Food, Environment and Community workshop series offered at WVC Jan. 23

Media Contact: Alison Detjens, instructional technician, 509.682.6625, or Mary Watson, dean of workforce education, 509.682.6614, or Jennifer Korfiatis, interim community relations director, 509.682.6436

The Wenatchee Valley College Agriculture and Natural Resources department will offer a Food, Environment and Community workshop series, beginning with a Food Security workshop on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Batjer Hall room 8039 on the Wenatchee campus.

The Food Security workshop will feature WVC Philosophy faculty Craig Vander Hart, who will discuss how philosophy relates to current agricultural issues throughout the nation and our region. He will address ethical questions about food, such as: who gets to eat? As a community, is it our moral obligation to make sure people eat? How do subsidies determine the prices of food?

Additional workshops and seminars will be offered throughout the winter, including: Colony Collapse Disorder on Tuesday, Feb. 4, presented by WVC Agriculture and Natural Resources faculty Bob Gillespie; Winter Pruning for the Home Orchardist on Thursday, Feb. 13, presented by WVC Horticulture faculty Leo Garcia; and Farm to School programs on Thursday, March 13, presented by WVC Geography instructor Joan Qazi. This workshop will focus on how to connect local/regional farms to direct markets and improve community health.

The workshop series, which is free and open to the public, is designed to facilitate learning and discussion about relevant food-related topics and showcase local students, faculty and community members who have valuable knowledge to share with the community. This is the second year that the WVC Agriculture and Natural Resources department has offered these workshops.

For more information about these workshops, please visit the WVC website, www.wvc.edu, or contact Alison Detjens, 509.682.6625.