The Evolution of our Chicago Food Justice Rhizome Network

Above is a graphic showing the representation of various sectors within our “COVID-19 Rapid Response Network”
Image designed by Matt Goetz

In March of 2020, Chicago Food Policy Action Council began convening food justice advocates to support Chicago’s local food system through the pandemic. From the very beginning of these working group calls, we’ve heard feedback from folks expressing they wished spaces like this existed before the pandemic.

Now that we’re more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, our staff has taken some time to reflect on our response and what it could evolve into to continue to support all of the individuals, organizations, and entities making up Chicago’s regional food system. To that end, we’ve decided to reframe the “COVID-19 Rapid Response Network” as our “Chicago Food Justice Rhizome Network” group! The goal of this group will remain roughly the same, but instead of specifically focusing on emergent COVID-19 needs, we will hold space for all food justice work being done in Chicago.

This network is open to any food justice advocates who are interested in gathering, resource sharing, and collaborating to build a more equitable food system for all Chicagoans. This group is not specific to those who live or work in Chicago. We welcome all who are involved or impacted by Chicago's food shed, which includes all of Cook County, Illinois, and neighboring Great Lakes states.

All working group call schedules will remain the same and are ultimately up to the discretion of the CFPAC staff lead and the members of the group. Our group wide Rhizome calls will occur monthly on the first Thursday of the month from here on out. If you are interested in joining this network, please fill out this google form.