Food Studies News

Food studies’ Dr. Minkoff-Zern on immigrant labor and American food systems

02/02/17

Food studies assistant professor Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, Ph.D., comments on issues of immigrant labor and American food systems in light of the nation’s recent and potential policy changes in “What Would America’s Food Supply Look Like Without Immigrant Labor?”

In the Munchies article, Dr. Minkoff-Zern explains, “We are dependent upon undocumented immigrants and we have been for a long time, so there’s this real contradictory nature where on the one hand people want to see them gone, and on the other they want food cheap. Our food system, where we really have access to a lot of cheap food, is dependent upon low-wage labor, and that is dependent upon a source of undocumented workers who don’t have the ability to help themselves.”

Dr. Minkoff-Zern’s research and teaching broadly explores the interactions between food and racial justice, labor movements, and transnational environmental and agricultural policy. This focus builds on her extensive experience with sustainable development and agricultural biodiversity projects abroad, combined with work on migrant health issues domestically.

Living, Learning, Liquor

24/01/17

Living, Learning, Liquor: SU Professor discusses his experience as alcohol expert

By Angelica Welch ’17. Courtesy of 360 Magazine

Torrey Grant, adjunct professor of the famous Beer and Wine Appreciation class, has a deep-seeded relationship with the Syracuse food and drink scene and the growing wine industry in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York. After graduating from Syracuse University in 1997, Grant stayed in the city to pursue a job in the restaurant business but eventually found his way back to SU. In addition to teaching, he works as the fine wine and event coordinator at the local liquor store, Liquor City. An advocate of the unconventional – like pairing Champagne and hotdogs – Grant has melded his trained palate with Syracuse’s homely, simple nature.

Q: Did you ever see yourself staying here in Syracuse, let alone teaching at SU?
A: No – when I was in school, because I worked off campus at a bar downtown, I became friends with a lot of people from the area. I had a pretty good job, and then in 1999 I got a really good job managing a restaurant, so I just stayed and all of a sudden it’s 2016.

Q: How did you get involved with teaching?
A: It’s funny, I knew people in the position and I used to get lunches with them, so I knew the class was here, but I never took it. But two years ago, oddly enough, this girl I used to date sent me the posting and was like ‘they’re looking for part-time faculty.’ So I was like ‘alright’ and I threw a CV together because I hadn’t applied for a job in a few years at that point. It started out with two sections last semester, three this year and I’m doing four next semester. I teach at [Liquor City], which is my favorite day of the week there. I love doing this – I like the balance between the two.

Q: This class is super popular. Are there any challenges that exist in teaching it?
A: Yeah I think so. Last semester, my first semester, we taught from the curriculum that was already established because I got hired the week before class started, and I was actually out of the country. So I didn’t really have an opportunity to change it – and I could tell it hadn’t been changed in a number of years. There was no mention of Spain, no mention of Argentina, really. I can see why the former professor, who was beloved and did a great job, didn’t change it every year because it’s a lot work. But to keep it relevant, you have to change the class along with the industry. I want it to be relevant every single semester, and I also want it to be relatable.

Q: Alright let’s get into some wine questions – how would you describe the wine scene here in Central New York?
A: Um, it’s a little weak. I wish there were a few more places that offered a well thought out wine list – even if it’s just ten wines. I think Alto Cinco does a great job, but there are a lot of restaurants that I can go into and open their wine list and tell you who put it together, like which distributor helped them with it, because all of the wines are from one company. I think the scene is getting there because there are people who want it. I just wish there was less reliance on big brands that you can see everywhere you go.

Q: So a cider, is that closer to a wine or a beer?
A: It’s kind of in the middle. Beer is harder to make than wine because you have to convert starch to sugar before you make it. Whereas grapes and apples have their own natural sugar. It’s probably still closer to wine, other than the fact that you are going to carbonate it. It’s mostly sold and marketed as beer but I see ciders that come across my desk every day that are put into wine bottles.

Q: Central and Upstate New York is kind of seen as beer country – do you think there is room for wine?
A: Definitely. Buffalo and Rochester have seen it more so than Syracuse. I think there’s room for it but, in all honesty, it shouldn’t be up to the consumer – it should be up to the people running the restaurants, the bars and the taverns to introduce people to that. You have to create a market. There were people here that wanted it, but were driving elsewhere to get it.

Q: Do you work closely with any vineyards or wineries up here, or do you stay impartial?
A: Yeah, I do [work with them]. Of course the Finger Lakes are only an hour away, so I’ve gone and worked harvest a couple of times in different places. I just went down and did a dinner at the James Beard House a couple weeks ago where I took all New York state wines. I went to the wineries and they were very eager to jump on board with that, so I’ll take a few cases and showcase them in Manhattan. It’s funny though – Manhattanites are much more fond of our wines than people in Syracuse. Syracuse is the hardest market. Finger Lakes wines do great in Rochester; they do great in Manhattan – Syracuse has this weird ‘not in my own backyard’ mentality.

