Marquee at the Riverview Theater

I wanted to report back after our wonderful screening event in Minneapolis on Sept 16th. David Nicholson of Midtown Farmers Market hosted us, and if anyone is wondering about the logistics of hosting a FOOD FIGHT screening, our friends in Minneapolis have shown us a very successful example.

The first key is lining up local partners to share the cost but also to extend the outreach. In Minneapolis we had “Gardening Matters,” as a co-host and 8 other affiliated groups to help. One of the goals of FOOD FIGHT, and what we call the FOOD FIGHT REVOLUTION,  is to gather together as many disparate voices as we can, (all of whom are committed to improving our food supply) and get them into one room to watch the film, and then to have a reception afterwards where we can all connect and share ambitions for the future of our food system. This is one of the elements that made the Minneapolis event so exciting. We had farmers, chefs, policy advocates, environmental groups, food justice activists, fair trade retailers, and organic grocers all committed to help bring their members to the screening. The net result was a packed house and a great Q&A.

The second key is getting support from local press. David Nicholson did a great job in lining up newspaper articles (here) and radio interviews (here) in the weeks and importantly, days before our screening. We also had posters up in all the retail partners that helped sponsor us. The biggest advantage is that the patrons of the Midtown Farmers Market, who are our target demographic, were exposed to our advertising every time they shopped at the market in the weeks before the screening.

I am grateful to the dedicated Minneapolis progressive food community for coming out and supporting us. I will be writing more about this date in the next few days, and talking about some specific people who are doing great work in Minneapolis.