Podcasts about los angeles food policy council

Welcome back to eLEXYfy: The Place for Fashion! This week, we're diving into the flavorful intersection of food, culture, sustainability, and mindful living with a truly inspiring guest — Jocelyn Ramirez, founder of Todo Verde and member of 1% for the Planet.Jocelyn left behind a career in higher education to launch a mission-driven plant-based food company rooted in her Mexican-Ecuadorian heritage. From seasonings that honor traditional Latin flavors to her work with the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Jocelyn is reshaping the way we think about sustainability—one meal, one community, and one policy at a time.This episode is full of wisdom, flavor, and purpose—just like Jocelyn herself.Follow Jocelyn:Instagram: @todoverdeWebsite: todoverde.org

On this episode we talk about Food Equity with Latina leaders who are committed to making healthy food accessible to all communities here in Los Angeles. You'll learn about the LA Food Policy Council and the creative ways this organization cultivates a diverse network of change makers from across our food system, from farm to fork and beyond, and this work is important to equity.  This panel conversation includes: Alba Velasquez who leads the Los Angeles Food Policy Council as the Executive Director, Erika Crenshaw, Co-Owner of El Sereno Greengrocer, a one year old corner shop in El Sereno, in Northeast LA and Jocelyn Ramirez, a Plant-Forward Chef whose product line of seasoning is sold at El Sereno Greengrocer. Tamarindo is a lighthearted show hosted by Brenda Gonzalez and Delsy Sandoval talking about politics, culture, and self-development. We're here to uplift our community through powerful conversations with changemakers, creatives, and healers. Join us as we delve into discussions on race, gender, representation, and life! You can get in touch with us at www.tamarindopodcast.com Brenda Gonzalez and Delsy Sandoval are executive producers of Tamarindo podcast with production support by Karina Riveroll of Sonoro Media. Clivia Torres edits our YouTube episodes. Jeff Ricards produced our theme song. If you want to support our work, please rate and review our show here.  SUPPORT OUR SHOW Contribute to the show: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/tamarindopodcast1 Follow Tamarindo on instagram @tamarindopodcast and on twitter at @tamarindocast .  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we are celebrating the life of a hugely influential member of the food industry, Bryce Fluellen. Sarah had the honor of sitting down with Bryce at the end of 2023. Unfortunately, the world lost Bryce in early 2024. We hope that this interview tells his story and preserves his legacy as a Servant leader for so many in this industry, as he fought for food justice and social equity in every role he served.   Bryce Fluellen developed and implemented strategic programs at Starbucks, Magic Johnson Enterprises, and the American Heart Association to drive systemic change to benefit underserved populations and communities. He was a classically trained chef, and operated a Los Angeles full-service catering company, Yams Catering, where he created partnerships with health-focused organizations to educate black and brown communities about healthy eating.   In 2022 Bryce Fluellen was named one of the 50 most influential restaurant leaders by the NRN Power List. He also served on the executive committee of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council.    Bryce shared: How his family influenced his path in life The college job that changed his trajectory All the experience in the food industry that shaped him into the leader and mentor that he was His passion for learning that led to finding unconventional ways to fund a for-profit business And much more Stay Connected! Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

We know that a diet consisting of only unhealthy fast food is linked to all kinds of health problems and even a shorter life span, but in areas where the median income is at poverty levels, fast food is all you'll find.  We call them food deserts or more accurately, food apartheid.   Our guests today are working to change this.​​Sam Polk is co-founder and CEO of Everytable, a food company that fights for food justice and equality by providing nutritious food that is accessible and affordable for everyone.In 2016, Sam, together with friend and former private equity professional David Foster, founded Everytable, a fresh-prepared food business blending grab-and-go storefronts, subscriptions, SmartFridges, and institutional food service. Everytable seeks to dramatically reduce the cost of fresh, nutritious food below the cost of fast food. They recently launched a pioneering social equity franchise program to empower, train and fund disenfranchised entrepreneurs from marginalized communities to open Everytable franchises in their own communities.  Sam authored a book, For the Love of Money, chronicling his journey from Wall Street to advocate for food justice and an equitable world.Clare Fox is VP of Strategic Partnerships for Everytable.  She leads on government, community and philanthropic partnerships, and strategic initiatives such as Social Equity Franchise and medically tailored meals. Previously, she worked in food systems, policy and advocacy for a decade. She served as Executive Director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. Clare led the organization toward several legislative wins, including universal food stamps at farmer's markets, the first county urban agriculture program, first citywide food recovery program, and decriminalizing street food. She began her career managing a food access investment program at the City of LA Community Redevelopment Agency. She has served on numerous boards and appointed committees, including the Los Angeles County Inmate Welfare Commission. Clare has a Bachelors of Arts in Critical Social Thought from Mount Holyoke College, and a Masters in Urban Planning from UCLA. All her work is informed by a lifelong commitment to social and racial justice.Dee Adimora is an Everytable store manager and Everytable University participant through the Social Equity Franchise (SEF) program.  As a veteran fast food worker from Compton, Dee struggled with food insecurity, chronic low-wage work, and housing insecurity until she became a manager at Everytable. Now, she is about to become an Everytable franchisee with no upfront investment through Everytable's Social Equity Franchise initiative. Instagram - @foreverytableLINKShttps://www.everytable.com/www.KMMA-caiths.org  www.citizensofsound.comwww.howcanihelppod.com 