Q: If someone wants to buy a local Finger Lakes wine, what would you suggest?
A: The Finger Lakes have made their name on Riesling. Ravines is probably my favorite winery in the Finger Lakes. Morten Hallgren came from Provence, from a centuries-old wine-making family, he did apprenticeship in Bordeaux, and he makes dry Rieslings and Chardonnays that are wonderful. Fox Run is awesome, Keuka Spring too – they got Winery of the Year this year. This summer was a great year. Grapes aren’t like tomatoes, they like a drought. I think you’ll be able to look at the 2016 wines and they’ll be really, really good – reds especially, but also whites.

Q: What is the biggest mistake you see when people come into Liquor City and say they want a “good” wine?
A: The biggest mistake I see is that they think there is a certain thing that they are supposed to be getting. They should just get what they like. The funniest comment I get all the time is ‘Oh, I’m sorry I don’t know much about wine’ and my response to that is that if everyone knew a lot about wine I would be unemployed. People have this preconceived notion that they are supposed to like something, and they’re not – you’re supposed to like what you like.

Growing Pains

24/01/17

Growing Pains: Lack of affordable and accessible nutritious food poses questions to residents of Central and Northern New York

By Kristina Atsalis ’18 and Caroline Bartholomew ’18. Courtesy of 360 Magazine

Winter is coming soon, and for many people that means breaking out winter coats and boots. However, for many Syracuse residents the arrival of winter brings additional stress in the search for fresh food. Although farmers are finding new ways to continue food production year-round, it still isn’t always easy for people to find access to fresh food in this city.

According to the Food Bank of Central New York, one in every seven people in central and northern New York live with food insecurity. Three out of every ten households in Syracuse qualify for food stamps and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, according to CNY Fair Housing.

In addition to its high poverty levels, Syracuse is also considered a food desert, which the United States Department of Agriculture defines as areas “vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas… largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers.”

To help combat the city’s lack of fresh food, several organizations have initiated programs. Syracuse Grows, a group that aims to make fresh food more accessible through community gardens and urban farming, was founded in 2008. It works to provide people with various ways to get involved in the development of the community, according to Dr. Evan Weissman, co-founder of Syracuse Grows and assistant professor of food studies at Syracuse University.

“It takes existing resources in the city of Syracuse and leverages those and puts them into conversation,” he says. “It’s a strategy for addressing vacant land and for increasing democracy in the food system.”

Syracuse Grows does not own and did not start any of the community gardens, but instead is based entirely on partnerships with neighborhood groups, local foundations, Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Since its founding, the number of gardens has expanded from three to at least 25. Syracuse Grows is considered an expert in central New York in terms of food justice and community gardens, Weissman says.

Supporting food justice, the idea that a community should be directly involved in their local food system, is one of Syracuse Grows’ main principles. Food justice also addresses the idea of democracy in the food system and prioritizing public health and sustainability before profits.

“We sort of take it as a notion that people should have adequate access to healthful foods,” Weissman says. “But food justice also includes labor inequality in the food system, and that access to food should not be dependent on other people’s charity. It’s about a food system that is resilient and oriented towards people’s needs, not towards profit.”

In addition to growing food, many of the community gardens offer employment to teenagers in the neighborhood and programming for children and senior citizens.

Another strategy to address the problem is mobile markets. Like grocery stores on wheels, mobile markets are essentially food trucks that travel to food desert areas, but instead of selling fast food, they sell fresh produce. One of Weissman’s primary areas of research is mobile markets in Syracuse and the effect they’ve had in increasing accessibility to fresh and healthy foods. He is currently working on a survey to see how mobile markets operate across the country.

Weissman said that as of now, the results are mixed. On one hand, people who take advantage of the mobile markets benefit greatly, especially senior citizens and people who don’t have cars. On the other hand, the costs to start and keep the markets running is not always offset by the profits from selling healthy food. While major grocery stores sell all sorts of products to generate profits, the profit margins for healthy foods is very thin, which makes it hard for the mobile markets to make enough money to keep running.

“Like other sorts of non-profit food system interventions, they become reliant on grant dollars and philanthropy,” Weissman says. “The model itself was created initially to sort of move away from those sorts of charity-based models, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be economically viable for mobile markets to sustain in the long term without outside capital.”

