![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/files\/2012\/10\/avi_schlosburg.jpeg\" "\\"Avi_Schlosburg\\"")
<\/a>It was chance that alumnus\u00a0Avi\u00a0Schlosburg took the class\u00a0American Food<\/i>\u00a0during his senior year at the\u00a0University of Maryland, Baltimore County<\/a>. Little did he know that it would be taught by a pioneer of Food Studies, Dr.Warren Belasco. With a major in Ancient Studies, and an interest in American culture and policy,\u00a0Avi\u00a0excelled in Belasco\u2019s class, opening him up to the gamut of topics and fields covered in Food Studies. It was Belasco who pointed\u00a0Avi\u00a0north to BU\u2019s graduate program in Gastronomy.<\/p>\nAvi\u00a0made the most of his graduate career by enrolling in challenging courses and taking on thought-provoking research projects. In\u00a0U.S. Food Policy and Culture\u00a0<\/i>taught by Dr. Ellen Messer,\u00a0Avi\u00a0learned about the dynamic relationship between government policy and culture. Dr Carole Counihan\u2019s class,\u00a0Food Activism<\/i>, broadened\u00a0Avi\u2019s awareness of the various organizational efforts towards creating fair foodways for our society. These courses were life-changing for\u00a0Avi, \u201cAs someone who is extremely passionate about resource and information sharing as a means to push the food movement forward, I immediately connected with how the content of the courses applied to the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside of the classroom,\u00a0Avi\u00a0participated in a number of academic conferences. In 2010 he presented his research, \u201cRepresentations of Hunger in America since the Recession\u201d at the\u00a0Association for the Study of Food and Society Conference (ASFS)<\/a>. He also participated at the 2011\u00a0Real Food Challenge\/Northeast Food and Justice Summit<\/a>\u00a0as a panelist with other BU Gastronomes in a discussion entitled, \u201cRedefining the Food Studies Vocabulary.\u201d Avi\u2019s final graduate project, \u201cThe Theory and Practice of Food Studies at the High School Level\u201d addresses the dearth of food education programs for high school students and aims to help education professionals introduce comprehensive food pedagogy into high schools.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not surprising to learn that\u00a0Avi\u00a0currently works for the\u00a0Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)<\/a>\u00a0as their\u00a0Food Day<\/a>\u00a0Project Assistant. First launched on October 24, 2011, Food Day is a nationwide campaign toward more healthy, affordable, and sustainable food. It seeks to address five priority food and diet issues: promote healthier diets, support sustainable and organic agriculture, reduce hunger, reform factory farms, and support fair working conditions for food and farm workers. Events held by thousands of people across the country throughout October address each of these issues and work towards both unifying the food movement and informing sound food policies.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is so much incredible work being done throughout the country around food access, healthy school food, sustainable agriculture advocacy and education, and other critical issues within the food system, but much of this work is done within the silos of each of these issues and regions. The appreciation I get from connecting someone in Cleveland working on a project similar to someone else in New Jersey, both of whom are clearly stretched for resources, says so much about the current state of the food movement, and our food system. Food Day is the logical next step to connect the dots, and unify the country around these issues that affect every one of us as eaters.\u201d<\/p>\n