LAFPC Quarterly Newsletter February 2013 CONTENTS UPCOMING EVENTS: • Thurs, 2/28/13 – Policy Con Pan Dulce: Making Good Food Legal • Fri, 3/1/13

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LAFPC Quarterly Newsletter

February 2013

CONTENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Thurs, 2/28/13 – Policy Con Pan Dulce: Making Good Food Legal
• Fri, 3/1/13 – USC Panel Discussion: "Just Food and Fair Food"
• Tues, 3/19/13 – Healthy Neighborhood Market Network -- Storeowner Training
• Thurs, 4/25/13 – Neighborhood Market Training

NEWS:

• New LAFPC website to debut in February
• Food Day victories for Los Angeles!
• LAFPC launches Good Food Purchasing Pledge Program
• Member in the News: L.A. Regional Food Bank & LAFPC Member Michael Flood

INTERVIEW:

• Rudy Espinoza, President of LURN and new LAFPC Member

RECIPE:

• Cabbage Contest winner: Cabbage, Kale and Carrot Salad

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Policy Con Pan Dulce: Making Good Food Legal
Thursday, February 28th, 2013

The East LA Community Corporation will be hosting "Policy Con Pan Dulce," a panel discussion on the ongoing campaign to Legalize Street Vending. Los Angeles is one of the ten largest cities in the U.S. without a form of legalized street vending.

Panelists will be: Gregg W. Kettles, Office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Emir Estrada, Sociology Department, University of Southern California; Lorena Muñoz, Geography Department, University of Minnesota; Rudy Espinoza, Community Financial Resource Center; Maria Cabildo, East LA Community Corporation; Janet Favela, East LA Community Corporation; Martha Garcia, Street Vendor and member of the East LA Community Corporation. Facilitated by: Rigoberto Rodríguez, Ph.D., M.U.R.P., Associate Professor, Latina/o Public Policy, Department of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, California State University, Long Beach.

The panel will take place Thursday, February 28th, 2013 from 8:00am - 10:30am at the Boyle Heights Technology Youth Center, 1600 E. 4th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033. To RSVP, please email rcoto@elacc.org.


USC Panel Discussion:
"Just Food and Fair Food"
Friday, March 1, 2013

Scholars, policy analysts, activists and food providers will examine questions of just and fair food—the availability of fresh, equitably produced, affordable food for all—on a national, regional and local level. A fair-food bazaar will include lunch and conversation with panelists and local fair/just food practitioners.

Paula Daniels, senior advisor to the mayor of Los Angeles on sustainable food and water policy and chair of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, will moderate a conversation with Oran Hesterman, author of Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for All; Robert Gottlieb, co-author of Food Justice and director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College; Luz Calvo, professor of ethnic studies at California State University, East Bay, and founder of Luz’s Decolonial Cooking Club; LaVonna Lewis, a USC public policy professor who teaches on food policy; and Sarah Portnoy, who teaches a course in the Spanish department at USC on culinary culture in Hispanic Los Angeles.

Event Details:
Friday, March 1, 2013, from 11:00am - 1:00pm
USC University Park Campus, Doheny Memorial Library (DML), Rooms 240 and 241
Admission is free. Lunch will be provided.
Click here for more event info.


Healthy Neigh Mkt Network Logo

Healthy Neighborhood Market Network – Store Owner Trainings
Tues, March 19, 2013 & Thurs, April 25, 2013

The Los Angeles Food Policy Council presents two more Healthy Neighborhood Market Network trainings this spring! The first training will be on on Tuesday, March 19 at the Expo Center in South Los Angeles and the second will be on April 25th in Boyle Heights. These trainings are designed to empower independent store owners and their staff to successfully introduce healthy food items at their stores. To better serve the diversity of neighborhood market owners in Los Angeles, the Healthy Neighborhood Market Network is providing Korean and Spanish language programming and translation services at the trainings. Please see below for more details.

"Healthy Foods, Healthy Businesses" —
Healthy Neighborhood Market Network Training
Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Divided into two distinct components, this training aims to:

Education: Part I is an hour-long speaker session conducted completely in Korean, with English translation provided. Speakers will contextualize storeowners' political, economic and social roles in their communities and respective industries, in order to encourage best business practices.
Skill Building: Part II offers hour-long food retail skills building workshops, conducted in English, with Spanish and Korean translation available. Storeowners meet with industry experts, and draft a personalized action plan for enhancing store design, produce inventory or healthy food profits.

Participants can apply the knowledge and skills they learn at this training to convenience store, liquor store and small market operations. A networking lunch will be provided between Part I and II for registered participants.

Event Information:
Location: Expo Center. 3980 Bill Robertson Lane. Los Angeles, CA 90037
Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Cost: Free for storeowners and nonprofits, $10 for general public
Register Online:
Register By Phone: 213-978-1568
Questions: Email healthyneighborhoodmarkets@gmail.com

This event is sponsored by the Healthy Neighborhood Market Network of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Community Financial Resource Center, and Community Coalition with support from Citi Community Development.

