mikeIf you have something to say about food issues in Chicago, you will have an opportunity to say them on the radio this Sunday afternoon, May 3. My radio program, “The Mike Nowak Show,” is being broadcast from the Third Unitarian Church in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. I know that a number of you spent a day at the 4th Annual Chicago Food Policy Summit at the Chicago Cultural Center on April 8. I was there, too, and many of the people who attended and spoke at that summit will be appearing on my show this Sunday. You can find the full list of panel members here.

Admission is free but registration is required. If you wish to attend, send an email to <a href=”mailto:me******@ne**********.net" data-original-string="w358hu+359C/DYgjm8peeKMMB1QoclpTgzl8seOwE6c=" title="This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.”>me******@ne**********.net</a> and include your name, address, phone number and number of attendees. Many of the same issues that were highlighted at the Food Summit will be discussed at “Rooted in Austin.” The difference, of course, is that I have only two hours to get the message across. Which is why I am encouraging people with an interest in food issues to pack the church. I know you have things to say.

Many people in Chicago care about the quality of their food and the quality of their neighborhoods. The two are inextricably intertwined. However, too many people don’t know that they can choose to eat healthy food and too many people don’t have access to healthy food. This is why we need to continue to get the word out about local food, farmers markets, CSAs and backyard gardens. Not only do we need to teach people how to access those resources individually, we need to teach them how to work together. That’s one of the things I hope to address during this broadcast.

As a way of introduction to those people who don’t know who I am (your numbers are legion, I’m sure), I was the radio host of “Let’s Talk Gardening” on WGN Radio for ten years. A year ago I moved to Chicago’s Progressive Talk (820AM and 92.5, 92.7 and 99.9FM). I am an environmentalist, a Chicago TreeKeeper, president of the Chicago Recycling Coalition, co-founder of the Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association, and I am proud and grateful to have my website listed on the right side of this screen. I won’t pretend that I have all the answers or that I know more than anybody else. I probably know less. But I have a bully pulpit (pun intended), I’m trying to use it and I want you to help me.

I hope I see you on Sunday. Thanks!

–Mike Nowak