California Food & Justice Coalition

:: June 2010 Newsletter ::

IN THIS ISSUE:

:: CFJC News
:: Profiled Partner
:: Events and Announcements
:: In the News
:: Take Action
:: Grants & Funding Opportunities
:: Jobs & Internships
___________________________________________________________
CFJC News

:: CFJC is thrilled to announce the hiring of our new Executive Director, Y. Armando Nieto.
Armando is a seasoned executive and development professional, with experience in
management and organizational development, membership development, annual giving,
foundation prospecting and grantwriting, and special events. Read more about Armando here:
http://cafoodjustice.org/section.php?id=12

Message from CFJC’s new Executive Director, Y. Armando Nieto:

It is exciting to join the California Food and Justice Coalition at this particular time in history.
Traditional mainstream food systems are broken, government is dysfunctional to the point of
collapse, and corporations have forgotten they aren’t really people. Could the need for our
coalition be any clearer?

I look forward to learning from you and the work you are doing. Each of us has a part in the re-
invention of a just economy, food system and community in which we want and deserve to live.
Building on the work of countless individuals in living rooms, farm fields, packaging operations,
grocery outlets, schools and community organizations, CFJC is where a shared vision translates into
action.

At the community level Grow Local is how we partner with CFJC members. We are also gearing
up our Farm Bill 2012 campaign, building on the successes of CFJC members in the 2007-2008
campaign. Two things make CFJC’s Farm Bill 2012 campaign such a potentially powerful force.
First, the national economy is a mess and not likely to get much better for anyone save a favored
elite in the near future.

More importantly, we know that the only help we should expect is what we ourselves make
happen. CFJC can be the vehicle for making sure the voices, values, and priorities of our members
and communities are at the policy making table every step of the process.

CFJC is a lean operation with almost unlimited potential. Please make sure you have joined or paid
your membership dues so the coalition is ready for whatever and wherever you need it to be.

Once again, I want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to work with you. I would also like to
thank outgoing Director, Shereen D’Souza for her service to CFJC during the last 1.5 years. We are
very sad to see Shereen go, but we wish her the best of luck in graduate school. Please see below
for a message from Shereen.

Y. Armando Nieto
Executive Director
yanieto@cafoodjustice.org
510-704-0245 office
805-452-6108 cell

Message from Shereen D’Souza:

Dear CFJC members and allies,

It has been a pleasure to work with you during the last year and a half. The work you do to address
the food, farming, health, and justice issues in your communities is truly inspiring. Your stories and
your efforts led us to create our Grow Local campaign, and I’m so excited for CFJC, under
Armando’s leadership, to leverage the collective power of your efforts, to continue affecting
policy change on the local, state and national levels.

I’m sad to leave CFJC after a relatively short term, but I am excited to pursue the next step on my
path: a Masters of Environmental Science degree at Yale University. I hope to focus on the
intersections of smallholder development and agroecology. I look forward to the day when our
paths cross again.

____________________________________________________________
Profiled Partner

Food First: Daylighting the Underpinnings of Hunger

by Deborah Rich

Food First’s goal is to end the injustices that cause hunger. To that end, Food First researches and
communicates about the social and economic underpinnings of hunger. “Food First is a think
tank,” says Eric Holt-Gimenez the executive director of the Oakland-based international non-profit.
“We produce information and analyses which help to inform social movements that are involved
in changing food systems and which amplify the voices of the movement.”

Sometimes Food First’s research supports policy and food system decision-making. For example,
Food First recently reviewed all the food policy councils that have been formed in the United
States, taking a look at what worked and what didn’t work for the councils. But Food First’s
research supports more than policy-making. “We inform people who change the food system,”
says Holt-Gimenez. “Policy is one way of changing the system, but there are other ways, including
by building alternatives and through direct action. We try to provide information that facilitates all
these avenues of change-making.”

A 35-year-old organization, Food First is largely supported by over 7000 members who together
represent a broad swath of the socio-economic spectrum. Donations range from $5.00 to $5,000,
and foundation grants making up the balance of Food First’s funds. “We don’t take any
government or corporate money,” says Holt-Gimenez. “Due to the direct support of our many
members, we, unlike many think tanks, have intellectual freedom.”

