Community Food and Justice Coalition

Community Food and Justice Coalition The Community Food and Justice Coalition promotes the basic human right of access to healthy food.
CFJC was formed in 2003 by community groups and farmers in urban, suburban, and rural California to focus on equity in the Farm Bill process. In 2012, CFJC changed it's name to Community Food and Justice Coalition with a clear commitment to social change and policy reform that address inequities and support a food system that is sustainable for our people, the economy, and land.

Methodology: Through education, movement building, and advocacy, we collaborate with communities and organizations on issues of healthy food access, poverty, land use, climate change, and immigration. Equity and social justice are the basis for how we approach all of our work. We support communities to affect systemic change starting at the local level.

Mission: The Community Food and Justice Coalition promotes the basic human right of access to healthy food. By partnering with individuals and organizations at the local, state, and national level, CFJC works on grassroots initiatives to develop and support a food system that is equitable, healthy, environmentally sustainable, and community-driven.

04/05/2018

The Times They are a’Changing

December Executive Director Letter: "Maybe it will be different this time. Maybe the outcry from women in 2017 will have...
12/14/2017
The Silence of the Men

December Executive Director Letter:
"Maybe it will be different this time. Maybe the outcry from women in 2017 will have marked a turning point in the honesty and maturation of the psyche of a culture exemplified by election of a self-proclaimed bombastic repeated sexual harasser to the office of President of the United States.

Maybe something will change now, unlike when the murder of children at Sandy Hook five years ago which held the national attention but ultimately resulted in no legislation to address the proliferation of gun violence, and killing of innocents.

Maybe it will be different this time. When the Ferguson community rose up in anger and frustration and said enough! More than a year ago, the cameras and focus gave a platform for highlighting the continued killing of black men, women and children while in police custody. In a country with 5% of the world’s population that houses at least 20% of the planet’s incarcerated prisoners, a young black man has a one-in-three chance of ending up in prison. Compared to 1 n 17 for white males.

Maybe now we can continue the discussions and move to change the status quo that witnessed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and where Rep. John Lewis was nearly beat to death and other Freedom Riders attacked, and now the U.S. Justice Department under Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III and individual states move to restrict the voting rights of ethnic populations.

Maybe now...."

http://comfoodjustice.org/2017/12/13/the-silence-of-the-men/

Dear Friends and Colleagues: Maybe it will be different this time. Maybe the outcry from women in 2017 will have marked a turning point in the honesty and maturation of the psyche of a culture exem…

CFJC's November Executive Director Letter:"Because of the nature of computer algorithms and data farming, modern politic...
11/25/2017
High Holiday Season

CFJC's November Executive Director Letter:
"Because of the nature of computer algorithms and data farming, modern politics has become about energizing “the base.” But increasingly the millions outside those metrics will likely determine the future of politics in Alabama, and in communities across the country in 2017, 2018 and beyond."

http://comfoodjustice.org/2017/11/19/high-holiday-season/

Dear Friends and Colleagues: November heralds the beginning of a traditional high holiday season and the beginning of the end of 2017. Here in the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving, that awkw…

"The Republican tax plan foreshadows a new transfer of wealth, and not just with regard to the inheritance tax.If the la...
11/20/2017
High Holiday Season

"The Republican tax plan foreshadows a new transfer of wealth, and not just with regard to the inheritance tax.

If the last move—intergenerational transfer of wealth—resulted in the loss of a vibrant middle class, we are now looking at the next step which will be the loss of the commons.

That is the big picture perspective.

Back to gratitude. While not thrilled with the outcome of the last presidential election, nor with the policy changes emanating from the White House, I am grateful that perhaps never have I seen so clearly the elements in play that support the loss of a commons."

http://comfoodjustice.org/2017/11/19/high-holiday-season/

Dear Friends and Colleagues: November heralds the beginning of a traditional high holiday season and the beginning of the end of 2017. Here in the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving, that awkw…

Read the full Executive Director letter by clicking the link. Dear Friends and Colleagues:"Last November, in Long Beach ...
09/05/2017
What’s in a Name?

