Monthly Forum: Sustainable Food Systems

We discard a lot of waste in New York City. In fact, almost a fifth of all of trash is food. And while most of that discarded food is still edible, over 12% of our neighbors are food insecure. This month's Forum is all about how to make our food system more sustainable so that it emits less pollution and is able to reach more people. What is our city doing to improve food cycles? What’s being done to develop regenerative, closed loop systems? How are we doing on producing local food? And how is our system set up to reach those in need?

Join us on March 20th to hear from a panel of professionals discuss how they are helping to implement sustainable urban food systems. 

Date: March 20th

Time: 6:30PM-8:00PM

Location: Nixon Peabody LLC

Presenters for this event include:

Clare Miflin, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Certified Biomimicry Professional, Certified Passive House Designer. Clare will speak on  design that reduces food waste as well as food rescue, and composting for community gardens and urban agriculture.

Saada Amadu, Associate, Programs, Climate & Equity at Resilient Cities Network. Saada will be highlighting ideas and success stories from other cities around the US and world, based on priority areas and goals for the NYC Mayor's Office of Food Policy and Urban Agriculture.

Ken Baker, the Culinary Director at Rethink Food, will speak on their restaurant meal program and their sustainable commissary kitchen, which, by repurposing donated excess food, provides over 10,000 weekly meals to local communities impacted by food insecurity.

Presenter details:

Clare Miflin is a circular-systems thinker with over 20 years of experience as an architect. In 2017, she led the development of the Zero Waste Design Guidelines in New York City, directing a year-long multidisciplinary collaborative process involving dozens of government officials, civic leaders, developers, and design professionals. Clare works to deepen the knowledge and further the reach of the Guidelines, envisioning a future without garbage, where urban systems are woven into ecosystems. She founded and leads both the Center for Zero Waste Design, a nonprofit that develops research, advocacy campaigns and policy tools, and ThinkWoven, a consultancy that applies zero waste design strategies to buildings, neighborhoods and cities. Her diverse client roster includes NYC Department of Sanitation, Google, the City of Hoboken, Downtown Alliance, New York City Housing Authority, and others. 

Saada Amadu is a food strategist and researcher with experiences and interests in food systems, community resilience, and equity equity. She previously worked at at Rethink Food and Sky High Farm on food policy  and sustainable agriculture. Saada completed her Master of Science in Environmental Sciences & Policy at Central European University and Bachelor of Arts in International Studies at CUNY College of Staten Island.

Ken, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, studied Hospitality Management at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. After college, he worked as a Catering Assistant at the Belvedere Hotel. ARAMARK recruited him to join their Higher Education division at Johns Hopkins University and later American University in Washington, D.C., where he co-led the campus dining operations. Ken then took a career pivot to explore the world of public policy. This longtime passion landed him an internship on Capitol Hill with the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee before becoming policy manager at the National Development Council. Ken was introduced to Rethink Food after relocating to NYC during COVID-19 and started picking up gigs in their commissary kitchen. He joined the organization in 2021 and is currently the Culinary Director, leading all the Culinary and Trucking/Logistics operations. When not working, Ken, an avid sports fan, can be found cheering on his beloved Baltimore Orioles, Baltimore Ravens, and Brooklyn Nets. Ken and his cherished pet beagle Camden split their time between South Williamsburg, BK, where they reside, and his boyfriend Omar's home in Chelsea.

If you have any questions, please contact the GreenHomeNYC Forums group at forums@greenhomenyc.org.

Since 2002, GreenHomeNYC has been promoting an energy efficient and sustainable built environment, and supporting green professional development in NYC.

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