The Berkeley Food Institute seed grant program supports innovative, collaborative, interdisciplinary research projects that are aligned with the mission of the Institute: to catalyze and support transformative changes in food systems to promote diversity, justice, resilience, and health. In this first annual Seed Grant Forum the 2014 grant recipients will report on their research progress and findings, implications for policy and practice, and next steps. The 2015 grant recipients will also briefly introduce their projects, newly underway.
Refreshments will be provided.
2014 Projects:
• Building an Evidence Base for State and Federal Policy: Testing the Effects of Purchase Restrictions and Incentives within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Barbara Laraia (Public Health), Pat Crawford (Cooperative Extension), Maria Echaveste (Law), and Hillary Hoynes (Public Policy), in collaboration with California Food Policy Advocates
• Making the Road by Mapping: Informing Food System Transformation through Participatory Mapmaking
Kathryn DeMaster (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), Adam Calo (PhD Student, (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), Darin Jensen (Geography), Maggi Kelly (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), Tapan Parikh (Information), and Sarah Van Wart (PhD Student, Information), in collaboration with Kaley Grimland-Mendoza (Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association), Amber Sciligo (Post-doc, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), Christy Getz (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), Jennifer Sowerwine (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management)
• Reaping without Sowing: Urban Foraging, Sustainability, Nutrition, and Social Welfare
Philip Stark (Statistics), Thomas Carlson (Integrative Biology), and Kristen Rasmussen (Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology), in collaboration with Eric Berlow (Vibrant Data, Inc)
• An Agroecological Survey of Urban Farms in the Eastern Bay Area to Explore Their Potential to Enhance Food Security
Miguel Altieri (ESPM) and Celine Pallud (ESPM), in collaboration with Eric Holt-Gimenez (Food First) and several East Bay community groups
• The Subminimum Wage for Tipped Workers as a Human Rights Issue, Phase 1
Laurel Fletcher (Law), Saru Jayaraman (Food Labor Research Center), and Allison Davenport (Law)
2015 Projects:
• Home and Harvest: A Participatory Approach to Improving Food Security among Formerly Homeless Youth In Permanent Supportive Housing
Colette Auerswald (School of Public Health) and Emily Ozer (School of Public Health), in collaboration with San Francisco Department of Public Health, Community Housing Partnership, San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships, and Engagement, California Homeless Youth Project, Yale University, and Transitional Age Youth Initiative
• Engaging Indigenous Farmworkers in Promoting Occupational Health and Safety
John Balmes (School of Public Health) and Suzanne Teran (Labor Occupational Health Program), in collaboration with Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño and Stanford Prevention Research Center
• Making the Business Case for Improved Farm Labor Conditions
Christy Getz (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), in collaboration with University of San Francisco, UC SAREP, Atkins Center for Weight and Health (UC Berkeley), Pesticide Action Network North America, Equitable Food Initiative, Swanton Berry Farm, Grupo Alpine Fresh, S.A. de C.V., and NatureSweet Ltd.
• Exploring Millets to Diversify Cereal Options in Our Diet and the Environment
Amrita Hazra (Plant and Microbial Biology), Patricia Bubner (Energy Biosciences Institute), Peggy Lemaux (Plant and Microbial Biology), and Sarah Hake (USDA Plant Gene Expression Center), in collaboration with Millet Network of India, Mendocino Grain Project, Gospel Flat Farm, and Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley)
• The Berkeley Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Evaluating the Impact
Karen Sokal-Gutierrez (School of Public Health), Kristine Madsen (School of Public Health), Jennifer Falbe (School of Public Health), Lori Dorfman (School of Public Health), Pamela Mejia (Berkeley Media Studies Group), and Patricia Crawford (Center for Weight and Health) in collaboration with UCSF School of Dentistry Center to Address Disparities in Oral Health
• Mapping Agro-Biodiversity Hotspots and Cultural Foods in the Urban Food Desert: Fostering Community Food Security, Biocultural Diversity, and Health
Jennifer Sowerwine (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management) and Maggi Kelly (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), in collagoration with UC Cooperative Extension, Integrative Biology (UC Berkeley), Jepson Herbaria (UC Berkeley), Ecology Center, UC Village, International Rescue Committee, Urban Tilth, Berkeley Community Gardens Collaborative