Read the full Executive Director letter by clicking the link.
Dear Friends and Colleagues:

"Last November, in Long Beach California, my mother’s children and grandchildren gathered at a neighborhood elementary school to witness a ceremony formally changing the school’s name in her honor. Olivia Nieto Herrera was an amazing woman, but of course, to me she was just, mom.

Her achievements included partnering with Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress, on the Chisholm Trail when the feisty Congresswoman was the first Black woman to run for President of the United States. That was only one among many groundbreaking moments in the life of my mother but I am writing of that elsewhere.

No, this column is about how small the world and our country are, about how local all politics really is, and about how interconnected we all are with one another. Because you see, the newly renamed Olivia Nieto Herrera Elementary School was originally named Robert E. Lee Elementary School.

What is in a name?"

http://comfoodjustice.org/2017/09/04/whats-in-a-name/

Dear Friends and Colleagues: Last November, in Long Beach California, my mother’s children and grandchildren gathered at a neighborhood elementary school to witness a ceremony formally changing the…

"...It came as no surprise that Congressional opposition to Trumpcare decried efforts at repeal and replace of the Affor...
08/07/2017
O Captain! My Captain!

"...It came as no surprise that Congressional opposition to Trumpcare decried efforts at repeal and replace of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) as a thinly disguised tax cut plan for wealthy Americans—roughly the lion’s share of $800 billion. Now that initial efforts have failed, the Farm Bill process is next up with another large pot of money—roughly $800 billion in SNAP benefits—that will likely be in the cross-hairs by a Congressional majority party seemingly desperate to find any way to redistribute more wealth to the 1% whose agents are unrelenting in pursuit of amassing ever more wealth. Led by the current White House resident...."

http://comfoodjustice.org/2017/08/03/o-captain-my-captain/

Dear Friends and Colleagues: When Walt Whitman wrote his poem about the death of President Abraham Lincoln, he captured the sorrow and depth of loss in a nation torn asunder by the clash of culture…

07/24/2017
Your New Normal is Vigilance…

http://comfoodjustice.org/2017/07/09/your-new-normal-is-vigilance/Dear Friends and Colleagues:

I’ve been on something of a hiatus, spending time in the Santa Barbara/Carpinteria/Rincon area writing and attending the Santa Barbara Writers Conference (SBWC). It was an adventure-filled two weeks about which I will write elsewhere. During that time I pretty much ignored the news and didn’t turn on a television set, not once. However, one thing I did do was continue to facilitate the weekly GOAT (Getting Our Act Together) conference call, and it is that about which I want to write this month.

As the result of a side meeting at the CFSC 15th Annual Food Justice Conference in 2011 held in Oakland, California, a group that included members of CFJC, the Rural Coalition, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), Public Health Institute (PHI), and Food First among many others met to organize a new kind of collaboration to work on the 2012 Farm Bill. Since that moment, and now entering our sixth year of weekly conference calls and annual meetings, the GOAT participants have maintained an evolving and safe space where community members, activists, policy wonks, farmers, and D.C. watch dogs can meet to freely express their views, hopes and frustrations with a surprisingly diverse group of participants from across the country. It is a place to discuss and develop food policy that works for people and communities, instead of just for corporate interests.

Dear Friends and Colleagues: I’ve been on something of a hiatus, spending time in the Santa Barbara/Carpinteria/Rincon area writing and attending the Santa Barbara Writers Conference (SBWC). It was…

Unfortunately our friends at Phat Beets Produce had their truck stolen, which supports their youth pickling company. If ...
03/27/2017
Phat Beets Produce

Unfortunately our friends at Phat Beets Produce had their truck stolen, which supports their youth pickling company. If you support jobs for youth, food justice, good food then please donate what you are able today to help ensure that their good work continues.