Historian and professor Natalia Molina reveals how her grandmother's restaurant, Nayarit, brought the immigrant community together in 1960s Echo Park. In the new FX series “The Bear,” actor Jeremy Allen White plays Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, a chef with struggles both in and out of the kitchen. A creamy base like sour cream, dried aromatics and a bit of acid, cooking columnist Ben Mims levels up homemade dips. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison heads to South Central for a Oaxacan specialty. When Gacia Tachejian couldn't find coffee she liked in the Valley, she began roasting her own before opening Laidrey in Tarzana. Christina Tran of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council explains the findings of a recent report that examines why 600,000 residents eligible for SNAP benefits have not accessed resources.

Christine Tran knows how the system can fail us when we need it most. Her parents struggled to walk the tightrope of qualifying for food assistance and not getting kicked off of it. They were refugees of the Vietnam War and raised their kids alongside them as they worked through garment jobs and painting houses. Now Tran works to get healthy food available in working class communities like her hometown of South El Monte.Tran is executive director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, which connects farmers with corner stores, food banks with surplus foods, and studies the obstacles for programs like Cal Fresh. She also writes about API diaspora - including her own Teochew culture - in addition to writing about food justice and just writing about food in the SGV!

Jocelyn Ramirez is a plant-based chef, cookbook author, yoga instructor, entrepreneur and advocate for healthy food access in her community. She is the founder of Todo Verde, one of LA's acclaimed plant-based Mexican food businesses. Jocelyn's background includes degrees in fine art, design and business and has also trained at the Matthew Kenney Culinary Institute. Her work has been featured in several press outlets including NY Times, LA Times, Food & Wine, Vice, Smithsonian, Bon Appetit, and more. She is currently a recipe contributor for NYT Cooking, and sits on the culinary advisory board for Food Forward and the Leadership Board for the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. 

Chef and food justice activist Zoe Adjonyoh returns to Ghana to explore her cultural ancestry and gather recipes. Julia Sherman has entertaining ideas and candy alternatives for Halloween. Delilah Snell shares traditions of Día de los Muertos, including the construction of altars and the significance of offerings left to welcome back the souls of deceased relatives. This week's “In the Weeds” features Jonathan Yang, who opened Thank You Coffee in Chinatown to give back to the community and draw people back to legacy businesses. Christine Tran of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council explains a new county report showing better food insecurity statistics but trends with unemployment rates. Finally, Naomi Shim is making pastry with farmer's market pears.

In this episode of Repast, Diana Winters interviews Paula Daniels on Los Angeles food policy, the L.A. Food Policy Council, which she founded, the Center for Good Food Purchasing, and a forthcoming book, True Cost Accounting for Food: Balancing the Scale, that she edited and in which she has a chapter.  Paula and Diana discuss true cost accounting, which Paula distills with the following Oscar Wilde quote:“What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.  And a sentimentalist . . . is a man who sees an absurd value in everything and doesn't know the market price of any single thing.”For more on true cost accounting, listen now.  Diana Winters is the Deputy Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA Law. Paula Daniels is Co-founder and Chair of the Center for Good Food Purchasing, a social enterprise non-profit founded in July of 2015 as a national spin-off from the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, which Paula founded in 2011.   You can pre-order True Cost Accounting for Food here.     Music by Ike Winters.  

