Written by Devin Kapalla
Spring 2016
I was inspired to work with the farm at the Alameda Point Collaborative after I spoke with the manager of the farm about the APC’s mission and how work on the farm is making a difference in the community. The Alameda Point Collaborative is an organization which provides transitional housing and resources to formerly homeless individuals and families and the farm is one of the several sites for a job training program that is offered to residents. Participants in this job training program learn valuable job skills through their work on the farm. However, the program did not offer any sort of discussion of the broader societal structures that contribute to the inequities that often contribute to homelessness. This was particularly concerning to me as it was to the manager, but she explained that the program did not have the resources to add this element to the existing program. I was motivated to aid with the incorporation of this element and as the program was located on a farm, I was inspired to structure this element around the theme of food justice. With permission from farm administrators, I began reaching out to local organizations working in food justice to help create a food justice curriculum that could be worked into the job training program. This process has been lengthy and is still not yet complete but I have been successful in finding an organization that is willing to collaborate with me and we will likely have a product within the coming weeks!