Kalamazoo Hosts First Annual Foodways Symposium in April

The first annual Foodways Symposium will be held at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum and Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Bronson Healthy Living Campus on April 7 and 8, 2017.

“We’ve been working with a number of community groups over the past year to plan this event,” said Elspeth Inglis, event co-organizer and assistant director for education at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. “We all believe that it is important for the community to understand more about where our food comes from and about the social and political implications of a food system.”

The focus will be on food history, food culture and food systems, offering programs and activities that provide historical, cultural, and practical insights into food and food systems in Southwest Michigan. The event will serve as a convening point for students, professionals, and the community. According to Rachel Bair, event co-organizer and Kalamazoo Valley’s Director for Sustainable and Innovative Food Systems, “Our hope is that the community will continue to come together to build a strong, vibrant, local food system for the entire region.”

On Friday, April 7, the lineup includes a pancake breakfast in the Culinary/Allied Health Building. Presented by the KVCC Foundation, the breakfast will be available between 8 to 10 a.m. and will include a variety of pancakes and Michigan maple syrup. A suggested donation of $10 per person will be used in support of student scholarships.

Additional programming that day will include presentations, demonstrations and opportunities for hands-on experiences, especially for culinary and food systems professionals. Friday’s program will also include the quarterly meeting of the Good Food Kalamazoo collaborative. The Culinary/Allied Health facility is located at 418 East Walnut Street.

Friday evening’s keynote address, during Art Hop, will feature Toni Tipton-Martin, food writer and author of The Jemima Code. She will speak in the KVM’s Mary Jane Stryker Theater from 6:30-7:30 p.m. She is an award-winning food and nutrition journalist using cultural heritage and cooking for social change. More about Tipton-Martin is available at her website http://tonitiptonmartin.com.

A "Food/Not Food" photography exhibit by local artist Kristina Lechner will be on display throughout the evening. Lechner’s work was recently featured in Cosmopolitan magazine. The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is located at 230 North Rose Street in downtown Kalamazoo.

Saturday's events take place at the Culinary/Allied Health building and the Food Innovation Center. Tipton-Martin will give cooking demonstrations in the Culinary Theater, there will be "Kids in the Kitchen" workshops in the Community Kitchen, a brewery demonstration, kids activities, farm animals from Lake Village Homestead, tours of the greenhouse and grow room, plus lots more.

All programs are free and open to the public. For a complete schedule of events scheduled during the Foodways Symposium visit http://kalamazoomuseum.org/kalamazoofoodways.

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