On the other side of food insecurity is the many farmers in the Syracuse area who don’t always have a place to sell their produce. With a lack of grocery stores, farmers are having to find alternative ways to sell food differently than large chains like Wegmans. As part of the solution, farmer’s markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs have been popping up to provide a direct connection between farmers and the people buying their food.

“CSAs are a way to address both consumers and farmers in that are traditionally in places considered food deserts,” says Chris Fowler, executive director and founder of Syracuse First, a non-profit organization that works with over 400 local businesses, many of which are food and farm based. “New York state, the USDA and other philanthropies have tried to help bridge the gap and to subsidize some of that by creating CSAs for people who don’t have access to grocery stores and full-service produce markets.”

Tour the Susan R. Klenk Learning Café and Kitchens

04/01/17

Take a virtual tour of the Susan R. Klenk Learning Café and Kitchens, a new hands-on learning laboratory to prepare students with traditional and emerging professional competencies for careers in food, nutrition, dietetics, and public health. The facility includes an experimental food lab kitchen, commercial kitchen, baking nook and café. A video camera system allows faculty and chef instructors to broadcast classes, food demonstrations and seminars from Falk College to anywhere on campus and across the country.

A generous and visionary gift from Falk College alumna, Susan R. Klenk, made the learning café and kitchens possible. A dual major in the School of Education, Klenk pursued a teaching career with the Syracuse City School District. Because her career always revolved around supporting students to help them be successful, she created the Susan R. Klenk Learning Assistantship in September 2009 that allows them to take a leadership role, provide support for classmates and gain valuable management experience.

“Susan Klenk is a true advocate for student learning and a generous visionary whose on-going support makes Syracuse University an extraordinary place to study food. With the opening of the Klenk Learning Café and Kitchens thanks to Susan’s commitment and support, Falk College, which began offering courses in food and nutrition in 1917, is leading the way in preparing students for expanding career opportunities in food,” says Diane Lyden Murphy, dean, Falk College.

The learning café and teaching kitchens set the stage for industry-leading, forward-thinking approaches to food and culture, nutrition, research, and food studies development. Its design fosters creativity and collaboration across a variety of departments, schools and colleges, creating interdisciplinary partnerships that support teaching innovation, student learning, research and scholarship. In addition to unlimited faculty-supervised hands-on experiences, this dedicated space will provide an ideal environment for student-faculty research projects and educational community partnerships that set the SU programs apart.

Get started on a career path that makes a difference with Nov. 4 Information Session

27/10/16

When students think graduate school, they think curriculum, campus, community, but most of all, what the degree will mean for their lives. It’s not until after completing their degree that Falk College graduate students realize the profound difference it made not just for themselves, but for the lives of those around them as they discover new and exciting opportunities to have a positive impact. That’s what a graduate degree from Falk College means: it means our graduates can do more—more for the community, for society, and for the world. And they do!

Join prospective Falk College graduate students interested in child and family studies, food studies, public health, marriage and family therapy, nutrition science, social work and sport management at Falk’s Graduate Program Information Session on Friday, November 4, 2016 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Grant Auditorium in White Hall, part of the Falk College Complex.

The presentation will provide detailed information on Falk College graduate programs in:

Child and Family Studies M.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Marriage and Family Therapy M.A., Ph.D.
Addiction Studies M.A.
Food Studies M.S.
Global Health M.S.
Nutrition Science M.A., M.S.
Public Health M.S.
Social Work M.S.W.
Sport Venue and Event Management M.S.
Dual Degree Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapy M.A./M.S.W.

Information and advising will be available regarding Falk’s Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) programs including child therapy, trauma-informed practice, addiction studies, food studies and global health.

Falk hosts November 4 Graduate Program Information Session

25/10/16

The presentation will provide detailed information on Falk College graduate programs in:

Child and Family Studies, MA, MS, PhD
Marriage and Family Therapy, MA, PhD
Addiction Studies, MA
Food Studies, MS
Global Health, MS
Nutrition Science, MA, MS
Public Health, MS
Social Work, MSW
Sport Venue and Event Management, MS
Dual Degree Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapy, MA/MSW

Your chance to have an impact: What a graduate degree means at Falk College

13/10/16

The presentation will provide detailed information on Falk College graduate programs in:

Child and Family Studies M.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Marriage and Family Therapy M.A., Ph.D.
Addiction Studies M.A.
Food Studies M.S.
Global Health M.S.
Nutrition Science M.A., M.S.
Public Health M.S.
Social Work M.S.W.
Sport Venue and Event Management M.S.
Dual Degree Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapy M.A./M.S.W.

