Two members of YAYA, Ofelia Sanchez (left) and Yaretzi Perez (center below) went to Atlanta, Georgia for the Uprooted and Rising Conference. Uprooted and Rising is an organization focused on food sovereignty and justice in the south.
They strive to end higher education’s support for Big Food corporations and white supremacy in the food system, and direct the energy of our generation towards food sovereignty. Uprooted & Rising aims to create a culture shift through public action, digital organizing, and creative storytelling that uplifts and centers the ideas and experiences of those who have been marginalized by corporate control and white supremacy in our food system. The movement includes students, workers, faculty, food producers, and community members that institutions of higher education are meant to serve.
Real Food Generation (the organization that encompasses both Uprooted & Rising and Real Food Challenge) is also a founding member of the Real Meals Campaign, a groundbreaking, intergenerational coalition to oppose the sweetheart deals between the cafeteria corporations on our campuses and the Big Food corporations that lock out community producers.