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ground/work

Learn how to turn your equity values into action and kick off new projects feeling grounded, creative, and care-full.

Apply now!

Equity Design Essentials for Food System Practitioners

Applications due by January 13, 2025

January 27–May 1, 2025

Click here for a screenreader-friendly course information page!

Hey there! If you're scrolling this page, I'm guessing a few things:

First, you're my people and I'm happy you're here! And that's why I created Ground/Work: Equity Design Essentials for Food System Practitioners.

You're passionate about food. You're eager to create more equitable programs, products, services, events, or other experiences in the food system. And you want to align your values with your professional practice.

This program guides you through foundational practices for new design projects, helping you start each initiative feeling grounded, creative, and centered in care.

Ground/Work runs as a studio model, which means participants all bring a real-life project to work on throughout the program. This applied learning structure allows participants to immediately integrate learnings into practical outcomes, making the experience hands-on and tailored to their unique opportunities and needs.

Through this program you will:

  • Launch your next project with confidence by applying equity design mindsets and practices from day one—turning your values into immediate action

  • Strengthen your equity design muscle through the development of foundational skills—and feel confident integrating equitable design mindsets and practices into your work moving forward

  • Learn strategies to mitigate bias in your work—with an emphasis on biases that are particularly insidious within the U.S. food system

  • Build community with other food system designers, innovators, and changemakers—folks you will be able to call on for guidance and support beyond the three-month program.

Feeling energized? Click here to apply now!

This three-month program is an engaging cohort-based experience designed specifically food system practitioners who are ready to transform their equity values into action.

The Program

If you're looking for a dynamic experience that connects you with peers and other subject matter experts from diverse sectors for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and support on the topic of equitable design—you’ve found it! This course also bridges the gap between abstract concepts and practical applications of equitable design with tangible tools and strategies for your projects, programs, and initiatives.

– Kira McNealy, Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry

This program is for every food system professional who shapes experiences—whether or not "designer" is in your title. It's about what you do, not what you're called.

Who You Are

So if you're creating or co-creating programs, products, services, or other experiences within food—and you're looking to build or strengthen your equity practice—this program is for you. 

Do you develop programs for a non-profit working on food issues? Produce events for a food company? Conduct research on food-related initiatives? Map out food distribution plans or logistics? Plan any food-related project? Then, my friend, you are designing. And we'd love to support you in integrating an equity practice into the important work you do!

What's Included

Physical Guidebook

snail mailed directly to your door via USPS
7 Modules

each with videos & activities to complete on your own time
7 Live Cohort Sessions

for real-time module debriefs, peer learning, and group coaching
Positionality Pack

snail mailed directly to your door via USPS
Resources

a smörgåsbord of resources, tools, and activities
Cohort Community

of food system designers, innovators & changemakers

Pre-Course | January 21–24

Before the program kicks off, you'll learn more about the course structure, flow of content, and participant expectations. You'll feel prepared to begin module one the following week!

MODULE 1: Reconnect With Your Taproot | January 27–February 7

Food is so much more than a professional field—it's a foundational element of life that connects us to our identity, culture, history, community, memory, land, and waters. That's why you'll spend this week reflecting on joyful personal food memories and reflecting on what brought you to your professional work in the food system/industry as a way to reconnect with why you do what you do.

MODULE 2: Bias and Food System Design | February 10–21

Learn what bias in design is and looks like, and develop a critical understanding of the ways in which bias can impact both what and how you design. We'll do a deeper dive into biases that often influence our work in the food system—including anti-fat bias and cultural foodways bias—so that you can more easily spot and mitigate those biases in your work.

MODULE 3: Positionality | February 24–March 7

In this module, you'll build your own positionality practice—an essential bias mitigation approach. Through independent exercises and guidance from your very own Positionality Pack (arriving via snail mail!), you'll reflect on how your identities, experiences, and perspectives may influence how you engage with and interpret your project area. You'll also learn how to integrate this practice into your day-to-day work in an ongoing way.

MODULE 4: History and Context | March 10–28

Learn why understanding the history and context of your design topic area—from multiple sources and perspectives, in particular from those most historically impacted—is critical to equitable design. Then we'll narrow our lens to focus on the history and context of your design topic area in relation to your organization. We'll introduce an inquiry-based approach and tool to gaining an understanding of the history and context of your topic area. You will also learn to apply an inquiry-based approach and tool to critically examine organizational history, power dynamics, and both internal and external perspectives on your design topic area.