In today's episode, we're digging into the Good Food Zone Policy that will be implemented in Los Angeles, California. The goal is to expand access to healthy food in neighborhoods considered food deserts and to create economic opportunity and jobs for residents living on low incomes. If you follow food policy work, you'll be interested in the Good Food Zone, food entrepreneurship and Community Development Framework. Guests in this podcast include three people deeply engaged in developing this place based policy strategy: Ronnell Hampton, of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Samantha Salmon, of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and Community Organizer and Media Specialist, Matt Sanderson. Interview Summary Matt, let's start with you. Could you explain the Good Food Zone Policy to the listeners? Matt: Overall, we want to: increase access and demand for healthy food in food desert communities, which is increasing options for healthy food, especially in areas like South Los Angeles; as well as build demand for healthy food through culturally relevant practices. This also promotes economic development through food entrepreneurship, which is helping healthy food business owners develop strong business acumen, and scale micro and small healthy food business operations. The Los Angeles city council approved this policy earlier this year and we're working to get it implemented. This will be a three-year program that will provide targeted services to overcome challenges and barriers that micro and small businesses in LA, would experience when formalizing or growing their business. And this is in partnership with the city, private, nonprofit and community service providers. And business owner can get the specialized help they need. Receive help with filing permits, referral to funding programs, discounts on equipment and utilities, and assistance with business training, as well as resources for marketing and financial management. The program ambassador, would facilitate communication with these business owners. Do they need help with business training, or help navigating governmental departments or need help with management or leadership training, product development or even technology adoption? Those who buy into this program, in this pilot, are asked to provide evidence of their commitment to developing and growing a healthy food business through annual reporting, surveys, on-site visits, evaluation of business practices, and more. The Good Foods Zone, sits at this intersection of racial health and economic justice.   That's a very impressive suite of activities that I'd like to ask Samantha a question that came to mind as you were talking about that Matt. So is this program for businesses that are owned and staffed by people in the affected communities only, or could outside people who wish to run businesses in the community receive these services? Samantha: That's a brilliant question. I love it so much because the community that gathered to put this policy together, really were interested in the economic development peace within their community. So, the policy brief as it outlines right now, the business has to be in operation for at least three years, in order to qualify for this pilot. So, the business is already a part of that community. And within the pilot, the goal is to hire people from within that community. So it doesn't necessarily block someone from outside of that community from opening a business, but they would have had to been in operation for three years. That makes sense because then the wealth that might occur from this would remain in the community and not just be outside. So thanks for that answer. So Ronnell, let me turn to you. How did all this come about and what challenges were faced in researching and developing and ultimately getting this policy approve? Ronnell: The Los Angeles Food Policy Council uses the collective impact approach to developing policy, which makes sure that impacted people are leaders and collaborators in the policy changes that happen in the Los Angeles regional area. So through our working group spaces we're able to facilitate that collective impact. And the work around the Good Foods Zone, was developed by our Good Food Economy Working Group. And so they have been working on this policy and how to organize to get a champion who is Current Price Council District 9 who introduced the good foods on policy and with the organizing of the Good Food Economy Working Group, we were able to get the policy recommended from the Economic Workforce Development Subcommittee for approval to get approved at council. Which happened March 3rd, 2020. We celebrate a policy passing, but the hard work happens when you're trying to get the policy implemented and making sure that the intended demographic actually receives the resources of that policy and making sure that the programmatic framework for that policy actually has the intended outcome that we had from the beginning. You make an outstanding point about the importance of follow through. And I imagine when the history of this will be written, there'll be a lot to be said about what happens after the policy was passed. So I'm happy that you brought that point up. Samantha, I'd like to hear your thought on some other key issues. So the Good Foods Zone Policy, is a place-based strategy and recognizes that historic divestment in specific neighborhoods, now requires targeted investment in those same neighborhoods. Can you explain a little bit more about this and who is intended to benefit from the policy? Samantha: This policy benefits healthy food entrepreneurs throughout the entire food chain, and the community members who are looking for jobs and healthy foods in their neighborhoods. Folks like Celia and Joe Ward, who started South LA cafe because after decades of living a food desert, they wanted fresh affordable and healthy food options for themselves and their neighbors. So instead of waiting for it to arrive, they decided to take a leap of faith and provided themselves. Then you have women like Olympia, who started supermarket, which is a low cost organic pop-up grocers servicing low-income communities in LA. It operates weekly providing a hundred percent organic produce to make great health and healing available to the communities that need it most. And supermarket believes everyone deserves to eat well. Olympia, the founder believes fresh food access is not simply a nice idea. It's a right and a necessity. She said leaving our neighborhoods to get healthy ingredients and healthy meals is a challenge millions of Angelenos have to face. And so when she started supermarket, she felt like this subtle form of discrimination which leads to millions of deaths each year in the country, will hopefully cease to exist. And I wholeheartedly agree. That's the whole purpose of this policy. You're talking about some very admirable and inspiring stories of people that have started food businesses. Can you explain Samantha just a little bit about why this is necessary and the food place? I mean, we know about what food deserts are but not so much about how