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Welcome to the newest issue of The Root of the Matter. Through our monthly electronic communication, Collective Roots will keep you informed about recent successes, new initiatives, upcoming events, and ways you can get involved with our work for food system change in East Palo Alto.
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| SUPPORT COLLECTIVE ROOTS |
 Your Donations Support our Excellence and Our Survival
Recently, Dr. Emmett Carson, CEO and President of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, assessed the current situation being faced by nonprofits in the Bay Area and described the situation as an "armageddon". The United Way reports that as many as one third of Bay Area nonprofits are at risk of going out of business this year.
Despite the exceptional progress that Collective Roots has made during the last year, we are not immune to the forces that are impacting everyone during these challenging economic times. With unemployment now exceeding 23% in East Palo Alto, Collective Roots has stepped up to support the community safety net with programs like "Fresh Checks." The demand for our services is increasing, costs are rising, and funding is more competitive than ever before. To put it simply, we need your support. After reading this newsletter that highlights much of our impactful work, please consider making a donation today. You can make a secure online donation here. To contribute by mail, or for more information on matching gifts or in-kind donations, click here. If you have additional questions, please call us at 650-324-2769.
Donate to the Backyard Gardener Network
Our feature story this month is about Reverend Bob Hartley of the Backyard Gardener Network. Rev. Hartley and his wife Clara recently began growing vegetables behind their home, and are now selling their collard greens at the EPA Community Farmer's Market every Saturday. But they have bigger goals in mind: to steer the young people of the community away from violence, using gardening as a vehicle for change—that is, using "greens" as a "means."
Click here to read the full story, by volunteer citizen journalist Emily Gong, with additional reporting and photographs by Anne-Marie McReynolds. If you are inspired by Reverend Hartley's story, we invite you to support the members of the Backyard Gardener Network by making a general donation to Collective Roots. Please be sure to select "Backyard Gardener Network" as the Program Designation on the donation page.
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| FARMERS' MARKET |
 Can You Believe What A $5 Fresh Check Can Buy?
 EPA Fresh Checks are $5 gift certificates distributed to shoppers to spend at the EPA Farmers' Market. The checks have a positive impact on both buyers and sellers--by making produce more affordable, they get more shoppers spending money at the Market. Over $8000 in Fresh Checks has been redeemed at the Market since the program began last June.
Market customers have to meet the following criteria to be eligible for Fresh Checks: 1) being age 60 or over, 2) receiving WIC benefits, or 3) spending at least $5 in EBT/food stamps. Throughout the community, individuals can receive Fresh Checks without meeting any of those three requirements by visiting any of our community partners (see the list here.) These agencies are helping to make the folks of East Palo Alto healthy, happy and full of fresh fruits and vegetables. Click the photo below to see more of the produce that can be bought with just one $5 Fresh Check.
One EPA Membership BBQ
Saturday, September 26th was a big day at 2415 University Avenue. The space was hopping with multiple events: our market, the EPA Police gun buyback, One EPA's Membership BBQ and the Community Development Institute's Planning Fair. It was absolutely splendid to see so many organizations and residents mingling, celebrating and collaborating on that late summer afternoon.
The Market was pleased to provide EPA Fresh Checks to One EPA members, and to participants in the planning fair. In the future, you better believe that we'll be signing up to reward community members for surrendering guns to the East Palo Alto Police Department, because a safe community is also a healthy one!
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| Market Hours: |
Every Saturday, 2-5 PM |
| Location: |
East Palo Alto City Hall & Library, 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA 94303 |
| Information: |
http://www.epafarmersmarket.org
Click here to read market updates online and to subscribe to weekly market updates by email (sent every Thursday.) NOTE: We will never share your personal information with outside parties. |
Remember! |
EBT/food stamps, WIC and Senior FMNP checks always accepted.
