Oregon Food Bank is pleased to invite you to participate in our 3rd annual Equity Institute taking place Monday, September 26th - Friday, September 30th, 2022 from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Pacific Time via Zoom! The Institute offers 5 interactive sessions, 6 hours per session to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and tools to advance equity at individual and institutional levels. 

Training Description:

The Equity Institute is open to participants from all backgrounds and is most relevant to individuals working for, and interested in, the implementation of equity at individual and institutional levels, as well as in the context of food justice. 

Participants will explore foundational concepts of culture, identity, and systemic inequities; they will contextualize them both historically and within current social and cultural norms; they will then explore the application of equity and inclusion practices and intersectional ally work in individual, social and organizational settings.

By the end of the sessions, participants will share common language on matters of equity, culture, race and racism, sex, gender, sexual orientation, sexism, heterosexism and cis-sexism, and intersectionality. Together, we will explore and identify the cultural and personal impact of the social constructions of race, gender, sexual orientation, and other core aspects of identity within historical and current contexts.

Participants will discuss, share and practice examples of ally and solidarity work including the application and implementation of equity at the organizational/institutional level using Oregon Food Bank, food banking, and food justice as case studies. The sessions will be held on the date and time slots listed below.

Training Dates and Topics:

Registration:

The Institute is open to 100 participants. It’s encouraged that all participants attend all five sessions as each session builds off the other. Participants can participate from any location that has high-speed internet access. Given that these sessions will be interactive, we ask that participants join individually by computer rather than by telephone. 

Registration price: $2,000

The price is based on the time investment of 15-20 Oregon Food Bank employees and subject content for the Institute. Oregon Food Bank employees include Equity Ambassadors, Equity, People Culture, and Administration (EPCA) staff, and Equity practitioners cross-departmentally. All proceeds go to Oregon Food Bank’s EPCA Department to fund equity initiatives, sustain the Equity Institute, and compensate external subject matter educators. 

If unable to pay the full amount, there is an option on the ticket page to either select an alternative amount ($1,600, $1,200, or $800) or enter a payable amount. However, we ask if the payable amount is under $800 to please apply for a partial scholarship. 

Scholarships:

Oregon Food Bank recognizes the financial impacts structural inequities and discrimination have on members of our communities primarily based on race and gender so we are offering up to 20 scholarships.  

Scholarships will be prioritized for individuals who are members of our equity constituencies:

• People and communities of color 
• People and communities who are recent immigrants and refugees
• People who are single mothers/caregivers

• People and communities who are TGNC (trans and gender non-conforming) 

If not a member of our equity constituencies listed above, individuals must be currently active in and responsible for equity work, committed to championing equity efforts within their personal lives, workplace, and community, and will add representation of diverse perspectives during the Institute.  

The application will be live when registration opens on Monday, June 6th at 8:00 AM PST on this form. The deadline to submit an application is Sunday, July 31st. Applicants will be notified of the results of their submission on Friday, August 12th. 

For more information, please contact Joshua Thomas at jthomas@oregonfoodbank.org