Food Justice and Faith Communities
We had a great conversation! Catch up with the article and video follow up — Whole soul, whole heart, whole food: reclaiming our health for body and planet, a discussion covering Food Justice and Policy in the US, what faith communities can do, with Kelly Moltzen, co-founder and convener of the Interfaith Public Health Network.
The food we see in our corner grocery store depends a lot on who we are and where we live—and the difference can be seen not just in what is on the shelves, but in health outcomes for whole communities.
On June 21st, we revisit our conversation on food and faith, this time with Kelly Moltzen, co-founder and convener of the Interfaith Public Health Network. Moltzen will speak about our global food system, a system unsustainable for the earth, and often unhealthy for humans, too. We will discuss how food is produced and marketed, and what that means for health, nutrition and access in the US. We will also speak to the many things churches can do to localize, prioritize and create change in their communities. Tuesday, June 21st 11:00am Pacific Time / 2:00pm Eastern Time. Register.
Food manufacturer marketing practices are different depending on ‘markets.’ For BIPOC and marginalized communities, this can mean more processed foods, such as soda and chips, and less nutritious, fresh foods. At the Cafe, Moltzen will identify specific marketing practices of food & beverage companies, inviting us as people of faith to better see and understand how unequal food systems impact everyone. Better food systems will lead to better health outcomes. People of faith can help advocate for improved policy, systems, and environmental changes within their own faith communities, community-based organizations, and institutions.
Kelly is a co-founder and convener of the Interfaith Public Health Network, which inspires people of faith to be agents of change in transforming communities into ones that promote health and well-being for all. As a steering committee member of the Center for Earth Ethics' Faith and Food Coalition, she helps bring faith voices to the United Nations Food Systems Summit process. For more than 12 years, she has worked on programs that increase access to and consumption of healthy food to address health disparities in the Bronx, New York. Kelly is a Registered Dietitian and received a Master’s in Public Health from New York University. She was a 2015 Re:Generate Fellow with the Food, Health and Ecological Well-Being Program of Wake Forest University School of Divinity and was named to Hunter College's NYC Food Policy Center 40 Under 40 Class of 2020. Kelly is a member of the USA Secular Franciscan Order Ecumenical & Interfaith Committee, a 2021-2022 Fellow at Abrahamic House in Washington, D.C. and a Rockefeller-Acumen Food Systems Fellow.