Beloved Community! Our youth catering/pickle co pickup truck was stolen today from our youth community kitchen loading doc. The truck was full of jam, plant starts, seed potatoes, and tools. Please help us keep our youth jobs program employee 5 young people by helping us raise funds for a new pick-up truck. We need to make our catering and retail deliveries this week for the Phat Beetz Youth Pickle & Catering Co...
https://igg.me/at/Z6z1RK4afps

September 22-24th: MESSAGE TO THE COSMOS KOKOPELLI SPIRIT JOURNEY
09/11/2016

September 22-24th:
MESSAGE TO THE COSMOS
KOKOPELLI SPIRIT JOURNEY

MESSAGE TO THE COSMOS
KOKOPELLI SPIRIT JOURNEY
Blythe Giant Geoglyph Site & Palo Verde College Blythe, CA
Thursday Sept. 22 to Saturday Sept. 24 2016
Presented by Casa de Culturas www.facebook.com/Casa-de-Culturas
www.kokopellispiritjourney.com
Schedule current as of 9/9/16

BLYTHE GIANTS FALL EQUINOX EXPERIENCE
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 6:00am – 10:30am (Sunrise @ 6:27am)

BLYTHE GIANT INTAGLIO SITE
Located off US Highway 95, 15 miles north of Blythe
$19.95 donation in advance via Paypal, $25 day of the event.
Refreshments available. Hiking clothes and hats recommended
Meet 6:00am @ Albertson’s 840 East Hobsonway Blythe, CA 92225. Caravan to Geoglyphs.

Expand your knowledge at one of the most ancient sacred sites on the planet. Welcome the 2016 Fall season at sunrise on a special journey with Indigenous Scholar Alfredo A. Figueroa, author of Ancient Footprints of the Colorado River.

• Observe the first sun of the Fall equinox as it rises between the two peaks at Moon Mountain and other celestial alignments
• Explore mystical sites unlike anything on the planet
• Enjoy an indigenous musical and dance performance

CRADLE OF AZTLAN SACRED SITES EXCURSION
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 7:00am – 11:00am
Limited Seating $23.95 in advance via Paypal $30 day of the event (inquire about group rates) Refreshments available. Picnic lunch, hiking clothes and hats recommended.
Buses Depart @ 7:20am from Albertson’s 840 East Hobsonway Blythe, CA 92225

Travel along the Lower Colorado River with Indigenous Scholar Alfredo A. Figueroa, author of Ancient Footprints of the Colorado River. Experience the wonder and power of sacred spaces from beyond time immemorial on this unique and powerful journey

• Observe the seasonal sun as it shines on the celestial alignments in the Big Maria Mountains

• Explore majestic geoglyphs and other sacred sites on both sides of the river

MESSAGE TO THE COSMOS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 8:00am to 1:00pm

BLYTHE GIANTS SACRED SITES GATHERING
Blythe Giant Intaglios, Located off US Highway 95, 15 miles north of Blythe
$21.95 in advance, $30.00 day of the event, includes admission to all activities, workshops, and Kokopelli Award Ceremony. Refreshments available.
Picnic lunch, folding chair, hiking clothes and hats recommended.
Experience one of the most ancient sacred sites on the planet with Indigenous Scholar Alfredo A. Figueroa, author of Ancient Footprints of the Colorado River and other noted elders.

8:00AM OPENING CEREMONIES
• Blessings from elders representing regional tribes
• Ancient Footprints Trail and Giant Geoglyphs World Heritage Site dedication
• Danza Azteca performance

9:00am-1:00pm UNIVERSAL WISDOM WORKSHOPS
CHEMEHUEVI ELDER MATTHEW LEIVAS Salt Song Stories
AKIMEL O’OTHAM ELDER PETE JACKSON Native American Medicine Culture

4:30pm – 10:30pm SONG TO KOKOPELLI
An Evening of Music, Dance and Celebration of Indigenous Cultural Heritage
PALO VERDE COLLEGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (PAC)
1 College Drive, Blythe CA (6th Ave, west of Defrain)
4:30-6:00pm PAC Plaza
Blessing to Mother Earth
PENELOPE RICHARDS Celebration of the Goddess: Dance performance
MARICELA RODRIQUEZ LOU & KELLY TEZKATLCHALCHIUITL Danza Azteca performance

5:00-6:30pm PAC Lobby
MERILEE HARKINSON Blythe Centennial Commemoration
ALFREDO FIGUEROA Ancient Footprints of the Colorado River Book Signing

6:30pm - 10:30pm
PALO VERDE COLLEGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (PAC)
Video Ancient Footprints of the Colorado River
ALFREDO FIGUEROA La Cuna de Aztlan
DR. ARTURO CUSHMAN Native American Path of Souls
BOOKER FIGUEROA TRIO Musical Performance
AG VASQUEZ Kokopelli Spirit Awards Presentation
CRADLE OF AZTLAN Musical Performance

ACCOMODATIONS AVAILABLE AT BEST WESTERN SAHARA 825 W HOBSONWAY, BLYTHE, CA 92225 760.922.7105 SPECIAL SPIRIT JOURNEY RATE AVAILABLE IF BOOKED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 14.

