ABSTRACT
I would like to begin this chapter by considering a report commissioned by the Fair Food Foundation and carried out by Policy Link and Michigan State University, entitled “Healthy Food For All.” In it the authors rightfully observe that “around the [United States], there are growing movements underway to transform the present food system into one that promotes healthy people, healthy places, and healthy economies” (Treuhaft et al., 2009, p. 5). The specific organizational forms of these so-called movements vary, but usually include some combination of “farmers' markets, urban-based community-supported agriculture (CSA), produce delivery services, ‘good neighbor’ programs where liquor and convenience stores owners are asked to supply fresh fruits and vegetables, garden projects, and environmental and nutritional education programs” (Guthman, 2008a, p. 432). In Oakland, California, the substance of this movement has gained traction within a growing community of urban food producers and advocates who are working in a variety of ways to address food insecurity within the city's most historically under-served communities. Even the most superficial survey of the scene reveals that nearly all of Oakland's diverse enclaves exhibit some form or another of community-based food production, from modest windowsill herb patches to more ambitious roof-top projects to distributed farming networks that make use of the city's numerous vacant or underutilized lots. Further, a constellation of affiliate organizations provides a framework of much needed institutional support.
