To learn more about food access, please attend our next event:
“Health, Race, Poverty and Food: An Urban Food Systems Tour”
or visit the following links:
RELATED ORGANIZATIONS
American Community Gardening Association
www.communitygarden.org
This national nonprofit organization sponsors “From the Roots Up,” a program to mentor and provide support for fledging community garden organizations. The site includes fact sheets to assist in getting started as well as a variety of resource guides (available for purchase) that detail community building practices in combination with gardening. The site also has numerous links related to food security and community gardening—including sections on rooftop gardening, accessible gardening for people with disabilities, and gardening with children and elders.
California Food Policy Advocates
www.cfpa.net/Newdesign.htm
California Food Policy Advocates is a statewide public policy and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well being of low-income Californians by increasing their access to nutritious and affordable food. The web site includes the latest news and legislative information related to food access, county profiles on hunger and poverty, best practices guides and Power Point presentations on current issues in nutrition, advocacy tips and tools, and data resources.
Center for Food and Justice
departments.oxy.edu/uepi/cfj/index.htm
The Center for Food and Justice is a division of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College that works to improve access to fresh and healthy foods in all communities, particularly those where access is most limited. Visit their site for information on innovative programs such as California Farm to School and Project Grow, food security projects in Los Angeles and research and case studies on food access.
Community Food Security Coalition
www.foodsecurity.org
The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to building strong, sustainable, local and regional food systems that ensure access to affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate food for all people. CFSC works to develop community self-reliance in obtaining food and to create a system of growing, manufacturing, processing, making available and selling food that is regionally based and grounded in the principles of justice, democracy and sustainability. At this site you can access the CA Community Food Security Network, issue papers, newsletters, reports, upcoming events, the Com Food list serv and program information. There is an extensive list of links to food security related web sites in a variety of categories including community gardens, urban agriculture, farmers’ markets and more.
Community Food and Justice Coalition
www.foodsecurity.org/california/
A project of the Community Food Security Coalition, the California Food and Justice Coalition is a statewide membership coalition committed to the basic human right to healthy food while advancing social, agricultural and environmental justice. They are partners of the national Community Food Security Coalition, and collaborate with community-based efforts in California working to create a socially just, ecologically and economically sustainable food supply.
California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness (CANFit) Program
www.canfit.org
CANFit is a non-profit organization that engages communities and builds their capacity to improve the nutrition and physical activity status of California’s low-income African American, American Indian, Latino, and Asian/ Pacific Islander youth 10-14 years old. Visit their site for information on their grants, scholarships and technical assistance opportunities, encouraging nutrition and physical activity; newsletters; and the PHAT (Promoting Healthy Activities Together) campaign for youth.
Farm Fresh Choice
www.ecologycenter.org/ffc/index.html
Farm Fresh Choice is a community-based project which offers residents of Berkeley fresh regional produce at below retail prices. They contract directly from small scale local farmers who reflect the communities we serve and who do not use harmful chemical pesticides or fertilizers on their crops. Farm Fresh Choice is available at community produce stands, located at three after-school programs in West and South Berkeley.
Literacy for Environmental Justice
http://www.lejyouth.org/
Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ) is an urban environmental education and youth empowerment organization created specifically to address the unique ecological and social concerns of Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco, and the surrounding communities of Mission, Potrero Hill, Visitacion Valley, and Excelsior. LEJ’s Youth Envision Program employs and trains 7-10 high school-aged youth per year as community organizers around Bayview’s food security and environmental justice initiatives.
Next Course
www.nextcourse.org
Nextcourse is a community food initiative that was recently founded by a group of Bay Area chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, and food justice activists. Nextcourse’s first project is a series of classes offered to women in the Sisters program at the San Francisco County Jail. This course has been designed to provide skills and knowledge about purchasing and preparing fresh and nutritious food. When these women leave jail they will be able to feed themselves and their families, and become the nurturing force that can bring back life and health to their community.
People’s Grocery
www.peoplesgrocery.org
People's Grocery is a community-based organization working to find creative solutions to the food needs of the residents of West Oakland by building a local food system and local economy. Their mission is to uphold the human right to healthy and affordable food and to build community self-reliance by increasing neighborhood access to locally-produced fruits and vegetables and by promoting social enterprise, youth entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture and grassroots organizing.
Rooted in Community
http://www.lejyouth.org/about_lej.php4
Rooted in Community (RIC) is a national grassroots network that empowers young people to take leadership in their own communities. They are a diverse movement of youth and adult counterparts who are committed to building healthy communities through urban and rural agriculture, related environmental justice, community gardening, and food security work. Initiated in 1998, RIC helps strengthen the leadership skills of youth and adult community organizers through intensive national trainings, action days, and networking opportunities.
San Francisco Food Systems
www.sffoodsystems.org
San Francisco Food Systems was formed as a private-public partnership in order to address food systems issues within the City and County of San Francisco through action research projects, policy planning and recommendations.
Urban Agriculture Notes by City Farmer
www.cityfarmer.org
Sponsored by Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture, this site includes information on urban agriculture, online resources, a listing of useful books and various community garden issues.
USDA Community Food Security Initiative
www.reeusda.gov/food_security/foodshp.htm
Visit this site for technical assistance, information on funding sources, data and program ideas related to improving nutrition and strengthening local food systems. The goal of the initiative is to reduce hunger by 50 percent by 2015.
RELATED ARTICLES
Brown, Katherine H. (February, 2002). Urban Agriculture and Community Food Security in the United States: Farming from the City Center To the Urban Fringe. Urban Agriculture Committee of the Community Food Security Coalition.
» Read article.
Center for Food and Justice. (October 2002). Transportation and Food: The Importance of Access.
» Read article.
Community Food Security Coalition. (2002).
- Urban Agriculture and Community Food Security in the United States: Farming from the City Center To the Urban Fringe
» Read article. - Weaving the Food Web: Community Food Security in California.
» Read article.
- What’s Cooking in Your Food System? A Guide to Community Food Assessment
- Seeds of Change: Strategies for Food Security for the Inner City
Linda Ashman, et. al.; UCLA Urban Planning Dept., 1993 (400+ pp)
» Order online.
» Read case study.
Cooperative Extension of Los Angeles County, Common Ground Garden Program. Community Garden Start Up Guide. (2000).
» Read article.
Prevention Institute. Supermarket Access in Low-Income Communities.
» Read article.
UPCOMING EVENT
Health, Race, Poverty and Food:
An Urban Food Systems Tour
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Please join Funders for Sustainable Food Systems on May 3, 2005 for a tour of urban food systems in the East Bay. The tour will examine new ways of addressing food access in low income communities, the role of food in chronic disease prevention, and public/nonprofit partnerships towards addressing these issues.
Speakers include:
Brahm Ahmadi, People’s Grocery
Kate Clayton, Berkeley Chronic Disease Prevention Program
Martha Cueva, Bahia (Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement)
Tiffany Golden, Farm Fresh Choice
Linda Maio, Berkeley City Council Member
Leslie Mikkelsen, Prevention Institute
Lucretia Ramirez, UC Extension
Event Details:
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2005, 10:00am to 4:00pm
Beginning and ending at Ashby BART, Berkeley, CA
Directions to Ashby BART Station
A delicious lunch made from locally sourced, sustainable ingredients will be served.
Funders interested in attending the tour should RSVP to Michelle Sargent at 415-421-4213 x14 or michelle@ceaconsulting.com.