09/11/2016

Today, the Coalition is led by a 65 year old man, me, who wants to help guide the work into the next decade, and the next Farm Bill, and the new world that is being created around us, with our complacent acceptance. After all, we are the grown ups. It is our job to pay attention, and leave the world a little better than we found it. It is almost criminal that studies show our children will likely not live as long as us. There are many reasons, but surely we have to take responsibility for feeding healthy and nutritious food to every single child. I submit we should achieve that standard before a CEO receives a bonus for anything. Why not?

Which brings us back to food. And climate change. And justice—food justice and climate justice.

CFJC is spending the next six months in a vision and planning process to address these questions, in the context of our changing economy and world.

We have a theory of change, curricula and mentoring programs, an internship program and organizing model, and other methodologies and strategies that could be of benefit to other nonprofit organizations, and that were developed over the course of ten years of working in communities in California and other states, by the wonderful and talented staff and Coalition members from Heather and Shireen to Hai and Christina, Jessy, Erin, Lotta and Courtney, and truly amazing interns from all across the country and Canada. Surely, our communities should not have to re-invent programs every generation. Surely, what all of us have learned through sweat equity and experience must be passed down or passed along. That is the presenting and framing question that drives our exploration and planning approach.

Please contact me at [email protected] if you want to be part of the planning process. Using the technologies that allowed CFJC staff and members to convene weekly meetings remotely, we will have regular video meetings as we conduct our process.

Yes, it is pretty wonderful to be alive in an era when you can recover from heart failure. I plan to make the most of it, and many many thanks to all of you who have lent your support, well wishes and prayers. I feel blessed.

http://comfoodjustice.org/2016/08/31/birthday-greetings/

This Thursday in Oakland, CA the My Brother's Keeper Alliance is holding "Invest in Youth: Pathways to Success Boys and ...
07/18/2016
Bay Area - MBK Alliance

This Thursday in Oakland, CA the My Brother's Keeper Alliance is holding "Invest in Youth: Pathways to Success Boys and Men of Color Career Summit." Click the link for more information.
#Path2Success
MBKALLIANCE.ORG/BAYAREA

The "Invest in Youth: Pathways to Success Boys and Men of Color Career Summit" will convene boys and men of color between the ages of 18 to 29, providing opportunities to interview with employers, connect to community resources, and participate in career preparation and leadership development traini...

New Executive Director Letter:"Yes, it is great to be back, especially when it is so very important for each of us to st...
07/06/2016
Gee whiz, it’s great to be back!

New Executive Director Letter:
"Yes, it is great to be back, especially when it is so very important for each of us to stand up for the values and public policy we want to see promoted in a volatile political climate. If we don’t, it is more than likely the media will select a few high profile issues on which to focus. That’s my analysis and observation for what each of us has to do, on a personal level. Stand and be counted. Speak out."
- Y. Armando Nieto

http://comfoodjustice.org/2016/07/06/gee-whiz-its-great-to-be-back/

Dear Friends and Colleagues: As most of you know, for the past year I have been on medical leave for congestive heart failure. Happily, because of advances in health care this diagnosis is somethin…

06/22/2016
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice

Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice

Saturday, June 25th, 2016 – No Coal in Oakland! Rally at 1pm, City Hall.

