APPRECIATIONS
This toolkit was inspired by the many coalitions around the United States working on promoting
good food in their regions, and the youth who have inspired the coalitions to fight for good
food purchasing. We recognize that the food we eat has far-reaching impacts outside of
ourselves: it can be used as a tool of oppression or a tool for liberation. When we fight for
good food, we don’t just fight for food that tastes good, we fight for food that supports local
economies, recognizes that workers are precious and deserving of dignity, treats animals
with respect, cares for the environment, and is nourishing to our bodies.
The resources in this toolkit were informed by and adapted from groups who have been
working with, and on behalf of, youth around the US to create a better food system. We are
grateful for the work done by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future to create
FoodSpan, an exhaustive food systems curriculum from which many of the activities in this
toolkit were adapted. We are also grateful for the knowledge and tools developed by Phat
Beets Produce, The Urban Institute, The Food Project, and Feeding The Giant, which you
will also see referenced throughout this toolkit.
Real Food Media would like to extend deep appreciation to all those who so freely shared
their knowledge and experiences with us in the beginning stages of the development
of this curriculum: Center for Urban Education and Sustainable Agriculture, HOPE
Collaborative, San Francisco Unified School District, the Oakland Food Policy Council,
and Rebekah Williams of the Mass Ave Project. We would like to give an endless amount of
gratitude to Katie Blanchard who designed this toolkit, turning it into something beyond our
wildest imaginations.
The Center for Good Food Purchasing extends our deep gratitude to our core partners Real
Food Media and the Food Chain Workers Alliance. In particular, Tiffani Patton of Real Food
Media led the conceptual development, research and authorship of this toolkit and brought
our vision to life. Finally, this toolkit would not have been possible without the support of the
Battery Powered Foundation.
Food, including food production, is truly an intersectional topic: we can’t talk about it
without also talking about climate, race, economic justice, land, water, and democracy.
The intersectionality, and importance, of it is why we see it as an important tool in creating
the world we want, by supporting food and agriculture that is aligned with our values. The
founders of Oakland-based People’s Kitchen Collective say, “food is where we build, where
we meet, where we struggle, where we survive.” We agree, and have to add that food is
also where we create and thrive. We can’t wait to see how people continue to build, meet,
struggle, survive, create, and thrive.
GOOD FOOD PURCHASING PROGRAM • GOOD FOOD RISING
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