In the ever-evolving social sector, where innovation, policy change, and entrepreneurship are welcomed, we always turn to our colleagues on the ground for guidance and their expertise. As you learn more about food justice, the following are a few of the organizations that we learn from. We invite you to click through each of them on your food justice journey to better understand the landscape in Los Angeles.
Everytable
Everytable’s business model drastically reduces the costs of the standard restaurant model. Chefs at their local kitchen turn fresh, wholesome ingredients into delicious meals, which they sell through small, grab-and-go storefronts. Everytable has locations in food deserts, underserved communities with little or no access to healthy food, and in affluent areas. To ensure that everyone can afford their meals, they price them according to the neighborhoods they serve.
Food Forward
Food Forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people in need and inspiring others to do the same. They collect fresh fruits and vegetables that would normally go to waste from backyard fruit trees, public orchards, farmers markets, and the downtown Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market. One-hundred percent of the produce recovered is donated to hunger relief agencies across eight counties in Southern California.
Los Angeles Community Garden Council
The Los Angeles Community Garden Council (LACGC) partners with 42 community gardens in LA County to take care of the business side of gardening and give gardeners more time to get dirty in the garden. They also offer gardening advice and workshops to more than 125 community gardens in LA County. These gardens include traditional community gardens where people rent a plot to grow their own fresh produce; educational gardens where they teach gardening, landscaping, nutrition and cooking; and urban farms where volunteers grow vegetables for local markets and people in need.
Food Finders
Food Finders connects donated perishable food to hundreds of nonprofit pantries and shelters throughout Southern California in order to reduce hunger and food waste, simultaneously.
RootDown LA
RootDown LA was born in October 2007 when a small group of motivated youth leaders from Manual Arts High School in South LA realized that nutrition education in their community wasn’t working. Together with co-founder Megan Hanson they set out to develop programming that would get people excited about healthy food.
Community Health Councils
Community Health Councils is a non-profit, community-based health education and policy organization based in Los Angeles. Established in 1992, their mission is to promote social justice and achieve equity in community and environmental resources to improve the health and well-being of under-resourced populations.
California Food Policy Advocates
As a nonprofit organization exclusively focused on food policy, California Food Policy Advocates dedicates the whole of its time, resources, and energy towards increasing low-income Californians access to healthy food.
LA Compost
LA Compost cultivates places for people to engage with each other through compost access and soil education. They support a healthy transition where food is never wasted, but returned to the soil for the next cycle of life.
Seeds of Hope
Seeds of Hope is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles which works with congregations, communities, and schools, to turn unused land into productive and beautiful gardens and orchards that provide fresh and nutritious foods to areas of need across the county.
Los Angeles Food Policy Council
The Los Angeles Food Policy Council works to ensure food is healthy, affordable, fair and sustainable for all. To accomplish their vision of Good Food for All, they catalyze, coordinate and connect people across the Los Angeles region, including government, business and community groups working on food. They work to create a local food system free from hunger, rooted in equity and access, supportive of farmers and food workers, and guided by principles of environmental stewardship and regeneration.
Roots of Change
Roots of Change is working together with California industries and communities to ensure that every aspect of food – from the time it’s grown to the time it’s eaten – can be healthy, safe, profitable and fair.
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