From Interfaith Power and Light’s Sacred Ground Guide:
Sacred Ground: Cultivating Connections Between Our Faith, Our Food, and the Climate examines how our food systems contribute to injustice and to climate change, and how our faiths call us to respond through practical solutions… Food is an important part of our faith traditions – we use it to express our connection to each other, to the earth, and to our spirituality.
Our traditions have certain beliefs about food, we use food symbolically in our liturgies, and various faith traditions require specific food practices in the daily lives of their believers. And all the major faith traditions call us to care for the earth, [and] how we grow our food is integral to the way we care for the earth and each other.
In this moment in our country’s history we are experiencing three great overlapping challenges: a pandemic sparking an economic downturn causing more families to go hungry, racial injustice awareness rising, and the climate crisis worsening. We have an opportunity to address all of these issues with one focus – our food practices.
Food injustice, climate injustice, and racial injustice are all intertwining threats with particular impact on BIPOC and low-income communities. We at IPL maintain our value that because we embrace justice, we act with inclusion and respect, and we work in solidarity with vulnerable and marginalized communities. We support climate solutions that connect the dots between the intersecting challenges of racial justice and food justice.
Get Involved
Organizers have released some information about supporting black-owned farms in their Sacred Ground Guide. The invitation here is to think about how our food systems are inextricably connected to issues of social justice. Please note that the lists they provide are not exhaustive; we suggest using this perhaps as a starting place for looking into local farms in your area. IPL is also making the documentary Kiss the Ground available for free streaming.
- Download the Sacred Ground Guide for suggestions for action for sanghas and individuals. There is also information about how healthy soil can help solve the climate crisis and support food justice.
- Screen this year’s featured film Kiss the Ground (available to stream on Netflix or for free through IPL during Faith Climate Action Week) and join the webinar with the Kiss the Ground director on April 21st, 11am Pacific time, to hear some ideas about what you can do with the information in the film. More info to come.
- Plant a community garden and watch this short video to learn how to make your garden regenerative.