Food First’s diverse constituency reflects the alignment of varied interests that Holt Gimenez sees as
the greatest source of optimism about ending hunger. “What’s hopeful is that more and more
organizations around the world are fighting back against strong corporate control of our food
systems,” says Hot-Gimenez. “It’s a convergence of movements, a movement of movements. You
have urban, rural, wealthy and poor trying to come together to advance food sovereignty, which
is food democratization.”
Holt Gimenez also sees potential in the legitimacy crises that he believes large corporations and
the government face: crises that create space for food system reform. “I hope that these social
movements can come together quickly enough and powerfully enough to make the changes we
need before our food systems are destroyed,” says Holt-Gimenez.

The responsibility for making food systems healthy engines of local economic growth lies with us as
citizens, believes Holt-Gimenez. “Our biggest challenge is whether we can converge in all our
diversity,” says Holt-Gimenez. “When we figure out how to do that, I think the food movement will
be unstoppable.”

Contact info

Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy

398 60th Street,
Oakland, CA
94618 USA
Tel: 510-654-4400
Fax: 510-654-4551

Deborah Rich is a freelance journalist and olive grower in Monterey County, California.
deborahrich@comcast.net
____________________________________________________________
Events and Announcements

:: The Convergence Partnership recently released Recipes for Change: Healthy Food in Every
Community, authored by Prevention Institute, with the aim to increase access to healthy foods by
highlighting the innovative prevention strategies already working in communities across the
country. The paper outlines organizational practices and public policies to expand access to
healthy foods in support of healthy eating and better overall health. Read it here:
http://www.preventioninstitute.org/component/jlibrary/article/id-266/127.html

:: Starting Saturday July 3, Phat Beets Produce will join North Oakland Pediatrics in opening a new
Farmers' Market in North Oakland rooted not only in sustainable food, but in food justice. Check it
out:North Oakland Pediatrics Parking Lot, 5715 Market St, Oakland Ca 94608; 9am-2pm
__________________________________________________________________________________
Take Action

:: Support a Health Element for Oakland’s General Plan. On July 7th at 6 p.m., the Oakland Planning
Commission will hear a report on the concept of including a health element in Oakland's General
Plan. Such a health element could address a wide range of health-related land use decisions, such
as: access to grocery stores and fresh fruits and vegetables, safe places to exercise and play,
clean air and environment. If you are interested in seeing any of these health issues addressed in
Oakland, please come attend the Planning Commission meeting on July 7th to express your
support. Hearing Room 1 in City Hall at One Frank Ogawa Plaza. This item will be first on the
agenda.

:: Stand up to Big Food. While dairy farmers in America face their worst crisis since the Great
Depression, giant milk processors like Dean Foods are still raking in record profits. Food Democracy
Now and Eco Farm ask that you tell the Department of Justice what you think about dairy
monopolies. For more info, visit:
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/cms/sign/farmers_say_udderly_ridiculous/
_____________________________________________________________________________________
In the News

:: Supreme Court Decision on planting Monsanto’s GE alfalfa. Earlier this year, the U.S. District Court
in San Francisco found that the USDA had illegally approved Roundup Ready alfalfa for planting
and halted all planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa until the USDA completes an Environmental
Impact Statement. It also issued two injunctions: one that prevented the USDA from performing a
so-called “partial deregulation” of Roundup Ready alfalfa, i.e. allowing restricted and otherwise
limited planting, while it prepared the final environmental statement; the other stopping farmers
from planting any Roundup Ready alfalfa starting with the 2010 crop year. Did the recent Supreme
Court decision overturn these injunctions? Read more here:
http://civileats.com/2010/06/21/supreme-court%e2%80%99s-ruling-on-monsanto%e2%80%99s-ge-
alfalfa-who-won/

:: House approves $1.15 billion for Black farmers. Recently, the House of Representatives passed
legislation that will fund the second phase of the Black Farmer (Pigford) lawsuit against the US
Department of Agriculture. Importantly, funding for both the Black Farmer lawsuit and the Native
American (Cobell) lawsuit were covered under the House approved H.R. 4213, “The American Jobs
and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010.” For more info:
http://www.aframnews.com/websitepublisher/articles/house-of-representatives-approve-115-
billion-for-black-farmers.html

:: Budget Rally and Die-In drew 300 participants at the State Building in downtown L.A. to oppose
the Governor’s extreme cuts to assistance for disabled and senior residents, working families, and
education. Link to HALA”s Facebook page for video highlights and other scintillating coverage of
recent community actions, including Congressmember Maxine Waters’ speech at Farmchella.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hunger-Action-Los-Angeles/186356138975

:: Dietary Guidelines Suggest Plant Based Diet in a committee of experts report. The committee's
recommendations emphasize a plant-based diet with plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables
and moderate amounts of lean meat, poultry and eggs. See
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN159599220100615

