Workshop 1: Food, Culture & Equity
On Friday, February 20, 2026, students gathered in HUB 340 for the first Cultural Harvest workshop, Food, Culture & Equity: Exploring Food Identity and Sustainability.
The workshop invited students to reflect on food as more than nourishment. Food carries memory, migration, cultural identity, belonging, environmental values, and questions of access and justice. Through conversation, storytelling, and creative reflection, Workshop 1 introduced students to the broader themes behind Cultural Harvest and encouraged them to begin developing their own submissions.
Guest Speakers
- Dr. Christine Stevens, Associate Professor at UW Tacoma
- Nyema Clark, Founder of Nurturing Roots
Workshop Focus
Dr. Christine Stevens opened the workshop by grounding food access in the language of human rights. In her presentation, Right to Food, Access to Cultural Foods, and Sense of Belonging, she emphasized that the right to food is recognized under international human rights law. She encouraged students to think about food not only as something available for consumption, but as something that must also be accessible, affordable, adequate, and culturally meaningful.
Her presentation connected food to policy, land, history, and student wellbeing. Students were introduced to ideas such as food sovereignty, Indigenous food access, and the long history of structural inequality that shapes who has access to culturally meaningful food. Dr. Stevens also highlighted research from UW Tacoma showing that many students experience food insecurity, and emphasized that cultural foods can play an important role in helping students feel seen, supported, and welcomed 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 in educational spaces.
Nyema Clark brought a community-rooted perspective to the workshop. As the founder of Nurturing Roots, she spoke about farming, food justice, environmental health, and the importance of reconnecting communities with land and food systems. Her talk encouraged students to think critically about where food comes from, how food systems affect communities, and how sustainability can be practiced through local, culturally grounded work.
Together, the two speakers showed that food justice is both structural and personal. Food is shaped by land, policy, and access, but it is also deeply tied to family, culture, ritual, and memory.
Interactive Activity: Cultural Plate
The workshop also included a student-centered activity called the Cultural Plate.
Students worked in small groups to design a visual 鈥減late of home鈥� 鈥� a meaningful meal, food tradition, or cultural plate that reflected their own experiences and identities. Each group discussed:
- what the food was
- who it was shared with
- when it was eaten
- how it connected to memory, identity, access, belonging, and sustainability
Using sticky notes, students connected food memories to larger themes from the workshop, including culture, equity, community care, and food justice. The activity ended with a gallery walk and sticker voting, allowing students to view and celebrate one another鈥檚 reflections.
Through this activity, students began transforming personal experience into creative expression. A plate became more than a meal, it became a map of family, place, memory, and belonging.
Continuing the Conversation
Workshop 1 closed by inviting students to continue developing stories, artwork, and creative projects for Cultural Harvest Day. The session reminded participants that food is never just food. It can be a human right, a cultural anchor, a form of resistance, and a way to build belonging across campus communities.
Featured Slide Deck
Dr. Christine Stevens鈥� presentation, Right to Food, Access to Cultural Foods, and Sense of Belonging, helped frame the workshop鈥檚 focus on food justice, cultural food access, and belonging.