The Eat Real Festival was sponsored by several large and profitable corporations, including Whole Foods. The press release on the website states ‘… the Eat Real Festival - supports a strong social change agenda and is a values-driven event.’ At the Eat Real Festival these corporate sponsors invited me to eat food and live in a just equal society for the weekend, but does that corporate message bring  change to the inequities that foster poverty in my community?

Like most people I want to believe these large corporations when they claim to care about social justice, but as far as I can see hunger continues to be an issue and no substantive plans have been made to change that fact. The festival appears to have delivered a fun filled weekend that had a few pleasant conversations about food justice while continuing to profit from the status quo. If you can afford it, then by all means Oakland, please, eat, drink, and be merry, but don't expect large corporations to sponsor real change.

Lethea Warren

www.LetheaArt.com