Written by Ellie Lauderback
Fall 2017
I began my internship with the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) simply wanting to learn more about food policy, without a specific project in mind. SELC is a small group of lawyers and activists who work to create a more equitable and just economy through the lenses of food, housing, energy, and labor, via policy advocacy, legal advice, research and education. What started out as me assisting my supervisor, Christina Oatfield, with an array of diverse, small tasks, later became a wholehearted investigation into homemade food policy in California and its future in the state. This project has not only allowed me to learn about the policy itself but has also forced me to consider the widespread consequences of the growing tech industry and gig economy, both in terms of homemade food and other economies.