“Local” heading up the influence chain

Watch out team! I’m swimming in inspiration at Terra Madre. Here’s what I posted on the Food Day website (in the middle of the night because I’m so full). What do you think of it?
I am at Terra Madre in Italy – a great place to be on Food Day. As a food activist I’m learning important ideas here about being effective.
1. Align with movements. I, like many Americans, start small groups because I don’t see in my immediate sphere who is working on what I care about. I’m looking for who and how to align with.
2. Align movements. My community had too many small non-profits with such specific mandates that we split the attention and money pies. If we could create a common cause or common goals, we could be more powerful in making change.
3. Participate in policy making. It’s hard to know timetables and requirements of governments developing policies, ordinances, laws, budgets. But once a local authority or state has mandated change and put money behind it, one can move a lot of money into campaigns, projects, pockets of the disadvantaged.
4. Work with foundations for early stage project development. A Foundation with your agenda might put money behind your project. One programs that’s now very large started with $5000 to one Farmer’s Market.
5. Expose injustice in the system. People are disgusted at waste. They are disgusted by what we feed our kids. People like Jamie Oliver and Tristram Stuart are shamelessly shaming schools and grocery stores by muckraking stories with pictures and movies and stories. Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food, exhorts us to be radical, fierce, to stand up for and stand up against – because everything is at stake.

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