Joshua Lohnes
The Geography Department Colloquium Series presents Dr. Josh Lohnes on “Reflections on Public Geography and Action Research in the Appalachian Food System” on Friday, Sept. 20, at 3:05 p.m. in Clippinger 119.
Lohnes research explores the moral, political and economic place of charities in the food economy. As Food Polity Director in the Food Justice Lab, he develops projects that support food policy and anti-hunger coalitions in Appalachia. He is involved in cooperative food projects to address food access gaps, and is a worker-owner of FIRSTHAND cooperative, a coffee company that provides resources for building community economies.
Abstract: The central Appalachian region faces some of the highest food insecurity rates in the United States. To understand this problem and engage organizations and communities working to address barriers to healthy food access, the WVU Food Justice Lab developed WV FOODLINK and its accompanying training program Nourishing Networks. This lecture discusses tensions that emerged in the encounters between different food access stakeholders and the key role that geographers can play in building bridges between these different groups. We close by introducing a recent partnership with Community Food Initiatives (CFI) based in Athens, the development of the SEO FOODLINK project and potential pathways for Ohio University Geography to engage with this work.
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