Building Local Agri-Food Systems

In the United States, the livelihood struggles of low-income,
African-American, Native-American, Latino-American, Asian-American and
immigrant communities are at the center of our programs for food
justice and agricultural sustainability. Low-income people of color are
mobilizing locally, forming national coalitions, drafting legislation,
and reaching out internationally in their efforts to build healthy,
equitable, food systems that contribute to the social and economic
development of their communities. The main challenge to obtaining
healthy affordable food in low-income communities is overcoming the
“industrial agri-foods divide” that separates sustainable producers
from low-income consumers.

Food First’s “added value” in this effort resides in our ability to
produce information, analysis and learning materials that help people
improve and control their own food systems. Our research informs and
documents these experiences, contributing directly to the national and
global debates on food and development. In Oakland, California, we are
incubating the Oakland Food Policy Council in cooperation with local
food activists. The Council will be fully seated in 2009. Nationally,
Food First is participating in efforts to build a national coalition of
urban communities of color for food security. And we serve on the
steering committee of The U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis, a
group of 60 activist, church, social service and labor organizations
working on a campaign to address rising poverty and hunger in the U.S.