Mayor Don Ness proclaims Food Day at UMD Students can now mark “Food Day” on their calendars once a year, thanks to Mayor Don Ness.
Last Wednesday, in the bustling UMD food court, students and citizens gathered to hear Mayor Don Ness give an official proclamation declaring Oct. 24th Food Day in Duluth.
“Food issues are the social justice issues for our country,” Ness said. “Whether it is access to healthy food, or the healthcare issues that go along with access to those foods, so many issues facing our country today have their source in food.”
According to Rachel Gilbertson, on-site health Coach at UMD, and Food Day event coordinator, “Food day is a nationwide movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food.”
Chancellor Black outlined what Food Day means for UMD.
“We celebrate the importance of healthy food options, it’s something that we have a very strong commitment to at UMD, and we very much appreciate Mayor Ness and the city and their collaboration with us,” Black said.
Food day is a national celebration created by consumer advocacy group, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The purpose of this celebration looks to “address issues as varied as health and nutrition, hunger, agricultural policy, animal welfare, and farm worker justice,” according to FoodDay.org, the official website for the movement.
The UMD campus has seen a few new healthy food options arrive since the start of the new semester; Fresh Works salad bar located in the Kirby Food Court, as well as another salad bar located in the Dinning Center. According to Black, both options feature vegetables grown on the UMD Farm. He also said that over the last two years UMD has purchased over 8,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables from the farm.
“This is an opportunity for collaboration for a good cause,” Black Said. “We have student groups, we have departments, we have community organizations, and we have local business organizations. We are all partnering here to help educate, inspire, and help mobilize change around healthy food issues.”
BY: GRAHAM HAKALA hakal045@d.umn.edu