Repression is rising, but so are we.

ROOT TO RISE

A WORKSHOP ON FOOD, STORY, & COMMUNITY POWER

December 5 & 12 | 10am-1pm PT/ 1-4pm ET

Join Root to Rise, a 6-hour, 2-day virtual workshop for food workers and organizers ready to use food, story, and creativity to resist autocracy and strengthen community power.

Register Now

Stories shape power.

Liberatory storytelling challenges harmful systems, builds community strength, and ignites change rooted in care, consent, and connection.

  • People who work for community food projects: markets, farms, organizing projects, food education, small values-driven food businesses, land stewards, policy advocates, community gardeners, and anyone who cares about the people who nourish us and the land that feeds us.

    This workshop is relevant for anyone interested in cultivating community power through connection, commitment to place, the power of food, creativity, and joy.

    We encourage you to attend with a buddy, teammate, or creative co-conspirator.

  • You’ll come away with:

    • An understanding of how autocracy works locally - and specific "pillars of support" you can undermine or sway in your own community

    • A map of power in your food community - understanding the types of power shaping your food community, key relationships you can activate, and strategic opportunities to exercise liberatory power 

    • A multi-generational vision for your food community's transformation, grounded in relationships and places you care about

    • 2-3 creative, joyful actions you can take in the next 90 days that resist autocracy while building community power

    • Your people identified - knowing who you're doing this work with and having concrete next steps to connect or deepen those collaborations

    • Connection to a network of food workers and organizers committed to using food, story, and creativity as tools for resistance and community building

  • The two live sessions will include a mix of sharing frameworks, solo and group reflection, live play and practice, as well as space for ideation and action-planning.

    Process:

    • Pre-work: Brief review of materials for familiarity.

    • Day 1: Playing with power; understanding pillars of autocracy, community power-analysis, and generating a long-arc vision for future generations.

    • Between-work: Reflection and brief materials review.

    • Day 2:  Ideation and action-planning. 

    • Follow-up: Take joyful, creative action!

  • No one will be turned away from participating. We offer a sliding scale for workshop fees: for individuals paying their own way. If you have the means to contribute at a higher rate, we invite you to opt into a higher contribution. Within the abundance of community, we have what we need to sustain this work and continue making it available to those who can benefit.

    For Individuals: Suggested rate tiers if you are paying for the course without financial support from an organization.

    • $60 - Receiving Reparations: I identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or a first-generation immigrant from the Global South (historically colonized peoples)

    • $90 - Limited Income: I have a limited income / tight budget

    • $135 - Base: Covers the cost of my own participation

    • $235 - In Solidarity: I am able to contribute more than minimal costs

    • Pay-what-you-can options are available; simply choose the donate button and pay what you can, or enter “0”.

    Organizational Sponsorship: Tiered rates for individuals if an organization is paying for your participation (cost is per person; group options listed below):

    • $325 - Limited - I am sponsored by a grassroots organization / budgets below 100K/yr.

    • $400 - Base - I am sponsored by a community organization or business / budgets between 100K-500K/yr.

    • $550 - Solidarity - I am sponsored by a larger organization, foundation, &/or corporation / budgets >500K/yr

    For groups:

    To support teams in participating in the course together, we offer the following group rates:

    • 15% discount available for groups of 3 or more

    • 20% discount available for groups of 6 or more

    Email for discount (pui-ling@foodculture.org)

Grow power, not fear

JOIN ROOT TO RISE

Register now

Meet the Facilitators

  • Pui-ling Lew

    CO-DIRECTOR OF PURPOSE & PRACTICE
    pui-ling@foodculture.org

    Pronouns: they/them

    With a background in food systems and facilitation, Pui-ling brings a grounded yet imaginative approach to cultivating collective healing and transformation. They see food and story as pathways for reconnecting to land, culture, and belonging, and for reweaving relationships across generations and communities. As Co-Director of Purpose and Practice at Food Culture Collective, Pui-ling leads with curiosity, care, and relational wisdom to nurture spaces of authenticity and interdependence.

  • Jovida Ross

    CO-DIRECTOR OF COLLECTIVE GOVERNANCE
    jovida@foodculture.org
    she or they

    Jovida specializes in guiding collaborative processes that turn bold visions into collective action, with over two decades of experience in movement strategy, facilitation, and program design. They see food and story as vital tools for transforming systems of domination into networks of interdependence and care. Rooted in their early experiences on their family’s organic micro-farm, Jovida’s work reflects a lifelong commitment to cultivating the conditions for mutual thriving.

  • Ada Cuadrado-Medina

    CO-DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE PLAY
    ada@foodculture.org
    she/her/ella

    Bringing over 15 years of experience in design, marketing, and storytelling, Ada brings a creative and systems-minded approach to connecting people through food and shared imagination. She sees food and story as vital tools for building belonging, identity, and the irresistible futures we want to live in. As Co-Director of Creative Play at Food Culture Collective, Ada designs digital and participatory spaces that spark curiosity, reflection, and joyful connection across communities.