Neighborhood Market Training En Español
Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Neighborhood Market Training is designed to provide independent store owners and staff with the skills necessary to become a healthy food enterprise. This program will be in Spanish with English translation available. Participants will have the opportunity to build their skills with industry experts and special trainings. Topics will include: increasing your sales, improving your market, attracting more customers, growing your business, and being a healthy food champion in your community. This training is free of charge and complimentary lunch will be provided.

Event Information:
Date & Time: Thursday, April 25, 2013 from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.
Location: 202 North Saratoga Street, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website:
RSVP to LA CAUSA: (323) 887-2500 or greentheeastside@gmail.com

This event is sponsored by the Healthy Neighborhood Market Network (HNMN) of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Los Angeles Communities Advocating for Unity, Social Justice and Action (LA CAUSA), Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI), and Community Financial Resource Center (CFRC) With support from the California Endowment.


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NEWS


LAFPC to Debut Redesigned Website

We are excited to announce that LAFPC will be debuting a redesigned website in March. With an ever-expanding network that includes hundreds of LAFPC network participants and dozens of partner organizations, the new website was designed with our evolving organization in mind. Some features will include greater flexibility for posting food news, articles and event information, sections to dedicated to each Working Group, and a greater emphasis on making important information readily-accessible. Please visit www.goodfoodla.org in March to check out the new design!


Fall Food Policy Victories for Los Angeles!

The end of 2012 brought a number of exciting food policy victories for Los Angeles. On October 24, 2012, about one hundred Good Food advocates gathered at Los Angeles City Hall in honor of Food Day, and to show support for a ground-breaking food policy initiative of the LA Food Policy Council: the Good Food Purchasing Pledge and Guidelines. It became a day of celebration as the Mayor signed an executive order and the City Council passed a motion, making the City of Los Angeles the first to adopt the most holistically comprehensive food purchasing policy in the country.

There were several City Council actions related to food policy that day: (1) the passage of a Food Day Resolution that declared support for LAFPC's policy priorities; (2) the motion to adopt LAFPC's Good Food Purchasing Pledge; (3) a resolution spearheaded by Councilmember Paul Koretz's office in support of Proposition 37 (labeling genetically modified ingredients); and (4) the introduction of a resolution by Councilmember Jan Perry to establish Meatless Mondays in Los Angeles.

LAFPC's supporters were very pleased that the motion to adopt the Good Food Purchasing Pledge was passed by the City Council with a unanimous vote. L.A. City departments that purchase food will be required to obtain at least 15% of its food from sources that are local, sustainable, humane, fair and healthy. (On a related note, L.A. Unified School District followed suit a few weeks later and adopted the Good Food Pledge as well.)

It was an exciting and satisfying day that represented the culmination of longstanding efforts by the Los Angeles Food Policy Council members, staff, and partner organizations, and especially the Good Food Procurement Working Group. While the City Council’s actions concluded the official Food Day festivities, they mark only the beginning of the City’s advancement toward policies which ensure that healthy affordable, fair, and sustainable food is available to all. Many thanks to those who contributed to everything that made the day special!


Good Food Pledge Logo 1

LAFPC Launches Good Food Purchasing Pledge Program — L.A. City and LAUSD are First to Take the Pledge

The Los Angeles Food Policy Council proudly launched is new Good Food Purchasing Pledge program in October 2012. The Good Food Purchasing Pledge is a commitment from food service institutions to improving our region’s food system through the adoption and implementation of the Good Food Purchasing Guidelines. The Good Food Purchasing Pledge 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.

Scaled similarly to LEED green building certification, the Good Food Purchasing Guidelines emphasize five key values: (1) Local Economies, (2) Environmental Sustainability, (3) Valued Workforce, (4) Animal Welfare, and (5) Nutrition. Participating institutions must meet the purchasing criteria described in the “Good Food Purchasing Guidelines” document. A tiered, points-based scoring system allows participants to choose which level of commitment best suits the Good Food goals of their organization. Participants are then awarded one to five stars based on their total score.

To develop the guidelines, we thoroughly examined best practices nationally and vetted the document with nearly 100 experts in various fields. The guidelines were developed by taking into account the viewpoints of stakeholders from all aspects of the food system including farm owners, food distributors, public health departments, labor organizations, restaurants and other large institutional food purchasers, to name a few.

Our goal is to assist at least five major institutions in adopting and implementing Good Food purchasing practices by June 2013. Identified institutions serve a combined one million plus meals daily. On October 24, 2012, the City of Los Angeles became the first institution in the country to sign the Good Food Purchasing Pledge. Weeks later, the Los Angeles Unified School District—which serves 650,000 meals each day and is the second largest food purchaser in California—became the second institution to sign on. Together, the changes made by both of these landmark institutions will help bolster the market for Good Food in the Los Angeles region.

The Good Food Purchasing Pledge guidelines can be easily adapted in other cities and states. In fact, we are already getting national interest in our program. To assist interested cities, we have created a template that other cities can adopt – and apparently they already want to.

From farm to table, we can change how we eat and change what we buy. We can vote with our food dollars, for a Good Food system, where all residents have access to the bounty of our foodshed. And L.A. can lead the way.


