When you provide people with access to healthy and affordable food, you also begin to address other needs in the community such as high levels of chronic disease or unemployment.
People's Grocery beleives that, while meeting the local need for fresh healthy food, we can also meet other needs in the community such as jobs and education. So we do more than just grow and distribute healthy foods in the West Oakland community. We also provide nutrition education, create jobs, develop local businesses, create green spaces in urban areas and supporte youth to become entrepreneurs and leaders.
In the short term, our residents need healthier foods, stable employment, job training and meaningful educational opportunities. However, our vision is much larger than that.
We are building an independent food system and a local economy grounded in community partnerships and a local knowledge-base. We want to give people the tools to control their own food supply and help our community to become more self-reliant.
Our activities include:
- Educating residents about sustainable agriculture, heath/nutrition, and food justice
- Providing employment, entrepreneurial business training and life skills for youth
- Developing food-related enterprises and small businesses
- Developing methods of low-cost food distribution and marketing
- Supporting local family farms, organic farms and farmers of color
- Strengthening the ability to produce food locally through urban agriculture
