Rooting for Change Cafe is a pop-up cafe and community space for students by students that uses radical hospitality and skillsharing to engage students in creative practices for adapting to a changing climate. Once a month, the cafe hosts a hands-on arts workshop and serves a menu inspired by the workshop theme.

At “Mapping the Currents,” Meghana Tummala (‘23) will exhibit her year of work researching water in Mexico City through the lens of architecture using countermapping and first-person storytelling. She will lead a hands-on workshop in countermapping local waterways and relationships, inviting local participants to reflect on their own experiences with water access and infrastructure in the context of climate change and global water systems. The menu will feature dishes inspired by water, maps, and the cuisine of Mexico City, using local ingredients made possible by Michigan’s abundant water.

Following the dinner workshop, attendees are invited to a panel discussion featuring Loreta Castro from Mexico City, María Arquero de Alarcón from Taubman College, Nancy Love from the College of Engineering, and Dr. John Hartig from theDetroit Riverfront Conservancy. The exhibit will remain on display in Windows Lounge through the end of October.

Rooting for Change Cafe is a project of the UM Sustainable Food Program, which nurtures a community of students working for a student food sovereign campus. Through strategic, small actions like food and farm pop-ups, shared meals, creative events, and community storytelling, UMSFP invites students to envision and build an alternative campus food system in which students prepare, purchase, eat, and make meaning of food together.

This event is sponsored by the UM Global Engagement Grant, the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships, and U-M Climate Week. UM Sustainable Food Program is a program of Student Life Sustainability led by an interdisciplinary team of undergraduate and graduate students.

Registration encouraged See linked form