DID YOU SEE FOOD FIRST ON THE CBS BOARD IN TIMES SQUARE?

 
You've probably noticed. Everyone seems to be talking about food... what kind of food we eat, where we buy it, how we produce it, and how it's affecting our health and environment. It's an important conversation. And Food First has been a leading voice in it for nearly four decades.

Founded in 1975 by Frances Moore Lappé--author of the revolutionary bestseller Diet for a Small Planet--and Joseph Collins, Food First is a "think-and-do tank" dedicated to ending the injustices that cause hunger. Our Board of Directors is an ethnically diverse group of leading food justice activists, academics and professionals. Our research staff and fellows have engaged in action-research here in the US and around the world, working with food sovereignty movements.Through research, education and action, Food First gives you the tools to understand our global food system... and to build your local food movement from the ground up.

When you become a member of Food First, by donating as little as $5, you receive our highly regarded quarterly publications for one year. More importantly, you support an organization that has been pushing the debate about the future of our food system beyond superficial rhetoric and false solutions for 38 years. We know that healthy and culturally appropriate food for all is a question of justice. Period.

WHAT WE DO

Food First believes that in order to make change, we must first understand the way our food system works. That's why we produce rigorous, timely analysis on the most important food issues. How do we know which issues are most important? By listening to grassroots social movements around the world who are working and fighting every day to feed themselves, to feed their communities, and to protect the natural resources that sustain the planet.

Research:
Food First has a network of committed activist-researchers who produce cutting-edge articles, policy briefs, issue backgrounders and books. Our research fellows include Raj Patel, acclaimed author of the books Stuffed and Starved and The Value of Nothing. We share the research findings of our fellows, affiliated scholars and community-based activists who are committed to food justice and food sovereignty. Download our Backgrounders: The 12 Myths of Hunger and Food Security, Food Justice or Food Sovereignty?

Learn more about our most recent books:

Food Movements Unite! Strategies to Transform our Food System, edited by Eric Holt-Giménez

Grabbing Power: The New Struggles for Land, Food and Democracy in Northern Honduras by Tanya Kerssen

Unfinished Puzzle. Cuban Agriculture: The Challenges, Lessons and Opportunities by May Ling Chan and Eduardo Francisco Freyre Roach

Education:
Food First publications are widely used in university courses and by community groups, and our books have been translated into more than 20 languages. In addition, Food First's executive director Eric Holt-Giménez and Food First researchers teach courses and seminars, give talks, and participate in public discussions ranging from university classrooms and international conferences to farms and community centers. Food First's educational travel program Food Sovereignty Tours allows you to travel with our experts to explore the world's food cultures and engage with the global movement for food sovereignty. Through our Artists in Residence program, we educate the public about food justice through art, culture and music.

Action:
Food First is not just a "think tank." We generate research and education for activists. And we also support community-based projects around the world that are creating real change for people. Through our Campaign for the Restoration and Conservation of Pollinators, we work with peasant farmers in Central Mexico to spread knowledge about sustainable agriculture through community radio programs and farmer-to-farmer networks. In West Africa, Food First supports the We are the Solution Campaign, a campaign led by small farmers and women to spread agroecological knowledge and advocate for policies that support family farming-not large-scale industrial agriculture. Locally, Food First houses the Oakland Food Policy Council, an innovative council of farmers, restauranteurs, policymakers and engaged citizens working together to build an equitable and sustainable food system where we live, in Oakland, California. In the East Bay of San Francisco we are also launching an Urban Farmer Field School.

We know that change comes from the ground up. It comes from people like you. Become a member today. Thank you for being part of this amazing global movement.

WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY

I was a young mother, inspired by Frances [Moore] Lappe's work, when I became aware of Food First. We had five children and very little money, and I wanted to feed our family as well as possible. Food First helped me realize that we were like all parents of humble means, all over the earth. Food First affirmed my understanding [that] no one's plate need be empty. I'm a grandmother now, and I haven't lost my admiration for the quiet, intelligent, and noble goals Food First has faithfully pursued all these years, for the benefit of us all. - Sue Miller, review on Great Non-Profits

As a graduate student of agricultural policy, I've found Food First to be an invaluable resource for atypical, emerging ideas and arguments, regarding global food and development issues, that are well-grounded in reliable research and empirical evidence. Food First scholars and writers are not afraid to reveal root injustices and assign blame, but they also take care to check their facts and offer practical solutions. - Anonymous Food First member, review on Great Non-Profits

Food First's work is invaluable to developing an understanding of the key issues regarding food policy and development globally. Their vision is impeccable and their analyses cut straight to the heart of the problems at hand, often providing alternative solutions to those propounded by the mainstream. - Anonymous Food First member, review on Great Non-Profits 

Food First's knowledge-based activism stands as an example. It grounds its work in vital principles of equity and democracy. It doesn't dodge complexity, but puts across its messages in straightforward terms and through concrete cases. It continually refreshes and renews its knowledge through a wide network. Its overall approach keeps the focus where it should be, on political and economic power, on why it needs to be tackled and on what can be done to tackle it. - Anonymous Food First member, review on Great Non-Profits

View the video now and learn more about Food First.