Students say “Occupy Your Plate”, plan to converge at retreat to grow food cooperatives on campuses nationwide
For Immediate Release – December 28th
Contact – Yoni Landau, Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist: 510 207 3850 yoni@cofed.org
A national training for student cooperative food activists to be held January 6th-8th at Cloyne Court & Hotel, Student Housing Cooperative in Berkeley, CA.
College students from UC-Riverside who attended CoFED's first national training
As the UN declares 2012 the Year of the Cooperative, students across the nation are mobilizing and calling on young people to “occupy your plate” as a next step to build towards a more just and democratic society.
Through CoFED’s “boot camp” in sustainable social entrepreneurship, more than 70 young people will gain the skills to create ethically-sourced, student-run local storefronts and cafés on college campuses throughout the US and Canada. Students receive training on both food justice and business skills; including strategic marketing and planning, market and financial analysis, management and other critical tools to launch successful democratic enterprises. Speakers at the event will include People’s Grocery Executive Director Nikki Henderson, Green Festival Founder Kevin Danaher and Moosewood Collective Cookbook Author Mollie Katzen.
Students learn about cooperative business planning and other skills at CoFED trainings.
“We see thousands of college students hungry for greater access to healthy, ethically sourced, locally produced food. Campus food co-ops give students great food at affordable prices, while supporting local farmers and imparting students with financial and organizational skills crucial for success in life after college,” said Landau.
In addition to the leadership training that dozens of campus leaders will acquire via CoFED’s week-long regional leadership retreats in June, these students will also receive personal assistance from CoFED’s six regional directors, who serve as expert advisers helping each campus team design and implement a strategic plan for launching their new food co-op.
This training will bring together an international network of student organizers from the food, cooperative and occupy movements. On Saturday, January 7th, members of the press will be invited to interview student and national leadership.
