Food is a human right, yet not all Chicagoans have equitable access to healthy, nutritiously dense, locally grown, culturally appropriate food.
The causes of food inequity are massive, complicated, and systemic. To address these issues, the Chicago Food Policy Action Council facilitates the Chicago Food Justice Rhizome Network, a group of passionate food justice advocates who participate in working groups to build a more equitable food system in Chicago. This group is not specific to those who live in or work with Chicago and is open to everyone. 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.
Interested in joining the network and working group calls? Fill out this google form.
Upcoming Events
December 7th: Rhizome Holiday party
Working Groups & Call Schedules
Rhizome Calls - First Thursday of every month from 3-4PM
These calls were started to foster cross collaboration between working groups. Any member of the Chicago Food Justice Rhizome Network is welcome to join these calls, even if you don’t attend any other working group calls. Rhizome calls are intended for everyone to join. Calls generally consist of a speaker to present their work to the group, Rapid Response updates, and breakout group discussions.
Chicago Food Worker Justice Call
First Tuesday of the Month from 2-3pm CST
The Chicago Food Worker Justice Subgroup convenes food chain workers, labor rights organizations, worker centers, and occupational health professionals to build connectivity across the food system with a focus on workers rights to organize, living wages, and fair working conditions.
Resilient Food System Call
Every other Tuesday from 3-4pm CST
These calls were started to offer a space for people and organizations distributing food to collaborate. These calls were originally called “Emergency Food Assistance” but renamed “Resilient Food Systems” to reflect the group’s goal of providing nutritious, locally grown, culturally resonant foods to Chicagoans, while building a more resilient food system less vulnerable to emergencies.
Growing Advocacy Call
Second Tuesday of the month from 5-6:30pm CST
This call is a regular training space for farmers, food distributors, and/or retailers to prepare for advocacy opportunities. This includes networking opportunities, public speaking training, and narrative building workshops to prepare folks to speak with elected officials about policy changes that would benefit their farm or business operations.
Farm Bill Organizing Call
Every other Thursday from 10-11am CST
These calls were started to gather those who were interested in federal farm bill organizing. The group has identified a slate of marker bills that the network is really excited about and has been preparing to schedule meetings with lawmakers. This group is currently leveraging the ‘Growing Advocacy’ calls to prepare folks for advocacy opportunities.
New Neighbor Nutrition Call
Every other Monday from 4-5pm CST
These calls were started to assist in coordinating and ensuring nutritional needs for all the folks immigrating to Chicago. This group is generally attended by people involved in ward specific efforts who come together to problem solve, resource share, and have a regular touch point with one another.
ILlinois food policy calls
First Friday of the month from 10:30-11am CST
The IL Food Policy calls function as a check-in space for organizations and communities across the state who focus on legislation related to agriculture and the food system. The group tracks bills moving through the IL General Assembly and coordinates around related advocacy efforts.
Rhizome Network Resource Directory
All resources, calls to action, and funding sources shared during our network working group calls are compiled in this directory. Regardless of whether or not you are a part of the network, you are encouraged to utilize this directory.
Have a resource you’d like to share with us? Let us know through this form.
background on the rhizome network
Community Agreements
- One Diva, One Mic
- No one knows everything, together we know a lot
- Move up, move aside
- We can’t be articulate all the time
- Centering a culture of care
- Be in active inquiry about how your personal identities and positions within hierarchies of privilege impact and influence collective space
- Please do what you need to do to prioritize your self-care.
- Be present
- Anticipate discomfort / hold a courageous space
Group Origins
This network was initially convened to address emergent COVID-19 needs. From the very beginning, network members expressed they wished a network like this had existed before the pandemic, so we’ve decided to continue facilitating even after the pandemic. Click here to learn more about this transition.
Anti racist resources
This group works to actively anti racist and we expect all of our members to be in constant inquiry of how their positions of privilege impact their views. Before joining this group, we encourage all of our members to review the following resources:
Why is it called the “rhizome” network?
A rhizome (also known as rootstocks) is a type of plant stem situated either at the soil surface or underground that contains nodes from which roots and shoots originate. Rhizomes are unique in that they grow perpendicular, permitting new shoots to grow up out of the ground. When separated, each piece of a rhizome is capable of producing a new plant. Some plant species which form multiple layers in a complex network. Learn more about rhizomes from this Biology Dictionary source.
While each of our individual working groups are crucial to supporting the development of a more equitable food system, if they are siloed, their impact will be stifled. We decided to call our network the Chicago Food Justice Rhizome Network because we want our network to operate similar to rhizomatic root structures. Growing horizontally, intricately interwoven, all working toward a single goal of food justice and sovereignty for the Chicagoland region.