MODULE 5: Assumptions | March 31–April 10

We operate on assumptions all the time. The thing is: Assumptions are not always correct. (And our biases are often baked into them.) So in this module, you'll learn how to investigate both stated and unstated assumptions using tools and activities you can take back to your team.

MODULE 6: Organizational Barriers | April 14–24

Over the last couple of months you've been building your equity design muscle through foundational approaches—but it can be tough to implement those the cultural conditions of your organization aren't setting you up for success. That's why you'll learn a variety of potential strategies for working through internal organizational barriers that make it difficult to implement practices learned during this course. You'll also reflect on the power and/or influence you have within your organization to facilitate change over time.

MODULE 7: Final Reflections and Intentions | April 28–May 1

Congrats! You've made it through three months of the program. (Also, it's now spring—the growing season is in sight!) This week, you will reflect on your experiences over the last three months and set actionable intentions for current and future projects.

Program Snapshot

Applications due by January 13, 2025

Want to join the cohort?

Apply Now

Ground/Work uses a studio model where you'll apply everything you learn to a real project. Here's what you need to know:

Choosing a Project

  1. Choose a design project that is in its early stages or that you will be starting in the near future. This could be a program or service, an event, or another food-related experience.

  2. Within each module, you will have the opportunity to learn about grounding equity design mindsets and practices—and then apply those directly to your project. Applied learning enables you to build your equity design muscle and set your project up for a strong start.
Important note: This program focuses on foundational practices to launch your project with equity at its center—not on completing a full design process. You'll develop the critical groundwork needed to begin with intention and care by:

  • Considering your power and influence in relation to your project
  • Understanding how your identities, experiences, and perspectives can influence how you engage with and interpret your project area
  • Critically considering the history and context of your project area
  • Investigating assumptions underlying and influencing your project area
  • Assessing barriers to implementing equitable design strategies within your organization and identify actions in your locus of control

Your Instructor

Hello! My name is Lucy Flores (she/her) and I am a design strategist and founder of Studio Magic Hour. I'm passionate about all things food and have dedicated my career to advancing equity in the food system through design. I've led design projects, facilitated workshops, and coached in-house design and innovation teams at organizations including the California Academy of Sciences, the Fair Food Network, FoodCorps, Hopelab, The Nature Conservancy, Plant Futures, Share Our Strength, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. I am a former Equitable Design Fellow at Hopelab, a School of Graphic Design Advisory Board member, and a member of the Design Justice Network, the Democracy & Belonging Forum at the Othering & Belonging Institute Equity Army, and AIGA.

What Other Practitioners Are Saying

Lucy's facilitation brings energy, truth, and joy to really complex equity topics. You WILL dive deep and unpack complex systems, but you will also connect, giggle, and feel re-energized.

– Tania Anaissie, Founder of Beytna Design and Co-Creator of Liberatory Design

Designers play a vital role in designing services and products, which will shape how we look as a society in years to come. Personally, I felt that this course not only provided me with a deeper understanding of food systems and practical skills but also offered a welcoming and safe learning space. An inviting and inclusive playground to look forward to every week. I cherished the experience.

– Narda Albatrino, Design Researcher

Pricing

Studio Magic Hour uses a sliding scale pricing model inspired by the National Equity Project to support practitioners in paying for courses based on available resources. You have the option to pay in full or in two installments.

*Early bird pricing is available for applications received by December 30, 2024!*


We will hold two scholarship spaces in this cohort. Please read more about scholarship considerations here. UPDATE: Scholarship spaces have been filled.

And a note for teams: Enjoy a 20% discount if three or more people (3+) enroll from your team/organization! Team participation supports collaboration and effective implementation of equitable design and innovation practices.

If you need a detailed invoice to submit to your finance team, you'll receive one after you pay for the course. And if you need other forms of documentation, just keep us posted!
Invoices
If you need pre-approval and don't want to synthesize this entire page in a request to your supervisor, we've got your covered! Click here to access an email template for seeking approval from whoever needs to give you the green light. Customize as needed.
Email Template
Many organizations will reimburse employees for professional development, which may cover the cost of this program! If you are seeking coverage or reimbursement from an organization, we've got a couple of things to help you out.

What Your Org Might Need

Practitioners currently working at a for-profit company or a non-profit (with $100m+ annual budget)

Practitioners currently working at a non-profit (with $5–$99 million annual budget)

Practitioners currently working at a non-profit (with less than $5 million annual budget)

Practitioners currently working at a government entity (e.g., schools, school districts, state agencies, federal agencies)

$497 (early bird)

$997 (full-price)

$1,997 (full-price)

$997 (early bird)

$2,997 (full-price)

$1,997 (early bird)

$3,997 (full-price)

$2,997 (early bird)

This program is ...

