Food sovereignty is the right of all people to determine their own food and agriculture policies – it is essentially the democratization of the food system. This week, two longtime WhyHunger partners and friends who have been working towards food sovereignty for years got some well-deserved recognition.

East New York Farms! is featured today on the front page of the The New York Times Home section. The article explores how West Indian immigrants in the East New York section of Brooklyn have re-created their food culture by growing Caribbean crops in the area’s many gardens – and gives some history of foods like callaloo and bitter melon. Click here to read the article, and be sure to check out the fantastic slideshow!

WhyHunger partner Brett Ramey was featured in The Kansas City Star for his fantastic work with Haskell Indian Nations University. He has been working with Haskell on a course called “Growing Change in the 21st Century: Next Generation Responsibilities, Food Sovereignty, Water Ways and Climate Change,” which has been engaging and empowering students to reconnect with their historical indigenous food and agriculture traditions, especially in light of the tremendous challenges we face in the 21st century. You can read more about Brett’s food sovereignty work on his blog.