they came about and what are some of the divestment that have occurred. Samantha: Yes. And if I can, I would recommend everyone listening to read two very great books, that go into the details on it, because it definitely deserves more time than we have available on this podcast. The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran, and the Color of Law, I forgot the name of the author, but they basically go into detail on the historic red lining and the holding of investment that was not available for black entrepreneurs and black landlords being able to buy a home and build equity. That way is also part of the piece and being able to get a loan to start a business, you know, have equity, to get appropriate financing. So, it's really intricate and those two books really go into that. Thanks for those resources. So let's get into some more specific. Ronnell what are you actually asking the city to do in this, and how will you measure success at the end of the day? Ronnell: In regards to the historic divestment, we have to be able to acknowledge how that looks in the landscape that our communities are living in. In South LA for example, there are more liquor stores than there are grocery stores. We're asking them to acknowledge the historic divestment that created the food deserts that community are dealing with right now. In regards to the Good Food Zone, we're asking our local government to take action by identifying a timeline, for the feasibility report, and pilot implementation, that reflects the urgency of the public health issues related to food insecurity. We're also asking them to identify budget line items to fund the proposed $3.6 million three year pilot program. We're asking them to prioritize the implementation of the Good Food Zone as a tactic for community and business resilience modeling during and post-COVID. Like we're saying, the Good Food Zone is to address historic impact of food divestment but COVID has exacerbated a lot of those realities. So it's important that we leverage policies like the Good Food Zone, as a way to address resiliency and recovery. And we're also hoping that they consider expanding the pilot to help more healthy food businesses during the pandemic. Thank you Ronnell. It's really inspiring to hear about these efforts and the passion behind them. Let me ask one final question of you Matt. What does it take to spread awareness of this community and those from there? Matt: Sure Kelly, thank you so much. I really have to pause first and give a ton of credit to Samantha Ronnell and our team on the working group or hitting the ground running earlier this year to identify potential businesses affected by the lack of investment in these communities in these target pilot zones, which are Council Districts in Los Angeles that we would like to get the Pilot Program off and running. And we began cold calling and cold emailing of business owners who we identified in these zones. And South LA Cafe, is one of the more prominent ones. And really had to just start off with surveys with these business owners and hear their story. And what became markedly clear from the start of our effort, which did begin after the pandemic started. But as the months went on from May to June, June to July, and making these calls and getting the interviews became abundantly clear that yes, these business owners already were having a tough time navigating say government systems, no city systems for just say permitting. Then, the interviews turned into: “I haven't heard back on my PPP loan.” “Or, one question a couple of months ago could have been how many employees do you have?” And this is a small market we're calling in South LA ‘they' might just be the business owner, they've been there for 20 plus years, might be family owned. A lot of them are, Mom-and-Pop. And they might just have a few other employees but as the calls kept going, and we were finding out that the business owner could only afford to be their own boss. They were there from open to close, and the questions were they were interested in the incentives that the Good Food Zone and a lot of them wanted to get involved with the awareness campaign. Some were on the fence. They wanted to engage in the interview and I still had some questions and a lot of them were just so busy, you know at the height of COVID-19 where they could only just focus on the day-to-day and it said, you know please keep in touch and that sort of thing. Through these interviews, we created awareness graphics of the business owners who we did interview. And when you scroll our Instagram page, you will see them. We told their story based on their interviews. And leading from the social media campaign, into the fall, we pivoted to media outreach. And media campaign as well as ask City Council and the Economic Development Workforce to reconvene, to finally implement this Pilot Program. And we've been doing, you know social media activism, getting all the social media posts out there. And I've created our media lists and targeted media outreach. And the efforts are ongoing. We're reaching out to the LA Area Media but also nationally and the Trade Media. Bios Ronnell Hampton is the Policy Manager for the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC). He serves as the staff liaison to the Food Waste Rescue & Prevention, Good Food Economy, and Urban Agriculture Workgroups. He facilitates these efforts by using a collective impact approach to manage community organizing by cultivating relationships with people, community organizations, and government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels. By leveraging strategic approaches to policy development and implementation that centers racial, social, economic, and environmental justice, Ronnell moves the Good Food For All Agenda forward. Samantha Salmon is passionate about equitable food-oriented development in communities experiencing food apartheid. She supports the Local Initiatives Support Corporation's (LISC) economic development, health and housing initiatives alongside communications and public relations as a Program Assistant. Prior to LISC, she managed commercial property, owned and managed a raw vegan organic restaurant, and wrote a book on cultivating a healthy lifestyle on a budget. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from New York University in Economics and Africana Studies, which is the study of the diaspora of African people. Matt Sanderson is a communications specialist, media consultant and journalist. His passion for real food justice began when volunteering with Southern California fruit harvesting organization Food Forward in 2019 and the groundbreaking Food Leaders Lab of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. From there, Matt joined the Good Food Economy Working Group of the L.A. Food Policy Council, spearheading social media marketing and media outreach for the Good Food Zones policy implementation. He also volunteers his time with L.A. Compost and grassroots non-profit Farm2People, which formed in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 disruption of the local food supply chain.   

