Food Day Call for Campus Organizers Webinar, September 12
1. Call Recording & Slides: Missed the call or want to share the recording? Check it out here.
New resources: Food Day Film Screening Guide and others! Be sure to sign up on Food Day
website to receive emails.*
2. Hannah Wolfe, Food Day Coordinator for Real Food Challenge
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Real Food Challenge seeks to shift $1 billion of existing university food spending to
community-based, fair, and humane farms and food producers—“real food”!—by 2020
Real Food Campus Commitment: a pledge, signed by university president, committing your
school to 20% real food in your dining halls by 2020. Supports a real food economy by
committing to shift spending to real foods, entails student auditing of food purchasing, and
increasing opportunities for student leadership and community engagement.
Food Day is a great opportunity to connect your campus to the national food movement, and
engage all different branches of your university in working towards our common goal: real food!
Five steps to get involved in Food Day:
1. Become a Campus Mobilizer with Real Food Challenge:
2. Check out Food Day and Real Food Challenge’s resources
a. Food Day’s Guide for Campus Organizers
b. Real Food Challenge’s Regional Field Organizers & Food Day Working Group
(Register as a mobilizer or email foodday@realfoodchallenge.org to get connected!)
c. Find a Food Day Coordinator in your area
3. Register your events on the Food Day map
4. Plan an awesome event
5. Let us know how it went!
What can I do for an event?
1. Photo petition: Create a sign ahead of time or grab a white board and have petition signers fill
in why they support real food. Take a picture of each person with their message and post online
(password: pumpkin) to show the strength of your support.
a. Powerful to associate real people with signatures
b. Opportunity to engage and talk to lots of people about your work!
c. Check out last year’s photos (password: pumpkin) for inspiration, or use this free online
tool!
2. Join the launch of Food Mythbusters, a series of short videos created by RFC partner Anna Lappé
and the Real Food Media Project. First video launches on Food Day, and tackles the myth that
only industrial ag can sustain the world. Comes with an action kit, similar to campus organizers
guide. Send an email to foodday@realfoodchallenge.org if you are interested in screening (for
free!).
3. Host a film screening and discussion. The free Food Day Film Screening Guide can help you
out.
4. More ways to get event ideas:
a. Campus Organizers Guide; Real Food Challenge website; Food Day events map
Best Practices for event planning:
1. Plan ahead! Make deadlines, do your research, learn what steps you must go through with your
school to host an event.
2. Gather a strong team and delegate. Collaborate with others, reach out to new people.
3. Publicize your event well. Use social media like Facebook but go beyond this! Rule of thumb: it
takes 3 forms of contact for your event/group to stick in someone’s mind enough to show up.
Facebook invite is one, but not enough! Also try:
a. Post on your school’s message board; Ask professors to tell their classes or put event on
their website; Propose as an educational activity worth extra credit for certain professors;
Go to other clubs’ meetings to pitch your event and personally invite them; Write an
Op/Ed for your school newspaper
4. Have a system for turnout. Keep a list of people who say they are coming, make sign-in sheets for
events and meetings that happen throughout the year, and reach out to them right before the
event.
3. STUDENT PANEL
Allison Mountjoy, student from New York University
Food Day 2011 at NYU:
 Goal was to engage student body through discussion and interactive workshops
 Had two events:
o Awareness table outside a busy campus building
o Discussion panel of “Who Grows your Food” film
 Issues they ran into:
o People dropping out—be sure the people you work with are committed before making
large plans. This may mean taking a narrow focus to start.
o University bureaucracy can be hard to get around, and its even harder to get local
politicians involved, so start now!
o Remember, something is better than nothing! Ask yourself what is possible with our time,
money, and manpower?
 Tips: utilize Google docs, delegate tasks, reserve venues as early as possible, ask for in-kind
donations as opposed to money, market event, have a sign-in/registration to be able to plan ahead
for the event.
Jessica Baltmanas, student from University of California, San Diego
 Food Day 2011 at UCSD:
o Real Food Expo and Mixer: helped to forge connections between restaurants, suppliers,
students, and university faculty
o Screening of GROW! With a “Munch and Mingle”, Grow at Home kits, community mural
painting at local pub
o Author Jeffrey Smith spoke about genetically modified food
 Food Day2012:
o Sustainable Food Expo to again connect sustainable food suppliers, restaurant owners,
student and community organizations
o “Yes on Proposition 37” panel
 Takeaways: prepare early, collaborate, provide strong publicity, and make the events lively
Catherine Henry, student from Duke University
 Use Food Day to kick start organization’s goals, especially if it is a relatively new organization
 Food Day 2012 at Duke:
Have outdoor dinner at iconic location at Duke to students, local farmers, activists,
administrators, faculty, etc. Bring everyone together for discussion, and make dinner as
sustainable as possible. Pre-sold tickets to the event for $7.
o Tips for other funding sources: look to offices of sustainability on campus and similar
organizations
Their goals:
o Show administrators that students are committed to real food on campus
o Kick start movement to get students more informed, start a conversation about where
campus food comes from
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4. Q&A
Q: What positive outcomes have you experienced from Food Day events?
A: Jessica—Food Expo helped to forge connections and have restaurants purchase fair trade foods from
these suppliers
Hannah—Food Day was a turning point in their organization having a presence on campus. Drew in
attention from students and involved university faculty and staff
Q: What should be the focus of a campus-wide Food Day petition?
A: Catherine-- In their petition last year, they made sure to include that students both wanted real food
and would use purchasing power to buy real food. Photo petition really makes a big difference, has
greater power to stand out
Hannah-- focus on a specific change; for example, petition your school to sign on to the Real Food
Campus Commitment.
Q: What is the first step with limited time and resources?
A: Allison-- Come up with a list of ideas that you are really interested in, and narrow it down to one
thing. Do one thing really well instead of doing multiple things
Hannah-- If you are just getting started, please sign up as Campus Mobilizer. Once you sign up, you’re
paired with an RFO or working group member for direct support. They are a great resource, for specific
advice or even just to brainstorm!
Emma Brewster (Northwest RFO) from the audience-- You can always use one event to do multiple
things. For example: have a panel event but while you’re there host a petition, have people sign up on
listserv, etc.
Q: Does Food Mythbusters cost money?
A: Nope! It’s totally free, just email foodday@realfoodchallenge.org if you’re interested.
Q: What is your one best piece of advice for people just starting to create a manageable but
successful event?
 Make sure the event is something you’re really interested in. That way you are willing to work past
difficulties more.
 Take advantage of networks and communities you are already involved in.
 Stay open to including new people and always looking out for new opportunities
 Invite people far and wide in first planning meeting. More people who are very passionate bring more
ideas and many hands make light work
Thank you for all of your support! Please share these notes with others in your network.
Make sure to sign up to be a Campus Mobilizer so we can get in touch with you. We’re looking
forward to a great Food Day 2012!