If eligible, we'll give you $5 in EPA Fresh checks to spend at the Market, click here. |
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| GARDEN WORKDAYS / OTHER EVENTS |
Next Garden Workday: October 24th
The Next Work Day will be Saturday, October 24th, from 8AM – noon. Stanford students from Kappa Sigma fraternity will join us (again!) for fall garden tasks, as well as volunteers from Volunteer Match, and students, parents and community members. Participants will weed, clear beds, fertilize citrus trees, mulch, turn compost and clear the greenhouse to make way for all the new seedlings. This event is also providing a local site for the 350 International Climate Day of Action – a global event! Hope to see you there! Please note: the workday will be cancelled in the case of rain. Click here to RSVP and for directions to the garden.
At last month's workday we had nearly 70 volunteers in the garden! We were pleased to have the support of EPACS parents and students, youth from the Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition, returning Intuit volunteers, community members, and Volunteer Match. A big thank you to all the volunteers for clearing debris, weeding the green dome, vegetable beds and the flower garden, putting down hundredsof pounds of mulch, and for clearing the entire tomato field!
Fresh: Film Screening at San Mateo Public Library November 2nd
Fresh is a new documentary that celebrates the farmers, thinkers and businesspeople who are re-inventing the American food system. On November 2nd, you are invited to watch the film and join a conversation with local experts in agriculture, sustainability and food activism. Scheduled and invited panelists include: Gail Raabe (San Mateo County Agricultural Commissioner), Jered Lawson (Co-Director of Pie Ranch), and Janae Peats (EPA.net youth advocate.) Visit http://www.collectiveroots.org/fresh to see the trailer and get more info. This event is co-sponsored by Collective Roots, San Mateo Library, and Conexions.
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| PROGRAMS |
Garden-Based Learning
Can you name the six parts of a plant? You can bet that the students in our garden-based learning program can! They even know what each of those parts taste like, after eating them in a salad! Other highlights of recent garden classes include: studying human (and owl) digestion, making pesto from the garden, discovering the benefits of eating a rainbow of foods, and starting seedlings in the greenhouse. Click here to read the complete update about our Garden-Based Learning Program for elementary, middle and high school students.
Integrated Programs
Collective Roots Starts A Health Career Pipeline for EPA Youth
As part of the Immigrant Integration Health Advocacy Project, Collective Roots is excited to establish a new pipeline that will give East Palo Alto youth (high school and college-aged) the opportunity to shadow a health professional in their field of interest. In upcoming weeks, Collective Roots staffers (and future health professionals) Mayra Betancourt and Aaminah Kahn look forward to shadowing Dr. Elizabeth Baca, a pediatrician at Stanford's Lucille Packard Hospital. We hope to establish an ongoing relationship with Dr. Baca and other health professionals so that future students and interns may take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
Healthy Development Measurement Tool
Mayra Betancourt and her team continue to make great progress with the implementation of the Healthy Development Measurement Tool in East Palo Alto. Mayra has reached out to leaders in the field of public health and health advocacy to assure that the project builds upon the wisdom and knowledge of important leaders in the field. We are pleased to announce our growing list of distinguished advisors for the HDMT project:
- Rajiv Bhatia, MD, MPH
Director, Occupational & Environmental Health,
San Francisco Department of Public Health
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCSF
- Bernard Griego, MPH
Lecturer and Associate Director, Center for Public Health Practice
UC Berkeley School of Public Health
- Sara T. Mayer, MPP
Director of Health Policy and Planning
San Mateo County Health Department
- Robert Garcia, JD
Executive Director, Counsel and Founder
The City Project
- Judith Ned, PhD
Executive Director
Stanford University Medical Youth Science Program
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| STAFF NEWS |
Seeking Six Passionate Part-Timers To Promote Food System Change!
 Collective Roots is currently hiring for six quarter-time paid positions available through Americorps. The application process begins with the Health Trust. If you have some free time in your schedule, and you are interested in promoting our goal bring fresh fruits, vegetables and education to residents of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, please visit our website to read the job descriptions. We urge you to apply today!
