On Nov. 14, the grassy area between Shore Hall and Mary Hobbs was alive with music, sunlight, and good food as the second annual Fall Food Fest, held by the Food Justice Network, entertained the community.

“Fall Food Fest is a community potluck and celebration of local, seasonal food,” said sophomore and member of the Food Justice Network Elizabeth Wray. “We will be cooking several dishes ourselves to share, and hope that other clubs and individuals will do the same.”

Last year, the event mainly consisted of a Thanksgiving-style dinner held in the Greenleaf. The goal was to teach the community about the connections between local food, hunger, and sustainability.

The first Fest was such a success that the Food Justice Network decided to have the event again.

“Last year we were not officially a club, so we had to ask a lot more people for help with money and food, which isn’t so much of an issue this year,” Wray said in an e-mail interview. “This year we are planning to be outside and serve food all afternoon rather than inside at night.”

Fall Food Fest involved outdoor games, face painting, and a canning session held by the Pines housemates. Students played in the fallen leaves as others lounged in the sun while live music, such as the student band Pimps and Daisies, played in the background.

The goals of the event were simple.

“Eat, play, and be merry,” said junior and member of the Food Justice Network Courtney Mandeville.

Other members hoped for longer-lasting goals.

“(Our goals are) to raise awareness about the connections between hunger, local food systems, environmental sustainability, and good food,” Wray said. “We hope this will be a community-building and festive event.”

According to both club members and event attendees, the event was a success.

“For being the second year, I think it has been a success; we were able to do more stuff this year, such as the music,” said junior and club member Daryn Lane. “Hopefully it will become a long-standing tradition. I hope it gives people a chance to pause and consider all the abundance of yummy foods grown locally.”

“It was a delicious and a wonderful community-building opportunity,” said sophomore Cate Schurz.

Food Justice Network was started last year when a group of interested students started meeting to talk about local food, farmers, and community.

Now officially a club, the group meets every Thursday in the Greenleaf to continue their discussions about the veggie co-op, environmental events and conferences, and worker’s rights.

“We also have carpools to the farmers markets, the Edible Schoolyard, and Food Not Bombs dinner preparation, among other events that pop up in North Carolina,” said junior and club member Hannah Swenson in an e-mail interview.

“We also work in different capacities with the community garden, the Pines garden and Meriwether Godsey to educate, advocate, and work for fresh, local and organic food at Guilford,” Swenson said.

The Fall Food Fest ended as the sun began setting. As Food Justice Network members began cleaning up, they discussed the event.

“I feel like it was a good opportunity to bond as a community over good food and environmental awareness,” said first-year Isabelle Brace. “Educating the student body is one of the most important goals of our club and the activities and conversations held at the Fest supported that goal.”