Online Sierra Club Monthly Program: Austin’s Food Policy, with Edwin Marty

We’ll start off with Announcements on current events… Tonite’s main program is a discussion with Edwin Marty, the City of Austin’s Food Policy Manager.

Edwin is responsible for advancing initiatives that support the creation of a healthy and just local food system for Austin. In that capacity he:

• Bridges and connects City departmental programs, policies, and procedures that impact the local food system to create alignment and optimize outcomes.
• Engages with community members and organizations to inform neighborhood food system strategic planning and connect stakeholders with City resources.
• Serves as the City’s staff liaison – and food policy expert – to the Austin-Travis County Food Policy Board.
• Works to raise awareness about food-related issues, motivate positive action to improve long-term health, and promote initiatives to strengthen community resilience.

Edwin earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon and completed an “Apprenticeship in Agroecology” from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He went on to work on sustainable farming projects around the world, including Mexico, Mongolia, Australia, and Chile.

Prior to joining the City of Austin’s Office of Sustainability, Edwin worked for Southern Living Magazine as a garden writer. He was the founder and director of a non-profit called Jones Valley Teaching Farm located in in Birmingham, Alabama, was director of the urban farm EAT South, and helped establish the Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network. He co-authored a book about urban farming in America called Breaking Through Concrete, published by University of California Press.

The URL to click on and join the meeting will be displayed after you RSVP. If you are new to Zoom, tutorials are available online – example https://www.youtube.com/embed/hIkCmbvAHQQ . Using your camera and microphone is optional for the meeting.