In Episode 69, Quinn & Brian discuss: Rebuilding Los Angeles and L.A.’s Green New Deal. Our guest is Jeanalee Obergfell, who works just down the street from Important, Not Important HQ as a City Planning Associate for Los Angeles. When it comes to making L.A. greener and more equitable, you know Jeanalee is either helping someone’s cause or leading the charge. Really, if the Game of Thrones were the game of creating more equitable housing and transportation options in a less hot and more breathable city (as opposed to literally burning all of the infrastructure and citizens, like some people), Jeanalee would be sitting on the Iron Throne. But, will real life end better than the show? For our sake, we sure hope so.  Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: Laudato Si’—On Care For Our Common Home by Pope Francis: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com L.A.’s Green New Deal: http://plan.lamayor.org/ Food Forward: https://foodforward.org/ SEE-LA: https://seela.org/ S T A N D - L.A.: https://www.stand.la/ Los Angeles Food Policy Council: https://www.goodfoodla.org League of Conservation Voters: http://lalcv.org/ Sierra Club: https://angeles.sierraclub.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanalee-obergfell/ Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media Support this podcast

Breanna Hawkins – Policy Director at the Los Angeles Food Policy Council – discusses how you can provide healthy food in our urban neighborhoods, including how to recognize food deserts, encourage existing establishments to carry produce, and grow your own food. 

Hello listeners, we're back this week with Jocelyn Ramirez! Todo Verde founder, Jocelyn Ramirez, is a vegan chef, college professor, yoga instructor, and advocate for healthy food access in her community. Jocelyn founded Todo Verde in 2015 with a mission to create delicious and healthy plant based food inspired by her Mexican and South American roots. She left her career in higher education to pursue a new path in foodways related to culture and tradition. She has referenced traditional recipes passed down for generations within her family, and has explored new techniques using native ingredients. As she continues to learn about the health benefits of nutrient dense food and healthy ecosystems, she offers knowledge on healthy living with the community through workshops, dialogues, food demonstrations, and speaking engagements. Jocelyn has also trained at the Matthew Kenney Culinary Institute specializing in plant based cuisine. She now sits on the Leadership Board for the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. We talked about all the things food, Ayurveda, healthy life changes and their current Indiegogo campaign. If you're listening before August 3, 2018 head over to https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/todo-verde-to-raise-50-000-for-plant-based-cafe-restaurant-food and support! Find Jocelyn on all things social: http://todoverde.org/ https://www.instagram.com/todoverde/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfFEHaWnyoLcxGCetr47u6A Find Cafe con Pam https://www.instagram.com/cafeconpampodcast/ https://www.spreadideasmovepeople.com Apply to become an intern! https://www.spreadideasmovepeople.com/intern Stay shining!