Grant enhances restoration, protection efforts of the Great Lakes basin

06/10/16

“Restored wetlands provide valuable wildlife habitat, increase biodiversity, improve water quality, increase the quality of life for owners and neighbors and raise property values of the landowner and neighbors,” notes Rick Welsh, Falk Family Endowed Professor of Food Studies. Professor Welsh was a co-investigator on the grant from the University of Michigan’s Water Center, “Wetlands for Wildlife: Understanding Drivers of Public-Private Partnership Restoration Success.”

This project, launched in 2013, was one of six led by multidisciplinary teams that received funding from the Water Center to support and enhance restoration and protection efforts of the Great Lakes basin. The project measured the ecological, social and economic impacts of 50 restored public-private partnership (PPP) wetlands on private landholdings within the Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River watershed in New York State.

PPP wetlands are important for conserving and restoring wetlands in the Great Lakes watershed. However, minimal assessments have been conducted to understand how these programs impact wetland-associated biodiversity within agricultural landscapes. Even less is known about the impact of wetland restoration on property values, as well as landowner motivations for participation in these projects.

The Water Center is part of the University of Michigan’s Graham Sustainability Institute and is supported by funds from the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation and the University of Michigan. As part of the project, Welsh worked with co-investigators Tom Langen (Clarkson University) and David Chandler (Syracuse University), including collaboration with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ducks Unlimited and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Food studies student cultivates crops, community at Syracuse urban farm

28/09/16

Located on the South Side of Syracuse at 150 Ford Ave, The Brady Farm grows a variety of delicious, fresh produce. Jessi Lyons, co-founder of Syracuse Grows, runs the urban farm with her team who just this season has grown and harvested an assortment of over 36 herbs and vegetables according to The Post-Standard.

Cheri Abrams, a graduate student in Falk College’s food studies program, is among the members of The Brady Farm team. After completing her practicum at The Brady Farm, Abrams was then hired as a part-time worker. “Since I started in May, I’ve done a bit of everything,” Abrams says, from irrigation and planting to harvesting and selling produce, even conducting research and attending zone hearings. “I have also learned a great deal about what it takes to start an urban farm, from the road blocks to acquiring a use variance to farm in a city, to how important community engagement is and soil and pest management.”

Cheri explains that her experiences at the farm have been quite diverse. Although she truly enjoys each aspect of her work, there is one thing that has been especially gratifying: connecting with other people. “What stands out the most for me is the many conversations I’ve had with people, whom I’ve never met before, about food, family history, farming practices and recipes,” she says. “It amazes me how conversations about food have allowed me to connect with others and my hope is that we at Brady Farm can continue to create new food narratives of acceptance and inclusion.”

Falk College hosts author, nutritionist Jill Castle October 6

22/09/16

Falk College and its Nutrition program will host the Second Annual Ann Selkowitz Litt Distinguished Speaker Series featuring childhood nutrition expert and author, Jill Castle, MS, RDN, CDN, on Thursday, October 6, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. in Grant Auditorium. Her presentation, “Fueling the Growing Athlete: What’s In, What’s Out, & What’s Essential,” is free and open to the public. It will cover:

Appropriate sports nutrition advice for young athletes.

How to understand and avoid the food and feeding pitfalls that commonly plague growing athletes, such as back-loading food intake and unhealthy food environments.

The hierarchy of food and nutrients when it comes to growing strong, healthy, performance-enhanced young athletes.

Castle has practiced as a registered dietitian/nutritionist in pediatric nutrition for over 25 years. She is a national and international speaker, addressing the topic of childhood nutrition and feeding to a wide variety of groups, including medical professionals, allied health professionals, parent, school, and other interest groups.

Castle is the author of Eat Like a Champion: Performance Nutrition for Your Young Athlete, co-author of Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School, and creator of Just the Right Byte, a childhood nutrition blog. In addition, Castle has been published in peer-reviewed journals, textbooks, consumer books, and other blogs. She is the nutrition expert at Bundoo.com, and has been a regular contributor to USA Swimming, U.S. Rowing, and About.com.

Ann Selkowitz Litt ’75 (1953-2007) was a nationally known nutritionist who helped children and adolescents with eating disorders and assisted developing athletes in reaching their full potential. The nutrition consultant to CosmoGirl magazine, Litt was the author of The College Students’ Guide to Eating Well on Campus, Fuel for Young Athletes, and the American Dietetic Association Guide to Private Practice. She was the nutritionist for the NFL’s Washington Redskins and served as spokesperson for several media campaigns during her career, including the Got Milk campaign. After her death, the Ann S. Litt Foundation, Inc. was created to support nutrition education. Through a generous gift from this foundation to Falk College, the Ann Selkowitz Litt Distinguished Speaker Series was created at Syracuse University in 2015.

This event is approved for 1.5 CEU credits for Registered Dietitians.

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