Food Systems and Public Health: The Community Perspective

Abstract

This article addresses the intersection of the food system and public health from the community perspective, based on the work of the HOPE Collaborative in Oakland, California. The HOPE Collaborative initiated intensive community outreach and engagement as part of its planning process to address inequitable access to healthy food in Oakland's most vulnerable neighborhoods. This effort involved two levels of community assessment and an inquiry into the potential of addressing both healthy food access and poverty through the construction of local food enterprise networks. Many unanswered questions remain. However, it seems clear in that in order to reduce health disparities in Oakland's most vulnerable neighborhoods, the community must address inequities in both access to healthy food and access to economic opportunity.

Perceptions of Healthful Eating and Influences on the Food Choices of Appalachian Youth

“…20 This multiple-level theoretical approach is particularly appropriate for complex behaviors such as diet, which is shaped by individual factors such as self-efficacy, 21 the social influences of family and friends, 22 features of the physical environment such as access to foods, 23 and policies such as the federal school nutrition and Women, Infants, and Children programs. 24,25 One of the most important features of the ecological model is the attention it draws to the interconnectedness of these multiple levels of influence, including the individual-level perspectives on and reactions to larger social and structural influences.…”

Gearing up to support urban farming in California: Preliminary results of a needs assessment

“…Many are non-profits and/or are located in low-income areas that have historically been impacted by structural inequality 61 . Despite their positioning in underserved communities, staff managing these projects may come from a highly educated, affluent background 19,27 .…”

“…The Cooperative Extension personnel who work most closely with farmers have historically focused most attention on the economic aspects of farming, such as how to use inputs efficiently, and have been less likely to view farming through a social justice lens. Since many of the documented impacts of UA are social, the future work with UA clientele will require a collaborative approach that takes social inequities and injustices into account 17,61 .…”

Toward a Food Policy “First Step” in Oakland, California: A Food Policy Council’s Efforts To Promote Urban Agriculture Zoning

“…After an extensive recruitment and application process, the OFPC seated its first group of members in September 2009, representing stakeholders from each broad sector of the food system: production, distribution, processing, consumption, and waste recycling. Many of the same players who advocated for and participated in the founding of the OFPC were also active in establishing other local food advocacy and food justice organizations, including the HOPE Collaborative, a Food and Fitness Initiative funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation working to improve health and quality of life in Oakland's most vulnerable communities (Herrera, Khanna, & Davis, 2009;HOPE Collaborative, 2009). HOPE and the OFPC have evolved as sister organizations, with the HOPE Collaborative focusing on community engagement and the OFPC translating the priorities of community residents into policy recommendations and advocacy.…”