The Los Angeles Food Policy Task Force convened last fall to prepare a report with recommendations on how to increase accss to healthy, affordable, fairly and sustainably produced foods and strenthen our connection to the regional food economy, the Good Food for All Agenda.
The organization Roots of Change (ROC) believes that the best way to make the food system sustainable is to connect and support the people and parts within the system that have the knowledge, roles, relationships and commitments required to successfully manage a rapid transformation.
This prompted the Roots of Change to launch a policy campaign, the California Healthy Food & Agriculture Platform to inspire legislators to craft future-focused state policies that ensure a healthy and prosperous food and farm economy in California.
The organization invited public comment on the Platform to help revise it before moving into the final phase with the October 8’s Network Summit: Healthy Food & Farms by 2030 which brought California’s food and agricultural leaders from across the political spectrum to hone and endorse a policy platform.
It’s a platform everybody can fall behind. “No one wants the food we eat to make us sick, shorten our kids’ lives, hurt workers or damage our environment,” says Michael Dimock, president of Roots of Change. “To ensure that doesn’t happen, Los Angeles is taking a future-focused approach to the ways Southern Californians grow, harvest, transport and sell our food. We are proud of the Task Force and happy to have supported its work.”
At the opening event for the Roots of Change Network Summit – Good Food for All: A Taste of the Los Angeles Foodshed, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled his plan to make Good Food a priority for L.A. The event honored the work of the LA Food Policy Task Force and all those working to better the city’s food environment and showcased the diversity of the great tasting food that is grown within the L.A. Foodshed.
Given the core belief of Roots of Change that the best way to make the food system sustainable is to connect and support the people and parts within the system that have the knowledge, roles, relationships and commitments required to successfully manage a rapid transformation, the event brought together pioneering farmers, top chefs, food justice advocates and community members from around the region.
The Santa Monica Farmers Market was represented by many farmers, led by Market Supervisor Laura Avery. Besides helping coordinate farmer participants, and helping Amy Fraser (Neal Fraser’s wife – Grace and BLD restaurants), she was busy networking with those who have an interest in promoting locally sourced produce from California family farms for restaurants, schools and in communities with no access to fresh food.
Local chefs included Sherry Yard of Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining, Susan Feniger & Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill, Celestino Drago, Fig’s Ray Garcia, Josie’s Josie Le Balch, Melisse’s Josiah Citrin, and Elizabeth Belkind of Cake Monkey, whose treats are now available at both Umami Burger and the 40 Carrots Cafe at the new Bloomingdale’s in Santa Monica Place.
Evan Kleiman of KCRW’s Good Food was there as well, noting that “Whether at the local farmers’ market, school bake sale, church potluck, neighborhood taco truck, L.A.’s top restaurants, or family dinner table, food is at the foundation of the communities that make Los Angeles great. All Angelenos deserve access to abundant safe, healthy, fresh, affordable food.”
The community and non-profit organizations involved showed the broad support. They included Community Heath Councils, Community Services Unlimited Food and Water Watch, Food Chain Workers Alliance, Hunger Action Los Angeles, Jewish Federation, LA Regional Food Bank, Rootdown LA, Restaurant Opportunities Center, Sustainable Economic Enterprises Los Angeles, LA, South Central Farmers, Urban and Environmental Policy Institute, UC Cooperative Extension Program-LA County, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and many more.
All funds raised at the event benefit Hunger Action Los Angeles and Sustainable Economic Enterprises Los Angeles’ efforts to increase the purchasing power of low-income consumers by matching their dollars in LA farmers’ markets.
You can check out the Summit Agenda at www.rootsofChange.org/GoodFoodForAll.
The website is also a good resource place on related topics such as climate change and agriculture as well as participation and advocacy in helping create a sustainable food system for California.