The Unaddressed Crisis in Agriculture
February 14, 2023 Roots of ChangeNeither the media nor policymakers are sufficiently focused on an existential crisis in American agriculture. Farmers and ranchers are an endangered species. As we do for wolves, salmon and whales, we need policies and programs to ensure farmers and ranchers do not die out. With a new Farm Bill on the horizon we must demand […]
Read MoreROC Celebrates 20 Years of Growing the Good Food Movement & Making Change, 2002-2022
December 21, 2022 Roots of ChangeThe final Pulse and Flipping the Table podcast of 2022 look back on what the ROC team has learned about movement building to make change. Twenty years is a long time for a nonprofit to exist. That is how long it’s been since the Roots of Change (ROC) Council was formed, which was the group […]
Read MorePlease Think of Us in This Season of Giving
November 16, 2022 Roots of ChangeI recently reviewed my Facebook posts from the beginning of the Trump era in late 2016. I was struck by two things. First, the movement to create a just, healthy and resilient food system had momentum. We had begun to win important investments from government because advocates were working together as never before to educate […]
Read MoreOn Bias and Rationality
November 13, 2022 Roots of ChangeGuest blog by Maureen McGuire, CEO, Farm Bureau of Ventura County. Published with permission. Instead of the typical motivational poster, I have an infographic of 188 cognitive biases hanging on my office wall. At times, this is more accurately a demotivational poster. Sometimes, during a Zoom call, I can see the biases figuratively unfolding before […]
Read MoreSuccess All Around in California’s Budget and Promising Developments in DC
October 11, 2022 Roots of ChangeExtreme drought, heat, fire, superstorms and malnutrition abound. Luckily governments at all levels are slowly building up steam to address these threats born of climate change, racism and poverty. I am especially pleased by the progress made this year with our allies from the Food and Farm Resilience Coalition. We successfully advocated for over $700 […]
Read MoreGovernor Newsom Again Fails to Support the Health Equity & Racial Justice Fund
June 30, 2022 Roots of ChangeFor a second consecutive year, Governor Newsom has declined to invest in a Health Equity and Racial Justice Fund to support transformative community-driven change to reduce health inequities and advance racial justice. Despite strong backing from the Legislature, whose members understand the power of direct investment in community-based organizations (CBOs), our request was denied. The […]
Read MoreCalifornia Meat Processing Progress: Time for Change!
September 15, 2021 Roots of ChangeIn another key accomplishment this year, ROC worked with UC Davis Food Systems Lab and a coalition of stakeholders, co-led by our ally CCOF, to produce this white paper related to the challenges and opportunities in the small- and mid-scale supply chain for high quality, healthy meat and poultry. Our report is out and having […]
Read MoreWe are transforming the food system: $1.3 billion in the CA budget!
Roots of ChangeIt takes a movement to transform the food system and ours leaped forward this year. ROC and our AB 125 coalition partners worked closely with Assembly Ag Committee Chair, Robert Rivas (Salinas) to drive home a historic budget request. The list of programs that will be funded by the $1.3 billion in the 2021-22 budget […]
Read MoreProgress, Never Perfection: Preliminary Results from Our California Budget Work
July 2, 2021 Roots of ChangeWow, our fingers are crossed for even more good news. There are a huge number of unknowns still related to our sustainable agriculture requests. There is more clarity around healthy food access. Our hope for $100 million annually for grants to community-level projects via a Healthy Equity and Racial Justice Fund got zeroed out for […]
Read MoreLet’s Feed LA: emergency food relief reveals the power of collaboration
March 20, 2021 Michael R. DimockAt about the time the pandemic hit in March 2020, ROC had entered a partnership with Wholesome Wave to aid them in bringing a new nutrition incentive technology to under-resourced families in Los Angeles and Sacramento counties. But with a request from the Los Angeles County Emergency Food Security Branch, ROC and Wholesome Wave had […]
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