Building Equitable and Inclusive Food Systems at UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley is experiencing an unprecedented surge of interest in food and agriculture, but this enthusiasm remains segregated. Students, faculty, and staff involved in campus food initiatives tend not to reflect the diversity of the broader UC Berkeley community, nor of the communities most affected by food system injustices. Simultaneously, food insecurity among UC Berkeley students is disturbingly high. In response, the Berkeley Food Institute (BFI) launched a new project “Building Equitable and Inclusive Food Systems at UC Berkeley” in 2015, in collaboration with the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, Centers for Educational Equity and Excellence, Multicultural Education Program, and numerous other organizations on campus.

The growing “food movement” on the campus is a strategic opportunity to address the need to transform campus climate, and to fully integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into Berkeley’s programs, capacity building, and campaigns. Since 2015 the “Building Equitable and Inclusive Food Systems at UC Berkeley” project has brought together active collaborators from across campus to bridge the gap between food and justice. During the first year, project partners formed a campus working group, held three successful workshops, and began mapping the UC Berkeley food system.

Now in its second year, this project continues to create brave spaces for open dialogue and critical thinking, and cultivate a more socially just campus, where food and agricultural research, teaching, activism, and operations are equitable and inclusive.  

With your support, this year we will be able to grow significantly and implement the following core activities:

• UC Berkeley Foodscape Map: Democratically create a comprehensive, interactive map of the UC Berkeley food system to both a) visualize barriers to the full participation of traditionally marginalized community members, and b) reveal opportunities for overcoming such barriers. Our dynamic map will name and locate all food-related organizations, people, and resources on campus and illustrate how they may intersect, hinder, and/or emancipate, as well as reveal decision-making power and networks of collaboration. This map will be unveiled in spring 2017, and formally presented to the new administration (Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost) to inform the emerging UC Berkeley Food Policy Council. The UC Berkeley Foodscape Map will directly affect how students can access the resources they need to be nourished and healthy, as well as to undergo meaningful learning experiences in food and agriculture.

• Student Fellows: Fund graduate student fellows to manage the project (our initial goal will fund one fellow).

Additionally, we will be holding a public forum on October 26, 2016, on the intersections between equity and food in the UC Berkeley context, featuring distinguished Berkeley faculty from the Division of Equity and Inclusion and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Early donors to our campaign can receive front row seats at this event.

Join BFI and project partners in creating a campus climate and food community that is both diverse and delicious. Please make a gift today and help us spread the word! Your donation of any amount will play a crucial role in contributing toward more just and pleasurable food experiences – whether in teaching, researching, learning, growing, or eating – for the entire UC Berkeley community, honoring all of our beautiful differences. Thank you for your support!

Project Budget

• $4,000 Mapping software
• $2,000 Foodscape Map Reveal Event
• $4,000 Graduate Student Fellow

$10,000 Total Project

For more details about the project and fellows, including downloadable resources, please visit the BFI Equity and Inclusion website.

Very special thanks to Jonathan Fong, Kiana Aryan, and Emily Anderson for their amazing work on our video!