A Place-Based Food Justice Curriculum in the South San Francisco Bay Area
Our team is developing a localized food justice conference and educational program specifically for the South San Francisco Bay Area, in partnership with the South Bay Food Justice Collaborative (SBFJC).
Goal: Develop “change agents” equipped with knowledge and strategies to drive equity, resilience, and sustainability in the South Bay Area’s food systems.
Audiences: This course is designed for a wide range of participants engaged or interested in creating more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems, including
- Government employees
- Food entrepreneurs
- Advocates
- College and high school students
- Non-profit organizations staff
- Urban agriculture professionals
- Elected Officials and policymakers
Core Competencies for Participants engaging South Bay Food Systems:
- Explain complex food systems.
- Identify community strengths.
- Diagnose systemic problems.
- Engage with government and private partners.
- Generate actionable steps to build food equity, resilience, and sustainability.
Training Modules
- Now Available: South Bay Food Systems 101 – designed for Santa Clara County employees.
- Food & Nutrition Security in Santa Clara County (in development with SCC)
- Building a Strong Regional Food Economy (in development with SCC)
- Civic Engagement with South Bay Food Systems (public version in development)
- Food Systems and Environmental Change (public version in development)
Format & Methods:
- Hybrid Structure: Combines online learning with in-person engagement (optional follow-up volunteering with local group)
- Content: Videos, case studies, slides, readings, and quizzes.
- Application: Hands-on volunteer activities at farms or community sites
Co-producing the Curriculum
- The process for co-producing this curriculum included reviewing the background material and organizing the following conference, workshops, and kick-off event.
- Urban Agroecology and Cooperative Food Systems Change Conference – April 12th-15th, 2025: This three-day event united 100+ food systems professionals and students to learn about agroecology, analyze potential disruptions to food systems, and develop collective action strategies to advance food sovereignty and build resilient, sustainable food systems.
- Meeting 1 – September 23, 2025: In-person workshop that introduced a place-based food justice curriculum by assessing South Bay training needs, gathering feedback to prioritize goals, defining core content and delivery formats, and establishing how food system professionals can actively participate.
- Meeting 2 – December 15th, 2025: In-person workshop focused on building fellowship, reviewing a place-based food justice curriculum proposal and existing resources, examining online curriculum examples, and holding break-out discussions to define core values, content modules, and next steps.
- Meeting 3 – January 13th, 2026: Online workshop and breakout session with food system professionals to gather feedback on proposed modules and identify initial interview contacts, and a group dialogue focused on collaboration and next steps.
- Meeting 4 – June 8th, 2026: In-person workshop on the County Employees’ Food Systems 101 course with breakout discussions and lunch-time dialogues exploring regional food security, local economic strategies, public course feedback, and next steps for priority case studies.
- Curriculum Kick-Off- June 30th, 2026: A kick-off event with leading County Officials and department heads to launch the Food Systems 101 Course through their internal training system and gather feedback on two additional modules.
- Source Material: SBFJC 2023 Food Equity Series, literature review, & planning workshops
Partners:
- Santa Clara University, Environmental Justice and Common Good Initiative, Climate and Food Justice Lab (lead), University of California Extension (key partners), Veggielution (key partner), Fresh Approach, Valley Verde, La Mesa Verde/Sacred Heart Community Services, as well as specific faculty and staff from San Jose State University and Stanford University
Acknowledgements:
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number G239-24-WA512 through the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under project number SPOY246745. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”
