 4:30 pm at the UPenn Bookstore.

Penn Vegan Society founded and will host the first Ivy League conference dedicated to exploring the academic basis for plant-based diets and non-violence and building a cohesive community of activists. The conference aims to embolden and empower vegan activists in their work throughout the Ivy League, build a lasting and powerful network of colleagues, and expand and modernize the definition of veganism for the 21st century academic.

Click here for more information and to register.

Each winter, Pennypack Farm sponsors the Sustainability Movie Series to engage the community in discussion about today's environmental issues. Each movie delves into a different aspect of sustainability. Learn how your small changes can make a big difference to the world. Arrive early for a community expo, highlighting local organizations, and stay afterward for a discussion panel.

What’s Organic About Organic? — March 13, 2012, 7:30pm at the Ambler Theater

For more information, visit www.pennypackfarm.org.

Mark your calendar with the dates for this exciting lecture series!!!

In light of the increasing interest in food studies at Penn and in Philadelphia, Penn Libraries is sponsoring the Muriel Pfaelzer Bodek Public Affairs Lecture Series focusing on food policy in the 21st century. The speakers, experts in their fields, will address issues relating to global food security, sustainable agriculture, and food waste in America.

April 11, 2012, 6 pm
Location: Claudia Cohen Hall G17 Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania, 249 S. 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA
The Food Not Eaten
Jonathan Bloom, journalist and author of American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It) (2010), will speak on how much food we waste, where and why we squander so much, the ethical, environmental, and economic impact of our actions, and, most importantly, how we can minimize waste. Please RSVP HERE.

April 19, 2012, 6 pm
Location: Hill Pavilion Room 130, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, 380 S. University Ave., Philadelphia, PA
Global Food Security: A 21st Century Challenge
Dr. Alan M. Kelly, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, will speak on the challenges faced by agriculture as it expands production to meet society's growing needs while conserving the environment, controlling the spread of infectious diseases, and accommodating to the vagaries of climate change. Please RSVP HERE.

April 24, 2012, 6 pm, reception to follow
Location: Claudia Cohen Hall G17 Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania, 249 S. 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA
The Future of Food: Sustainable Agriculture is not Optional
Dr. John E. Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri, and author of Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Sense and Small Farms are Real Farms: Sustaining People Through Agriculture, will speak on the need for sustainable agriculture, the challenges facing the movement, and the development of a new and better paradigm, one which is economically viable and which meets the needs of the present without diminishing opportunities for the future. Please RSVP HERE.

American Pie: The Politics of Food in the 21st Century is co-sponsored by the School of Veterinary Medicine, School of Nursing/School of Arts and Sciences Nutrition Minor, Department of History and Sociology of Science, Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative/Netter Center for Community Partnerships, Environmental Education Kitchen at Penn Women's Center, Penn Vegan Society, and Penn Appétit.

For more information, please visit the Penn Libraries Events & Exhibitions web page.

Presented by the Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science (PACHS) and Philadelphia Science Festival. Location: Chemical Heritage Foundation Main Stage. Details to be determined. Please check the PACHS web site.

The event will start 4:00 pm at Bartram's Garden, located at 54th and Lindbergh Boulevard, followed by a reception with locally sourced refreshments, youth-led farm tours, garlic planting, and community garden sign-up. Please contact Tyler Holmberg by phone at (518) 304-3402 or by email at Tyholmberg@gmail.com by October 24th for any questions regarding the event or project. We hope you can help us kick off this amazing project, recognize the value of these partnerships, and the important role a Farm and Food Resource Center can play in developing a healthier community.

Amy Trubek, University of Vermont, will speak at 5:30 pm, Class of 55 Conference Room, 2nd floor, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library. In this talk, Dr. Trubek will present the interdisciplinary research being done at the University of Vermont to explore the importance of place, defined as natural environment, sensory experience and cultural identity, to the production and consumption of food in Vermont.

Dr. Amy Trubek is an associate professor in the Nutrition and Food Science department at the University of Vermont. Trained as a cultural anthropologist and chef, her research interests include the history of the culinary profession, globalization of the food supply, the relationship between taste and place, and cooking as a cultural practice. Dr. Trubek is involved in on-going research into the importance of the taste of place as a means of promoting and supporting place-based foods and regional food systems in the United States and beyond. Her recent book, The Taste of Place, A Cultural Journey into Terroir (2008 University of California Press), looks at the long-term importance of terroir as a cultural category in France and explores how terroir is being used in the United States today to change our food culture. She is also involved in an interdisciplinary research project looking the sensory qualities of unique Vermont products and the possible link to terroir, with a present focus on maple syrup and artisan cheese. This project is linked to a new initiative at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture exploring the long-term policy and economic possibilities for place-based foods in the state. Presently, she is writing a book on cooking in modern America, the result of several years of ethnographic and historical research.

6 pm to 7:30 pm at the Henry C. Lea School (4700 Locust Street). Free. No RSVP required.

5:00 pm at Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 North Front Street, Philadelphia

Soup & Bread, "Chicago's most laid-back, nutritious party," comes to Philadelphia for one night only! From 5 to 7 pm Wednesday, November 16 we'll be dishing up soups from Philly's most generous cooks- including folks from Mill Creek Farm, Bistro La Minette and Good Spoon Seasonal Foods - and celebrating the release of the new "Soup & Bread Cookbook: Building Community one Pot at a Time," named one of the 10 essential cookbooks for fall by Time Out Chicago.

Admission is free but donations are encouraged - all proceeds benefit the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger.

Join us for a FREE dinner and a discussion about food waste, food insecurity, and food justice! Doors open at 6, movie and discussion 6:30-8:30, at Penn's Claudia Cohen Terrace Room (249 S. 36 St).

Cafeteria Man follows revolutionary chef Tony Geraci as he works to 'green' Baltimore's school lunches. Is an overhaul of the lunch system possible? Watch and find out!

Join us for a FREE dinner and discussion on school lunch, pizza as a vegetable, and much more! Movie will start at 7, but come early for dinner! at Penn's Claudia Cohen Terrace Room (249 S. 36 St).