Food Freedom through Climate Change Activism

Jenna Deane ,Brandi Hutton, Elodie Cerauskis

Empower yourself by connecting with your community's free-food network, including food recovery programs, community gardens, pantry boxes, and ‘freedges’. Learn about food waste reduction techniques and its connection to combating climate change.   

 

Sustainable Connections works with a diverse network of local stakeholders, including community members, government and non-profit allies, and local businesses, to facilitate a variety of sustainability and social equity initiatives that improve the quality of life for all in Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, and Island Counties with a focus on the long-term health of the environment. This year Sustainable Connections celebrates 20 years of work in the community and its five core programs: Think Local First, Food & Farming, Toward Zero Waste, Housing & Smart Growth, and Energy & Green Building.  

Speaker Name

Elodie Cerauskis, Jenna Deane, and Brandi Hutton, Sustainable Connections, Bellingham

Date

Quarter

Fall

Speaker Bio

Jenna Deane – Sustainable Connections Toward Zero Waste Program Manager  

Brandi Hutton - Sustainable Connections Toward Zero Waste Program Coordinator 

Elodie Cerauskis Sustainable Connections Toward Zero Waste Program AmeriCorps Vista Member. Elodie came to Bellingham in 2017 from California, to pursue her education at Western. Inspired by her previous community service educating youth about their environment and farming local foods, she decided to pursue an Interdisciplinary Concentration at Fairhaven College. Where she wrote her concentration titled, “Global Energy, Policy and Food Systems” she also majored in French (her native language) and minored in environmental justice. While on her educational journey she decided to pursue her culinary passion and has cooked at several restaurants in Bellingham over the years. Through her work in the food industry and regular visits to the Outback Farm at Fairhaven College, Elodie began volunteering for several food recovery and distribution programs in town, such as the Foothills Food Bank, the Ferndale Food Bank, and Sustainable Connections’ Food Recovery Program. She is now an AmeriCorps Vista for the Food Recovery Program. Elodie’s role is to help build efficiency within the program, expand the program’s outreach, and educate the community about the Food Recovery Program.