The 4th Assembly of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance, October 12 – 15, 2018

Opening Mistica, October 13: The Food Workers succeed in smashing the WALL (MURO) constructed by Monsanto, Walmart, ConAgra and the other representatives of the corporate food system.

By Elizabeth Henderson

The 4^th National Assembly of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance (USFSA) took place against a backdrop of intense labor struggle as Community 2 Community, the hosts for the gathering, supported a strike by berry farm workers led by the independent union, Familias Unidas por la Justicia.  Attendees also took part in the 88^th week of the “Dignity Vigils” that C2C conducts outside the Bellingham City Council meeting.  Led by C2C director Rosalinda Guillen, the vigils demand that the councilors make Bellingham a sanctuary city to protect undocumented local residents from deportation. I attended the Assembly as a representative of NOFA which joined the US Food Sovereignty Alliance in 2017 as part of a deliberate effort to broaden our connections to efforts involving people from diverse sectors of the food system. The declaration from the Assembly lists the range of participants – farmworkers, food chain workers, fishers, family farmers, urban agriculturalists, food providers, and social justice advocates.

For the 88th week in a row, Rosalinda Guillen, of Community 2 Community Development, calls upon the Bellingham, WA. City Council to take measures to protect local undocumented people from arrest and deportation by ICE.