Food is anything your grandparents would have recognized in the kitchen. Today a cursory scan of the ingredient list can leave you wondering which chemical lab you are savoring. The health effects of our industrial food system, like obesity and heart disease, are well known. Larger impacts include air and water pollution, water shortages, climate change, mono-cultured species, and human rights abuses, especially language extinctions, as food sheds in rain forests are converted to ethanol or soy beans.
The Food Committee will work with cities in the chapter to enable urban agriculture as an approved land use in city general plans and provide opportunites to improve our food literacy through movies, discussions, and cooking events.
Urban Agriculture
Support Urban Agriculture and Community Gardens:
We will work with city general and specific plans to include urban agriculture as an approved land use:
Establish urban agriculture as an approved land use in residential, multi-family, open-space or other zones
Allow the sale of produce from residential gardens
Encourage residents to donate surplus backyard produce to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, other non-profits, pantries, and faith-based organizations
Neighborhoods often have parcels of land such as parks, open space, front yards, or vacant lots that are ideal for community or home gardens, but are currently unused or unavailable due to zoning restrictions. By promoting local food production, cities and jurisdictions can increase access to fresh produce and fish, bring communities together, beautify unused land, and contribute to economic development.
Food Committee Contacts
Sue Chow, sue2042@gmail.com
Gladwyn d'Souza, (650) 804-8225, godsouza@mac.com