Breakthrough Leaders for Sustainable Food Systems
Our friends at Ben & Jerry’s and UVM Continuing Education are partnering to bring about more change in our food system through the Breakthrough Leaders for Sustainable Food Systems program! Here’s an excerpt from Ben & Jerry’s recent blog post about the program:
The idea of changing our food system to be more sustainable can be daunting. But what if you could learn how to intervene at one point and make a small change that could build towards a greater impact? Identifying those leverage points to impact change in our food system is just one of the goals of the an innovative online and on-campus Breakthrough Leaders for Sustainable Food Systems program at the University of Vermont.
A recognized leader in the food system movement, UVM walks students through every step of the interconnected food system. “Our goal is to build leaders’ understanding of the overall food system dynamics to gain a better sense of the whole picture not just their own perspective,” said Dr. Cynthia Belliveau, Dean of UVM’s Continuing and Distance Education. Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission Strategy and Policy Manager, Simone Washington, M.S., J.D., who leads discussions about social equity in our food system during the program, says that good leaders need to go into situations listening, observing and identifying who or what those leverage points may be. “Leverage points are the opportunities where you can break through tension and begin to see change,” said Washington. “It could be a person, a group of people, policy, or a shift that can create momentum towards change.”