Written and published May 2015 by Olivia Engel, Green Dining Alliance Program Coordinator
Register for June 3rd’s Symposium “Livable Communities,” to learn more about local food production, residential composting, food hubs, equal access to healthy, local food, and how to address the challenges to gaining these societal assets.
The St. Louis Earth Day Symposium is an annual educational and networking event for local government, community leaders and planning professionals. It provides tools for implementing environmental initiatives in new projects throughout the St. Louis area. This year’s Symposium will be focused on how we can create Livable Communities.
Keynote Speakers:
Robert Garcia
Morning Keynote
Robert García is a civil rights advocate who engages, educates, and empowers communities for equal access to public resources.
He is the Founding Director and Counsel of The City Project, a non-profit legal and policy advocacy team in Los Angeles, California. The City Project works with diverse allies on equal access to (1) healthy green land use through community planning; (2) climate justice; (3) quality education including physical education; (4) health equity; and (5) economic vitality for all, including creating jobs and avoiding displacement.
García has extensive experience in public policy, legal advocacy, mediation, and litigation involving complex social justice, civil rights, human health, environmental, education, and criminal justice matters. He has influenced the investment of over $43 billion in under-served communities, working at the intersection of equal justice, public health, and the built environment. Read more here.
Amelia Pape
Afternoon Keynote
Amelia Pape is a Portland, Oregon-based social entrepreneur and food access advocate. She is the founder of My Street Grocery, a mobile grocer founded in 2011 as a social enterprise with a mission to improve fresh food access and build community by introducing customers to choices, resources, and relationships that celebrate the joy of food. In late-2013, Pape brought My Street Grocery into Whole Foods Market to enhance the scope and impact of the program.
My Street Grocery currently operates community markets year-round out of a mobile grocery trolley throughout the greater Portland area. Pape is passionate about supporting social entrepreneurs, and loves to cook, explore, and eat local food everywhere she goes – and is particularly interested in how food acts as a conduit for social engagement in our communities. Read more here.
