Thanks for joining us at NOM!
NOM NOM NOM || Thanks for snacking with us!
Special Note og thanks from Dr. Danielle Brown & Jarrad Henderson
We cried. We laughed. We learned. We ate.
We hope you did too.
Thank you so much for joining us on Oct. 1st for the inaugural Nutrition, Opportunity and Media (NOM) Food Forum. The energy and engagement at WKAR Studios were truly inspiring, and it was a privilege to share the day and the snacks with you. When we envisioned this event for the LIFT Project, the goal was to bridge the gap between media, community, and the nourishment that connects us all. Seeing that vision come to life—and sharing incredible food after every single session—exceeded all expectations.
We welcomed guests and speakers from across our community, city and nation to join us, and their impact on the stage and in the programming was incredible. NOM's success was only possible because so many people said yes, and our gratitude cup is full. Jamila Robinson, editor-in-chief for Bon Appétit and Epicurious, delivered a first of its kind Neal Shine ethics lecture that featured the incredible role food and drink plays in shaping society, and her conversation with Detroit’s James Beard Award winning food critic Lyndsay C. Green was insightful and enlightening as journalists and communicators navigate the changing landscapes of media. We’re also grateful to hear from Dan Shine, who opened the lecture reminding us of his father’s legacy and the incredible role ethics still plays in helping us make and justify hard decisions still today. We’re also thankful for our dynamic content creators and critics — Houston, Texas’ G-Mayne (IG: @blessthabelly), Detroit’s James Beard Award winning critic Lyndsay C. Green (@ladyluff), and Lansing’s own Halatu (IG: @outragis33) — for stepping up to the blindfolded tasting experiment and teaching the audience the differences we should look out when people are providing information through social media channels. We’re grateful for Dr. Ashanté M. Reese for schooling us on the value of gathering, while also giving us a hundred extra reasons to pick up and pass along her insightful book Gather. Our Food Fight panelists — Julie Cotton, Eva Tesfaye, Tami Madden, and moderator & WKAR Director Shawn Turner— helped us reimagine the narratives that shape food insecurity, safety and sovereignty. If you missed Coneys (and we hope you didn’t), we were thrilled to debut episode 2 of Food & Thought featuring recently retired faculty member Joe Grimm. You can catch up on his episode and our pilot here! And last, but certainly not least, we are thankful for our brilliant and incredibly talented ComArtSci students and alumni who helped us produce the work that framed our program: Sofia Pate, Brianna Schmidt, Alexis Schmidt, Ismael Jaber and Jasmine Snow.
Compliments to the Chefs
We also can’t forget to thank our local visionaries and chefs from Get Loaded Food Trucks and Kitchen, Poppa’s Cookbook and Lolli’s Sweet Treats. They’re the reason we had so much to eat (and that we're still thinking about that blueberry cake)! We were pleased to learnthat food overages served our campus community and beyond. Poppa’s Cookbook Pay it Forward program was able to provide meals to over 60 people in need following our programming, making our hearts as full as our bellies.
Gratitude for those who helped set the table.
Thank you to our collaborators and sponsors, who helped increase the depth and breadth of our programming. And an important and very special thank you to the people you may have seen but not gotten to know — the ones that didn’t make the stage, but that made the entire event possible. To our amazing student support, especially our graduate students Shealyn Paulis, Eric Hsieh, and Baur Zhaxylykov — thank you for the before, during and after support for NOM. We’re lucky to have you at MSU! Our @MSU_MPAT student photographers did an amazing jobs flexing their newly acquired photography skills. We’re also thankful the WKAR production team, especially Megan Matier and Rob Sumbler, took care of all the stage, lights and sound needs so we could bring you all the action. It doesn’t happen without them!
SOOOOO... WHAT'S NEXT?
Well, we've couldn't fit it all in in one day! We have a lot to follow up on, like how some of the stories from the farmer's market are connected. So, stay tuned for more updates!
We're a small team that's dedicated to pushing forward and doing as much as we can with the resources we have. We're continuing the community-engaged research that fueled NOM and the LIFT Project, and we hope that we'll soon identify new stories about nutrition, new opportunities to gather together, and new projects that allow us to use media to bring you new perspectives.
If you’re interested in supporting this or future efforts, please use the link below to contribute directly to our work. We'd also love to hear more about your ideas, needs, and interests. You can email us at info@liftproj.com or email our fearless leaders at dkbrown@msu.edu or jarhen@msu.edu.
This is just the beginning of the work we are doing with LIFT Project. I encourage you to stay connected with us at liftproj.com to follow our ongoing research, support future programming, and keep these crucial conversations going.
Thank you again for showing up, engaging so thoughtfully, and helping us build something truly special. Bon Appétit!
October 1 || WKAR StudioA
Communication Arts & Sciences Building
404 Wilson Road
East Lansing, MI 48823
www.liftproj.com/nomnomnom
