Premiere of CFA’s new short film, "L.I.F.E.’s Lessons," at Derby City Espresso on March 6th

Community Farm Alliance invites the public to the world premiere of L.I.F.E.’s Lessons, a new short film showcasing CFA’s work in bringing fresh, local food into Louisville’s food deserts, on Thursday, March 6th from 7-9 PM at locally-owned Derby City Espresso, located at 331 East Market Street in downtown Louisville. There is a sliding scale of $5-$30 for admission, which includes a year’s membership to CFA. CFA is a statewide grassroots membership organization working on, among other things, connecting small family farmers in Kentucky with urban markets.

“This new video is about food justice, and giving all of Louisville’s citizen’s equal access to fresh, local food,” says Bill Huston, a CFA leader and partner in Urban Fresh, a business initiative to get fresh local food to residents of West Louisville and east Downtown, two of Louisville’s food deserts. “It is the story of L.I.F.E.- a locally integrated food economy - and how CFA farmers and urban residents are working together to bring health, wealth, and safe “real” food into Kentuckians’ kitchens.”

Mr. Huston is referring to the fact that many of Louisville’s citizens live in neighborhoods where they cannot access fresh food within walking distance of their homes, and do not own vehicles to drive to other neighborhoods. Instead, they are relying on either fast food, or people who can transport them to other neighborhoods’ stores. CFA, in partnership with other organizations, has initiated a movement to change that, first, by helping create Grasshoppers Distribution, LLC, Louisville’s first farmer-owned, all local food distributor, and Urban Fresh.

Ivor Chodkowski, CFA board member and owner of Grasshoppers Distribution, LLC, continues, “This month, this country experienced one of the biggest recalls of beef ever in the history of modern agriculture. The global food system is broken. With a locally integrated food system, consumers get to know and trust the farmers who produce their food, local businesses prosper, and everyone in Kentucky wins.”

Both Mr. Huston and Mr. Chodkowski are featured in L.I.F.E.’s Lessons, a short film that allows residents of Louisville’s food deserts, and Kentucky farmers, to speak for them selves about the ill health effects experienced in the food deserts, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. They also discuss why they see a local food system as their only chance for a positive solution.

Another person featured in the film, California neighborhood resident Dorcilla Johnson, continues, “We at CFA are firm believers that those who experience the challenges, own the solutions. The people interviewed in the film are all participants in the grassroots organizing that is needed to fix the problems in our local food system.”

Adam Barr, CFA board member, and a young farmer who participates in the Smoketown Farmers Market adds, “This is a great time for the public to get involved in helping us recreate our own food system. There are all kinds of ways to plug in: organizing the neighborhoods around our two low-income farmers markets, working on our new community kitchen project, and continued lobbying of local officials for support. CFA wants you all to come out to Derby City Espresso, enjoy the film, drink up some locally-roasted coffee drinks, and become part of an active network of great people who get things done, and have fun doing it.”