• Context for the larger crisis of poor public policy, (lack of) governmental leadership, affordable housing etc — "not from the perspective of immigrants causing it," to quote Oscar Chacon, "but a perfect storm in the sense that migrants are unveiling a reality that has been put in place, as I mentioned before, over decades" in cities like New York, Chicago. Democracy Now piece interviewing immigration rights activists — can listen to audio, or read transcript. 
• How US foreign policy created current conditions — from 2019, but still resonates. 
  
• "How New York, a City of Immigrants, Became Home to a Migrant Crisis" — audio piece by The New Yorker.
  
• Team TLC NYC's "Little Shop of Kindness" as an example of meeting newly arrived folks' immediate needs. 

Please read the following before RSVP-ing.

About the politics of our shared space:

Over the years, FIG has expanded and deepened what we mean when we talk about sustainability in food and hospitality. Given that food businesses stand at the intersection of the exploitative and destructive systems we must fight to change if we’re to save this planet and ourselves — and given that food is central to effective resistance, self-determination, and cultural preservation — we are committed to building alternative models and developing transformative practices that we can share out with the wider food industry.

We understand that the issues that we and our extended network of critical-thinking food colleagues have identified cannot be resolved without changing the actual structures we do the work within. We must go to the root of the issues, not just treat the branches. We understand that if we truly commit to going through this process of transformation aiming for a more equitable and sustainable business model, we will not end up with the same business nor the same position or power on the other end of it.

Study Group is open to anyone and everyone working within the food/hospitality space/industries who is down with the politics of the space. To get a sense of where we’re coming from and where we hope to be going (together), please review our guiding principles and current initiatives.

In all our work — from the Food Security Program to Study Group — we move from a place of cooperation rather than competition; of solidarity not charity; of generosity not scarcity. We pursue a positive politic; embracing critique and channeling it into creative change, continuing to build new modes of living and working together understanding they will be imperfect and messy at times along the way.

We trust those who participate in FIG Study Group to share this ethos. Thank you for joining us.

May all our people be free and self-determining in all ways — including any and all ways they engage in food — from here on Turtle Island, to Borikén, to Palestine.