An equitable design studio for food system designers, innovators, and changemakers who want to kick-off new projects with equity and care at the center

For practitioners committed to strengthening their equity design practice with critical thinking and practical skills

An applied learning experience where participants will kick-start a real-life project

Here to support folks in building a muscle that requires ongoing practice over time

Grounded in care

A diversity, equity and inclusion program

For practitioners not committed to the ongoing personal work required to design equitably

Focused on theory

A checklist

Grounded in shame

Quick Recap

This program is NOT ...

FAQs

Is there a sector of the food system this is focused on?

Nope. The mindsets and practices you'll learn in this program can be applied in any sector, whether you work at a non-profit, government entity, for-profit, or within something less formal (but just as impactful!) such as a coalition or network.

How will this program meet accessibility needs?

All materials will be available in screenreader-friendly formats, auto-captions will be available on all video content, and speakers will provide visual descriptions of infographics and other relevant images. Additionally, every participant will be invited to share individual accessibility needs and our team will do everything we can to meet those requests!

Why is there an application?

I want to be sure you're a good fit for the program before you make a financial and time investment. To that end, there's a short application that helps me get to know you a bit. And I'll open up a conversation if I don't think it's a good fit for any reason.

Are there payment plan options?

Yes! On the application you may choose between:
  • Full payment upfront
  • Split payment (50% at start, 50% at week six)

Studio Magic Hour does not offer refunds for this program due to the high-touch nature of the program. If you have to drop for any reason, you will get to keep all materials (physical and digital) and you will continue to have access to the weekly video content.

Do you have a refund policy?

What's the time commitment?

I suggest planning on 2–4 hours per week. 

For each module, you can expect:
  • ~1 hour of video content
  • 1–4 hours of independent activities
  • 2-hour cohort calls (8 am HT / 10 am PT / 11 am MT / 12 pm CT / 1 pm ET)

Most modules span two weeks, with content released Mondays and cohort calls on Thursdays. Module 4 is slightly longer at three weeks in length.

You can download the full Ground/Work Cohort 2 calendar here.

All of this being said, how much time you spend with the materials is up to you. We're all adults here, and everyone has different things going on in their lives, so I will invite you to participate as you are able.

Is this course for equity design beginners?

This is an essentials program for food system professionals who are early in their equity design journey. While it's not a JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, or inclusion) course, it provides foundational tools for launching equity-driven design projects. We focus on the "grounding" phase in design, which is where we all can start as practitioners, whether we're design researchers or program developers. I'd suggest taking a look at the topics covered in the Program Snapshot and seeing if the content will be a good fit for you. And if you're not sure, drop me a note at lucy@studiomagichour.com and we can chat about your specific situation!

Can I join as an individual or do you recommend coming as a team with other members of my organization?

You can absolutely join as an individual! Whether you're a solo consultant or representing your organization, you'll get full value from the program. That said, team participation can accelerate implementation of equity design practices within organizations—which is why we offer a 20% discount when three or more people join from the same team.

What if I can't make a weekly group coaching call?

That's okay! Life happens (illness, vacation, whatever—you don't need to explain why!). While you'll have access to all of the pre-recorded videos in each module we release each week, we will not be recording group coaching calls in order to convene a space where folks can feel more comfortable sharing their reflections on the work. We'll miss you but understand when absences happen.

What if I have other questions?

Don't be a stranger! Please email lucy@studiomagichour.com with questions and I'll get back to you as quickly as possible.

Apply now

Applications due by January 13, 2025

Welp, You Made It To That Section at the Bottom

Kudos for seeking out all the juicy details. There's a lot to consider!

Some final food for thought: If this course feels values-aligned (I hope it does!) and you're ready to truly build or strengthen your equity design practice, this essentials course will provide you with the practical and care-full grounding you need. Within the program, you'll gain those foundational skills with guidance and support from:

  • 7 modules with pre-recorded video content, resources, and activities (to work on during your own time)
  • 7 live cohort calls to reflect on + discuss each module’s content and activities
  • A physical course guidebook, Positionality Pack, and other materials snail-mailed directly to your door
  • A community of other food system designers, innovators, and changemakers participating in the program
  • A facilitator grounding this course in care

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