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NR | Documentary | 1 Hour 44 Minutes | $10.00 General Admission/$6.00 Members High Falls Co-Op Members and Kingston Co-Op Members
The groundbreaking Oscar®-nominated documentary Food, Inc. ignited a cultural conversation about the multinational corporations that control our food system at enormous cost to our planet, workforce and health. In the well-timed sequel, Food, Inc. 2, comes “back for seconds” to reveal how corporate consolidation has gone unchecked by our government, leaving us with a highly efficient yet shockingly vulnerable food system dedicated only towards increasing profits.
After the film there will be a guest panel Q&A featuring:
Matt Igoe, Rondout Valley Growers
Annie Christian, Scenic Hudson (Farm bill expert)
Joel Meija, Mi Oh My Cooperative Farm co-founder and Kingston Food Co-op Board member
Joel Mejia is a dedicated advocate for cooperative development and community empowerment. Serving on the Board of Directors of the Kingston Food Coop, Joel leads vendor and supplier relations and plays a pivotal role in community engagement. With a focus on launching a micro-grocery and bulk buying market, Joel spearheads initiatives that leverage cooperative principles to create sustainable food systems. As the founder of Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms, established in 2020, Joel combines expertise in local food production with a passion for cooperative ownership models, striving to build resilient, community-led food networks.
Matt Igoe is the executive director of the Rondout Valley Growers Association, a community focused nonprofit promoting and supporting local farms in Ulster County. He has worked in senior-level positions, full-time and as a consultant, in agriculture sales and marketing including conventional, ABF, Organic, Local, and cellular cultivation. He was appointed by the County Executive to the Ulster County 2040 planning group. Matt served as Councilperson to Rosendale, NY for four years. He served eight-years in the US Army, exiting as a staff sergeant in Special Forces. Matt lives in Rosendale with his two children, where he is co-owner of the farm winery, La Fermentora.
Julianne Schrader Ortega is the Managing Director of the Hudson Valley Farm Hub. Julianne is focused on deepening and expanding the Farm Hub’s efforts to foster a resilient food system in the Hudson Valley. From Guatemalan forests to neighborhoods in New York and Philadelphia, she has worked throughout her career to transform land use and empower communities to move towards sustainable and just food systems. Previously as Vice President and Chief of Healthy Neighborhoods at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society she led partnerships across 250 neighborhoods to use gardening to improve health and wellbeing by increasing food access, economic opportunities, social connections, and improving the livable environment. Prior to joining PHS, Julianne was the Director of the Citywide School Garden Initiative at GrowNYC. Julianne also worked for over a decade at the Rainforest Alliance, supporting efforts to drive market-based solutions for measurable benefits to forest conservation and for farmers and forest communities around the world.
Annie Christian is a land project manager and agricultural specialist at the environmental non-profit Scenic Hudson. She works with farmers in the region to conserve farmland and further regenerative agricultural practices in the Hudson Valley. Prior to her role in land conservation, Annie served as the project manager for the Northeast Carbon Alliance, focusing on a northeast-focused farm bill campaign. She has a degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Pace University, where she focused her research on decarbonization policy in agricultural and forestry sectors. Prior to graduate school, Annie served as a horticulture educator for both Cornell University and its cooperative extension system. She enjoys gardening, running and cross-country skiing with her family. She is also a new resident of the west side of the Hudson!
Lucy Georgeff has served as General Manager of the High Falls Food Co-op since November 2020. Prior to this, she spent ten years at the Springfield Food Co-op (Springfield, VT), first as the bookkeeper, and then as the finance and human resource manager. She came to food co-ops after several years working on diversified livestock farms. In both fields, she has seen the holistic results of local ownership of food systems, and she believes cooperative structure is fundamental for healthy communities and people. Lucy serves as treasurer on the board of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association, a regional association of food cooperatives throughout the Northeastern US. She is passionate about developing staff, joy in the workplace and in life, increasing access to good food and education, and being a mother to two amazing young people.
“I sure as heck don’t want my tax dollars, subsidizing the things that are making us sick” – Sen. Cory Booker