It's house meeting time!

Sarah talks to a member about hosting a house meeting. House meetings offer a comfortable venue to hear about critically important issues like corporate abuse of our food.

Friends, meet Sarah Holzgraf, field organizer for Corporate Accountability International. Sarah has been building a core group of volunteers in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota for the Value the Meal campaign. The group can quickly run events and do media work in response to food industry abuses. Kind of like the Minutemen from Lexington.

But how do these awesome volunteers come together? One way is through house meetings. A house meeting takes place when a Corporate Accountability International member offers their home and invites friends to hear Sarah talk about ongoing corporate abuse of our food. Houses are cozy places to learn about a good cause and connect with new volunteers. You can also write letters to the editor or phone your congressperson. Some people donate money to keep the campaign going. Still others ask to hold their own house meeting! House meetings like this have been critical to community organizing for hundreds of years.

We asked Sarah if she had any memories from her experience running house meetings. Sarah fondly remembers Sue, a volunteer in Minneapolis, who was recently a host. Sue was worried her event wouldn’t be successful. ‘I’m not mobile enough to host,’ she thought. ‘I don’t have enough friends.’ ‘No one will donate.’ In the end, 22 people showed up to Sue’s meeting – there were more people than there were chairs! And Sue was stunned by the generosity of her friends and the huge impact that she could have.

Corporate Accountability International will be organizing house meetings in Boston, Chicago, and Minneapolis all summer long. Interested in hosting? Become a member!


This update from the field brought to you by Alex Lessin with reporting by Madeline Christensen.