Welcome Liz Snyder
We are thrilled to welcome the first of two new staff members this month: Liz Snyder, our new Donor Development Manager. Liz comes to us from her former job as Interim Executive Director of Full Circle Farm, a sustainable, educational farm in Sunnyvale. Liz received her M.Sc. from Oxford University in 2003, where she examined the relationship between community food systems, exposure to food marketing messages, and childhood nutritional status. As a Research Associate in UCSF's Department of Social Medicine, Liz managed a team of medical practitioners and research personnel on a major NIH-funded project. She and her family live in Mountain View.
Garden Education Staff Change
We are also very excited to welcome a new member of our staff, Anne Evans. Anne will replace Katie Gadsby as the Nutrition and Garden Education Coordinator, since Katie is expecting her first baby. Anne has an M.S. in Nutrition and is a Registered Dietitian. She recently moved to California by way of New York where she spent the last two years working as the head nutritionist for an HIV/AIDS Adult Day Treatment Program. Click here to read more about Anne's background and work experience. Welcome, Anne, and thank you so much, Katie, for the excellent work you did for us!
 Winifred Olliff is currently working as an organizational development intern with Collective roots to deepen administrative capacity and promote technology-savvy organizational development. In addition to her position at Collective Roots, Winifred is working to promote the "Third Goal," of Peace Corps service by sharing her experiences in Albania with her new community and is working with Community Technology Network as a Volunteer Management Consultant. She is dedicated to Collective Roots' mission of promoting social justice through food systems change is pleased to be working with such a dynamic and innovative organization. Read more about this talented intern by clicking here.
Local Scout Lends A Helping Hand
Collective Roots is grateful to the work of aspiring Eagle Scout and Palo Alto High School senior, Ben Sklaroff. Ben has collaborated with friends, family and community members to design, build and fund a shelving system for the tool and cooking sheds at the EPACS Garden as a part of his final Eagle Scout project. The new organizational system will make the sheds safer, easier to access, and much more efficient. A big thank you to Ben!
Seeking Citizen Journalists
Collective Roots is seeking 3 volunteer citizen journalists to investigate racial/ethnic health disparities in East Palo Alto. The journalists will with work with our Staff Photojournalist, Anne-Marie Reynolds, to create content for various educational websites developed by Collective Roots. Find out more about the requirements here.
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| FEATURED PARTNER |
Girls to Women is an after school program in East Palo Alto for girls ages 6-14, founded and directed by our city's former mayor, Patricia Foster. In October 2008, Collective Roots began a partnership with Girls to Women to start a garden-based nutrition program that meets two days per week during the school year, and over the summer. Click here to read what the girls have been learning lately about gardening, cooking, and the environment.
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| THE BOOKSHELF |
Our Executive Director just finished a fantastic new book by Walden Bello called Food Wars. Wolfram was particularly interested in one concept that Bellow highlights called "Food Sovereignty." This is a new policy framework being adopted by social movements all over the world for the governance of food and agriculture.
"Food Sovereignty" addresses the core problems of hunger and poverty in a new and innovative way. In the past, we have talked about addressing food security and ending hunger. These are important tasks, but "Food Sovereignty" sets a much higher standard and presents a vision that goes beyond responding to the immediate crisis. Click here to read more about Bello's book on Wolfram's blog, and to learn more about the idea of "Food Sovereignty."
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| WHAT'S GROWING |
Walking along the paths of the garden you will find bright orange pumpkins, yellow spaghetti squash and an abundance of collard greens and chard. Many winter vegetables are sprouting in our green house getting ready for transplanting into the garden. Seedlings include onions, fennel, broccoli raab, chard, and mesclun greens. Check back next month to see what is growing in our Winter Garden.
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NOTE: This newsletter employs hyperlinks that act as shortcuts to related documents or web pages. Click on the green underlined words in the articles above to find out more information.
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To read past newsletters, go to http://collectiveroots.org/news/newsletters.
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