Each year, up to 40% food in the United States is not eaten from production to plate contributing to the largest source of waste in our landfill (organics) and the second largest source of anthropogenic methane gas in California. All the while, there are 1.5 million Angelenos who are food insecure. Our guests are working to build healthier food environments and resilient communities by improving our regional food economy and making good food accessible to all. Host: Jessica Aldridge, Adventures in Waste and co-founder SoCal 350 Clare Fox, Executive Director, Los Angeles Food Policy Council. The Los Angeles Food Policy Council is a collective impact initiative working to build a Good Food system for all Los Angeles residents — where food is healthy, affordable, fair and sustainable. In her role as Executive Director, she supports and collaborates with a large network of public, private, non-profit and community leaders to catalyze policy and systems change for a sustainable and fair food system. Jose Ramirez, Executive Director, Saint Francis Center Los Angeles. For 45 years, St. Francis Center provides hunger relief to homeless and extremely low-income families and individuals in Los Angeles. In his role as Executive Director, he has provided the leadership necessary to help the Center expand its services and continue serving more communities in need. Adventures in Waste on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Adventuresinwaste/ Adventures in Waste on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adventuresinwaste/ Los Angeles Food Policy Council: http://goodfoodla.org/ St. Francis Center: https://www.stfranciscenterla.org/ 'Yasuni Man' The Movie: http://www.yasuniman.com/ Photo: Unsplash//Peter Wendt Episode 13

Clare Fox, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, joins us to talk about how we're a couple of catastrophes away from starving, how race and food are connected, and why the food justice movement is hitting amazing strides. Also, this episode includes a special intro for LURN's end-of-year donor drive. If you want to support our work, please visit: lurnetwork.org/lurn-donate/ Music for this segment, courtesy of: "Samba Isobel" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Today on Eating Matters we will be talking all about the need to shift the current food system model, lessons we can learn from other sectors like energy, transportation and water already engaged in modernizing their systems, and how institutional food procurement is one of the most effective intervention points to do so. Joining us to do so is Paula Daniels. Paula is Co-founder and Chair of the Center for Good Food Purchasing, a social enterprise non-profit founded in July of 2015 as a national spin off from the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, which she founded in 2011. She is a public policy leader in environmental food and water policy, and is currently serving as an appointee of Governor Brown to the California Water Commission.

This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler is on the line with Paula Daniels, the founder of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC), a policy based collective impact initiative of food system leaders working toward an environmentally sustainable, equitable and regionally based food system. Discussing the current drought in California, Paula shares the outlook from the agricultural perspective and details the overall crop production throughout the state and how it affects water consumption. With almond farming taking up nearly ten percent of California’s water resources, for example, Paula suggests aquaculture as an alternate farming practices that could perhaps be an eventual fix to such droughts. Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks and aquatic plants, has potential to not only be economically viable but also to support local food systems. After the break, Kim and Paula talk about the Los Angeles Food Policy Council’s key project, the Good Food Purchasing Policy, which harnesses the purchasing power of major institutions to encourage greater production of sustainably produced food,healthy eating habits, respect for workers’ rights, humane treatment of animals and support for the local business economy by providing new opportunities for small and mid-sized farmers and job creation along the supply chain. Tune in to hear more from Paula and the LAFPC’s many accomplishments. This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “Most of the water in California in the north, most of the demand is in the Central Valley and in the south, in Los Angeles… so we’ve been moving water around the state for nearly a century now.” [5:33] “The issue with the tree crops is that they are permanent so they function in a way that we call hardening the water supply so you can’t fallow tree crops, you have to pull them out… so it’s a big economic loss if you have to do that.” [6:58] —Paula Daniels on Eating Matters

This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler takes on the topic of healthy retail access, opening up the show with her roundtable discussion. Welcoming Cathy Nonas, Denis Stearns, and Paula Daniels, the group discusses timely topics in the food policy realm. Cathy is the Senior Advisor to the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention & Tobacco Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene while Denis is a founding partner of Marler Clark, LLP, PS, a Seattle-based law firm with a national practice devoted to the representation of persons injured by unsafe food and drink. Paula Daniels is the founder of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, a policy based collective impact initiative of food system leaders working toward an environmentally sustainable, equitable and regionally based food system. After the break, Kim speaks with Sabrina Baronberg and Clare Fox to gain their insights on healthy retail access. Sabrina is the Senior Director of the Food and Nutrition Programs at Public Health Solutions, a nonprofit organization that develops, implements and advocates dynamic solutions to prevent disease and improve community health. Likewise, Clare is the Director of Policy and Innovation for the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. Tune in to learn the ins and outs of healthy retail access from a plethora of experts around the country. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. “There’s a lot of value [in urban agriculture] including when people are able to grow their own food they have a different relationship to it, and I think, eat differently” [4:59] —Paula Daniels on Eating Matters “It’s really important when we’re talking about food retail access to think about all the different facets of access. There’s convenience, there’s affordability, there’s attractability, there’s inventory, there’s merchandising, so it’s not just having things available.” [20:07] —Sabrina Baronberg on Eating Matters