Food Day Debuts

Think about it like Earth Day but for food issues,” said Lilia Smelkova, campaign manager for the inaugural Food Day that was held on October 24, in an interview with foodspring.com a few weeks prior to the event’s debut. The big day saw more than 2,300 events in all 50 states that drew attention to and prompted conversations about food, from the importance and joy of a home-cooked meal to the policies that are deeply affecting this country’s progeny.

The momentum in recent years of health and nutrition in the national dialogue gave Food Day the opportunity to establish what its founders at the Center for Science in the Public Interest believed was missing: a unifying platform for action to reform the American food system. “All the groups that work on food in the country work on different issues, and sometimes there is not that much dialogue [among them],” Smelkova explained. “The groups that focus on hunger and food access do not dialogue with nutrition and public-health groups.”

Participation in Food Day reached numerous levels, with support from food experts and advocates, including celebrity chef Mario Batali, nutritionist Marion Nestle and mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York City and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles. Events included cooking demos, festivals and fundraisers. Already, CSPI is preparing for the next Food Day. In a press release from organizers following the debut event, CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobsen said, “As an annual event, Food Day will make the food movement more formidable, more united, and better positioned to fix the problems that plague our food system.” —Eva Meszaros

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