homework5

1-13-14 Foodscape Leadership Building Meeting 7pm, in the “Riot Grrrl Studio” located in the Garage of the “Bluff House,” where Amy lives with 7 others somewhat collectively Attending: Orion, Amy, Erin, Solomon, Ryan, Allen, Vera, Jordan, Andy, Ang el, Katt Jimmy, Kristen. This is a group of people that have been personally invited to attend the meeting because they practice leadership within Foodscape. I arrive at the RiotGrrl Studio with Orion and Allen, with our hands full of supplies for the meeting tonight—butcher paper, pens, markers, and food. The space is large—a four car garage or even larger perhaps. Half of the space is dedicated to crafting, and the evidence can be seen in the crates full of fabric and scrap paper, sewing machines, silk screens, and other crafting equipment. The other half of the space is arranged as a meeting space, with three couches facing each other, and three additional chairs. Posters hang on the wall, as does a banner with the stenciled words: LB Riot GRRRL. Also in the space are lots of bicycles and a free pile. As we enter the space, there are already people there for the meeting, talking to each other. I put the stuff I was carrying down on and arranged a work space, putting out a jar of markers, a jar of pens/pencils, and paper and charting paper, tape, and scissors out so they would be accessible when needed. Orion puts the beans and rice on the table with muffins that were dumpstered, and re-used containers and lids from Food Not Bombs. Everyone sits down, and I casually announce that I’m also participating in the space as a researcher for a school project. The meeting starts with Ryan thanking everyone for coming and introducing Orion as the Director of Foodscape, explaining that he wants to step back from the role and focus on other projects, like design, while Orion focuses on the administrative stuff. There were no questions from the group. Orion then thanked Ryan for the introduction, saying briefly that he is looking forward to building the organization with everyone here. Then, he introduced Vera as doing communications, she adjusts her posture and sits back. “You put me on the spot,” she says, laughing. He then transitioned to Foodscape’s projects, Introducing the Chestnut Lot Manager position. (Note: Discussion of the position had been planned for later on the agenda.) Ryan clarified that this meant that he would be stepping back from his role at the lot, and continued to express a vision of the lot. Orion then asks for Angel and Solomon to talk about the Food Rescue Project, and Angel and Solomon are surprised when they are asked to present on the project. The Food Rescue Project collects foods from Whole Foods’ expendables and then leaves the food for pick up at the Chestnut house previously and now is being hosted out of the Cedar House, which is another collective home in the Wilmore District of Long Beach. Solomon speaks excitedly, as is typical to his character, waving his hands as

he shares that they recently started bringing bags of food to their neighbors, and that a woman from their street has started to come for the pick up. The group starts asking questions, and Ryan begins to take a speakers stack, which is when each persons name gets put in a list to keep track of speaking order. As they move through the speakers, I notice that people are smiling and laughing. The group moves on to discuss the Answer is Cooperatives project, and Amy is called upon by Orion to speak. She explains that they have funding to do 6 workshops on worker cooperatives in different communities around Beach. She says that “so far we’ve done 3?” and others in the group respond “2!” When doing a workshop at East Yards was brought up, Ryan answered the question, saying that they were working with the staff there to arrange a time. Orion asks for Jimmy, who is a student at CSU Long Beach, and an intern with Foodscape to talk about the internship program. Jimmy says that we’ve been talking about starting a club on campus, but that he wants to wait. He shares with the group that he’s getting school credit for his involvement with Foodscape, and many respond, “Cool!” Kristen suggests the idea of having High School interns that bring food cuttings from their households as a part of getting credit. Solomon puts thumbs up when he hears the idea. Orion introduced the Foodscape Your Lawn Project, and many people responded enthusiastically. Angel asked for her house to be Foodscaped. Then Orion asked for everyone to share what they will be contributing to Foodscape in the coming year. Notes from people’s contribution can be seen in the photos, below. After that, the meeting came to a close, and people continued to mill about conversing. I took the flip charts down, and packed the supplies. Emergent themes: Moving forward I want to keep paying attention to leadership transitions. Also, I’m noticing that it’s common for people to be put on the spot to speak without having been given a prior heads up. Also, I want to pay attention to how the agreed upon roles play out moving forward. Positionality: Considering my positionality, of course, my relationship with those I’m observing factors into my observations. For example, if I were not so closely involved here, I think I might be skeptical of the male leadership in this meeting. I have personal interests in the topics being discussed so I am going to follow-up with 1 on 1 check ins to see if my observations are similar to others who were in the meeting.