We value the fundamental dignity, worth, sovereignty, self-determination and the inherent power of all people.  As members of the Food Dignity project, we are committed to principles and ways of working within our own work and in the changes we wish to inform and inspire in the world, by:

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• combating all forms of racism, oppression and implicit bias;

• respecting and valuing the individual and shared journeys of the people, the project and the histories of our communities, including historical trauma;

• valuing authentic first-person voice and first-person knowledge;

• valuing the different ways that people live, work and relate to each other;

• valuing the act of listening and specifically listening long enough to achieve shared meaning;

• valuing seeing and being seen, listening and being heard, becoming real to each other, recognizing that an important kind of knowing is experiential and lived;

• valuing accountability to one another and to the work for both the intention and impact of our words and actions;

• and persevering through the challenges that come with our inclusion and engagement of differences

 

as we strive to achieve equity for every human being and personal, institutional, structural and systemic transformations.

 

 

The Food Dignity team adopted the values statement above to guide our work at our May 2014 meeting, held in Ithaca, New York. Read more about our process of developing this values statement.