Spreading the joy of good food, Jersey’s ‘Sustainable Co-operative’ (SCOOP) is developing a new programme that combines art and local produce, an initiative they’ve given the zeitgeist-y title of ‘SOCIAL.FEED’. The intention is to enable young islanders to access high quality local, seasonal produce, throw climate-conscious parties, and learn about the island’s natural landscape through a series of artists’ residencies. Over the summer last year, a member of the team noticed that young islanders were under-represented in their shop. This sparked a conversation; why weren’t there so many young people getting involved? How can their business connect with people from across our local community?
These discussions led the team to hatch their new plan. They want to welcome young adults into the conversation about food, climate and our island’s history and culture. The programme centres around two key ideas; hospitality and storytelling. The young islanders will be supported to throw climate-conscious parties for their friends and family with monthly food bags prepared by SCOOP, and support from their chefs throughout the course of the evenings. The programme will run for three months, starting on June 20th, and will provide affordable and accessible produce to islanders aged 18-25.
The programme will also be accompanied by a series of artists’ residencies which will ‘act as a catalyst for wider conversations about food and how we relate to the natural landscape’. In doing so, they will ‘provide space to tell different stories and show new ways of thinking about food and consumption’. They will also organise monthly celebrations to reflect on the themes that have emerged from the meals and artists’ work.
Ultimately, the project seeks to ’empower young people to think about the interconnections between food and the natural landscape, and provide inspiration for climate-positive action. Through visual and cultural storytelling they hope to ‘broaden our conversation and generate reflections on our local context, celebrating our island’s history, culture and produce, and stimulating wider discussions about sustainability in Jersey’.
There is something magical about sharing food and telling stories together; a deeper sense of interconnection with each other and with the land around us. The SCOOP team agrees, “We’re really looking forward to going back to our roots and working with community-based arts projects. Taking pleasure in good food and each other’s company is something that we really believe in, and can’t wait to share this with everyone on the SOCIAL.FEED”.
The SCOOPers are looking for sponsors to help support the project and would love to extend their hospitality to all sponsors and welcome them to join us for the monthly celebrations and to engage in the stories of the programme. Sponsors will be gratefully acknowledged on the SCOOP website and local podcasts, radio, newsletters and instagram, alongside international collaborators Good Market Global, Farmerma podcast, and renowned Guardian chef Tom Hunt. New updates will be published at every new moon in the lead up and duration of the programme, continuing our emphasis on the natural cycles of changing seasons, so look out for more on the project soon.
@scoopjersey