Member in the News: L.A. Regional Food Bank and LAFPC Member Michael Flood

Congratulations to the L.A. Regional Food Bank! Headed by LAFPC member Michael Flood, the food bank is celebrating its 40th anniversary this month. To mark the occasion, on February 20th, the L.A. City Council passed a proclamation honoring the food bank and to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in Los Angeles. The L.A. Regional Food Bank currently distributes an impressive 200,000 pounds of food daily and serves 1 million people per year. To read more, check out the articles on the L.A. Times website and KFWB 980.


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INTERVIEW

Rudy Espinoza photo

Rudy Espinoza: Senior Program Officer at Community Financial Resource Center (CFRC)

Rudy Espinoza has played an integral role in the Los Angeles Food Policy Council since its founding, first as the chair of the Street Food Working Group, and more recently as the newest member of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. Rudy works closely with local street food entrepreneurs and connects them to financial resources and computer training. He received his master’s degree in Urban Planning at UCLA.

What food issue are you most passionate about? What obstacles prohibit positive change in this issue?
I'm really passionate about supporting food entrepreneurs. This includes street vendors and community market owners. They work really hard in a business that often has very low profit margins. What's more, they are working in communities that have little other options for food. Unless we help connect them to each other and to resources (capital and education), it'll be difficult to change the food landscape in low-income neighborhoods. We know that it’s a tough sell to get big companies to open new stores there.

We're big fans of your Twitter activity and blog posts, what other forms of social media do you utilize? What is the power of social media as a community tool?
I love social media and technology in general. I like to try anything new and I only keep using it if I find it useful and/or enjoyable. In addition to Twitter and Facebook, I’ve been extremely active on Instagram lately (pictures say much more than words!), I’ve been a steady user of FourSquare since it started, and I'm using Tumblr for a photo-documentary I’m doing on street vendors. This year I started a new blog via Wordpress. I also try to organize all of this on my personal Flavors.me page. I've dabbled in Pinterest a little bit, but it hasn't stuck yet. I tell my small business clients that social media is the most powerful tool we have to reach people, and the best part about it is that it's free. Try it. Be authentic. Have fun. And the easiest way to manage all of this? Do it on your phone. Most of my posts and updates are done when I'm waiting in line somewhere or even taking a walk.

As an Angeleno, describe your vision for sustainable economic development in Los Angeles.
My vision for LA is one in which everyone can be their best selves. The City should be a place that uplifts everyone's ambitions and offers resources to help achieve them. If you want to be a farmer for example, the City (and that includes the people that live here) should help that person be the best farmer they can be. I think that's sustainable because it's driven by our individual passions and supported by a community who has a vested interest in seeing you succeed. (because good farmers equals good food for everyone!)

What voice will you bring to the table as the newest Los Angeles Food Policy Council member?
I hope I can do a good job of representing the voice of folks who are not at the table. Specifically, low-income food entrepreneurs and the people that rely on them to eat.

What's a recent local find that you're excited to share with us?
My newest lunch spot is "Tacos Los Carnales" on the northeast corner of Figueroa and Vernon in the Ross parking lot. On top of having awesome, affordable food, I've noticed that the owners of the truck have done an excellent job branding. They have a nice logo on their hats and shirts, and during cold days, they have cool puffy vests with their logo on them. I'm battling to take over the "mayorship" on Foursquare with a colleague from another organization. :)

Interview by LAFPC intern Anisha Hirogani


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RECIPE

Cabbage, Kale and Carrot Salad
By Jennifer Mandel

Last March, LAFPC held a city-wide event called Good Food Day LA, where over 3,000 people joined us for a day of community service, education and celebration. The Good Food Day cooking contest, titled “Cabbage! From Kim Chee to Coleslaw,” had more than 30 delectable entries using locally sourced cabbage, which were judged by the L.A. Master Food Preservers, Pulitzer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold, Councilmember Eric Garcetti, Chef Josiah Citrin of Melisse, Chef Eric Oberholtzer of Tender Greens, James Birch of Flora Bella Farms, and Phil McGrath of McGrath Family Farms. The following recipe, created by Jennifer Mandel, was the first-place winner in the "Fresh Cabbage" category. Enjoy!

CABBAGE, CARROT AND KALE SALAD, by Jennifer Mandel

Salad Ingredients:
• 1/2 bunch lacinato kale, kneaded and sliced into ribbons
• 1/4 head small purple cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/4 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• a handful of dried cranberries
• a handful of sliced almonds, toasted
• orange or tangerine segments, cut into pieces (optional)
• crumbled feta cheese (optional)

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup walnut oil
• 1/4 cup orange muscat champagne vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, pressed through garlic press
• Optional: salt

Combine the kale, cabbages, carrots, scallions, cranberries, and almonds in a large bowl. Prepare the dressing by mixing together the oil and vinegar in a jar or bowl until emulsified. Then add pressed garlic and thoroughly combine. Dressing can be added right before serving, or for a more intense flavor, a couple hours ahead of time. If using orange segments, add just before serving.


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