Monday, June 27th, 5 p.m – Special City Council Meeting, First Vote on Local Coal Ordinance – speak out for a complete ban! Check out the flier:http://greenaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Flyer160625Events2.pdf

Greenaction calls on Oakland City Council to ban the storage of coal, highlighting local pollution and global climate change impacts. Read more:http://greenaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Greenaction-for-Health-and-Environmental-Justice-letter-to-Oakland-City-Council-June-13-2016.pdf

Read letter from Greenaction & Utah groups to Utah Community Investment Board opposing plans to ship Utah coal to Oakland, CA for export. Read more:http://greenaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Utah-groups-letter-to-CIB-on-coal-export-plan.pdf

Address

398 60th St
Oakland, CA
94618

General information

CFJC believes it's time for transformation and systemic change because our food system and its policies are killing people and our planet. To make the change we need, we must build people power. CFJC connects the dots on issues of poverty, food, health, the economy, public policy, climate change and social justice in effort to support a growing movement.

Opening Hours

Monday 07:00 - 22:00
Tuesday 07:00 - 22:00
Wednesday 07:00 - 22:00
Thursday 07:00 - 22:00
Friday 07:00 - 22:00
Saturday 07:00 - 21:00
Sunday 07:00 - 21:00

Telephone

(510) 547-1567

Website

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Join us TONIGHT at the Oakes Learning Center to discuss Food, Food Sovereignty, and Waste for the Blueprint For A Sustainable Campus. We want to hear from you about what you want to see on this campus! When: TONIGHT 1/30/19 Time: 5:30-7:30 pm Where: Oakes Learning Center Why: BECAUSE WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!!
Secret that USDA does feed people
UMass Stockbridge instructor, Catherine Sands, will be offering a new ONLINE class this summer, Food Justice and Policy. For more information, see: https://sustfoodfarm.org/online-classes/food-justice/ This course examines the role of policy in determining WHAT we eat, WHO experiences barriers to access to safe, healthy, local, fairly produced foods, and HOW we create equity and sustainability in our local food system. We will start by looking at the basic components of our food system: production, distribution, and consumption. We will then examine systemic structures of race, class, citizenship and ability as they relate to access to healthy local food. The course-work concludes with an in-depth look at food sovereignty, the right of communities to choose how their food is produced and what they consume, the impact of agribusiness and the concentration of resources into the hands of a few corporations, and the dramatic effect U.S. food policies have on the rest of the world. Students will have the opportunity to do research and analysis about successful food justice initiatives and the Farm Bill. NOTE: Although STOCKSCH 265 (Sustainable Agriculture) is listed as a requirement, this is not the case for the online class. Please contact the instructor to override this pre-requisite and register! Instructor: Catherine H. Sands MPPA Email: [email protected]
Washington State- 𝘼 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 (𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚): We are residents and organic farmers who live in an area near Davenport, Washington called Mill Canyon. We feel threatened by proposals to spread municipal sewage sludge on nearly 900 acres of nearby agricultural land uphill from where we live, garden and farm. The area in question includes our natural watershed. We are alarmed because the Washington State Department of Ecology will likely approve the permit within days, despite our objections. We are organizing to prevent the permit application to dump the sludge from being approved and we are preparing to mount an expensive appeal if the permit is approved. Not only that, 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗮 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗮𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲-𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲. There needs to be a thorough review of all the known pollutant contaminants in sewage sludge. There are problems with how Ecology administers its sewage sludge program. Sewage sludge should be classified as toxic waste so that disposing of it on agricultural land would be illegal. 𝗪𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗻-𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺. It will automatically send email messages to the Governor and the Ecology Department Director. Go here to sign: http://tinyurl.com/no-sludge-on-ag We need your help to increase the number of folks signing the petition. Here are ways you can help: 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! Share this post.; Have your local natural foods store or co-op send information about the moratorium demand to their customers; Print the posters below and put them up on community bulletin boards; Write a letter to the editor of your local paper; Call your state legislator and let them know you support the moratorium and the folks in Mill Canyon who want the permit denied. You can also email the officials directly: "Governor Inslee" , "Ecology Director Bellon" Half-sheet, smaller poster (two per letter-sized sheet, landscape orientation):http://www.protectmillcanyon.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/poster1.pdf Letter sized poster (portrait orientation):http://www.protectmillcanyon.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/poster1-lg.pdf
Hope to see some of you at CODEPINK's Peace Camp Retreat this August in Sonoma County! Contact us if members of your group would like to attend or lead a workshop! Visit http://www.codepink.org/peacecamp2017 to register or get more info.