:: UN Warns of High Food Prices Worldwide set to rise as much as 40% over the coming decade
amid growing demand from emerging markets and for biofuel production, according to a United
Nations report which warns of rising hunger and food insecurity.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/06/16-1
____________________________________________________________________________________
Grants and Fundraising Opportunities

:: EPA Climate Change Funding opportunity for local governments applications due July 26, 2010.
Details at http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/local/showcase/index.html

:: Healthy Sprouts Award Program supports the development of gardens via school and youth
programs that teach nutrition and the issue of hunger in the United States. NGO, School District and
Academic Institution submissions are due by October 1, 2010. For more information go to National
Gardening Association: Healthy Sprouts Award Program - FY 2011
____________________________________________________________________________________
Jobs and Internships

:: Pesticide Watch (SF) is hiring a community organizer. Primary responsibilities will include:
community organizing, outreach / public education, and fundraising. Positing open until filled. For
more information, visit:
https://www.pesticidewatch.org/uploads/0f/02/0f02200d51ea16b7cea550543b985c56/PW-
Community-Organizer-Description-06-28-10.pdf

::Chez Panisse Foundation (Berkeley) is hiring a Development Director. Responsibilities will relate to
manageent and strategic planning, individual donors, grants, database and web management,
and events. For more information, visit: https://www.chezpanissefoundation.org/development-
director

:: California Science Center (Los Angeles) is hiring an Administrator for the Science Program.
Responsibilities will include the development, implementation, and management of life science
exhibits (covering any aspect of such fields as biology, genetics, bioengineering, physiology,
anatomy, health and medicine) throughout the science center. Deadline: 7/8/10. For more
information, visit: http://jobs.spb.ca.gov/wvpos/more_info.cfm?recno=428099

:: Internships available with Phat Beets Produce (Oakland). Phat Beets Produce was started in North
Oakland in 2007 as a guerilla produce stand in a North Oakland park. Phat beets now facilitates
two certified, clinic based farmers’ markets, one youth led school farm stand and community
nutrition hub, and a youth market garden in partnership with a local hospital obesity prevention
program. More info available at http://phatbeetsproduce.org/contact-us/

:: WorldLink (San Francisco) is seeking an experienced program manager for its Nourish: Food +
Community initiative. Nourish combines PBS television, short films, school curricula, civic
engagement tools, website content, educator seminars, and youth summits. The successful
candidate will be responsible for building a network of collaborating organizations, developing
outreach programs, and distributing Nourish media and education resources nationally. For more
info: http://www.goworldlink.com/about/team_nourish-program-manager.html

:: Farm Supervisor at Esalen Institute position open until filled. This is a leadership team position with
management and oversight responsibilities of five acre farm. For more information, see
http://www.esalen.org/info/jobs/index.html.

:: Noyo Forest Food Manager position at Ft. Bragg High School’s Learning Garden is open now.
Details at http://sustainablefoodjobs.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/california-the-noyo-food-forest-
seeks-garden-manager/

:: City Slicker Farms (Oakland) is seeking applicants for the position of Program Assistant. Visit
http://cityslickerfarms.org/index.htm for full details. To apply, please send a resume and cover
letter to Barbara Finnin at barbara@cityslickerfarms.org by July 9th.

:: The Asian Pacific Environmental Network (Oakland) is looking for an experienced, motivated
individual to lead a talented team of organizers to build the power of grassroots Asian Pacific
Islander communities to advance environmental, social and economic justice as Campaign &
Organizing Director. The Campaign & Organizing Director is responsible for providing overall
leadership in campaign and political strategy, alliance building, the development of a vibrant
grassroots organizing and leadership development program, and staff development of the
organizing team. For more info, please see http://www.apen4ej.org/

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The California Food and Justice Coalition is a statewide membership coalition working to ensure
the basic human right to healthy food while advancing social, agricultural and environmental
justice.
We collaborate with community-based efforts in California working to create a socially just,
ecologically
and economically sustainable food supply. We envision a California food system in which all
activities,
from farm to table, are equitable, healthful, regenerative, and community-driven.

California Food and Justice Coalition

2530 San Pablo Avenue, Suite F, Berkeley, CA 94702
Phone: 510-704-0245
FAX: 510-548-8896
http://www.CAFoodJustice.org <http://www.cafoodjustice.org/> <http://www.cafoodjustice.org/>
email: info@CAFoodJustice.org
CFJC is a fiscally-sponsored project of the Ecology Center.