Good Food Rising, a cocktail reception and panel discussion co-hosted by Real Food Media, the Center for Good Food Purchasing and Food Chain Workers Alliance celebrated the leadership of cities and school districts in adopting the Good Food Purchasing Program, aligning public food purchases with our shared values of nutritious, sustainable, fair, and humane food that supports our regional economies and is available in all communities.

Anna Lappé, the evening’s emcee and panel moderator, set the stage, sharing examples of early Good Food Purchasing successes within California and across the country as the movement grows. She inspired the audience to imagine the impact the Good Food Purchasing Program can have for local economies, good jobs, nutrition and health, environmental sustainability, and farm animals.

The amazing Ricardo Salvador delivered the evening’s keynote remarks. He shared his thoughtful reflections on his conversations with policymakers about future opportunities for the food movement to advance policy at the federal level. He urged the audience to do more to build collective power within the movement and to bring a clear and well-articulated voice to the table that insists that our agricultural policies support goals for improving public health, labor conditions, and environmental sustainability.

The evening’s panel discussion ignited a conversation about the ways in which each panelist incorporates Good Food Purchasing values into their work. Sandra Fewer, from San Francisco Unified School District was excited to discuss the District’s leadership and her hope that it’s a path to build a unified approach to food purchasing among more San Francisco institutions, such as the City/County, where she was recently elected as a Supervisor. Alexandra Emmott’s remarks touched on the ways the Oakland Unified School District has used creative menu-planning and thinking outside the box to meet Good Food goals and stay in budget. Her comments were an important reminder that progress is possible with innovative leaders in place and a lot of hard work. Shakirah Simley of Bi-Rite Market emphasized the leadership, knowledge, and partnership that industry partners such as Bi-Rite can offer as experts on the supply chain and food sourcing, and as people with strong grower/producer relationships. Finally, Doug Bloch shared the story of truckers who organized for a union contract and higher wages at one company in the LAUSD supply chain, as an example of the way the Good Food Purchasing Policy can be the foundation for improving working conditions along the supply chain over time.

As the crowd transitioned to cocktail hour at the conclusion of the program, guests were abuzz with energy around the potential of the Good Food Purchasing Program as a tool to build food movement power. The audience agreed: we can, and should, keep Good Food Rising.

All photos taken by Rosalyn Lee

Photo 1: Panelists of food activists, procurement experts and educators.

Photo 2: 2016 James Beard award winner and Real Food Media founder Anna Lappé opens the evening.

Photo 3: Keynote speaker, Ricardo Salvador, senior scientist and director of Union of Concerned Scientist’s Food and Environment Program, co-founder of the HEAL Food Alliance,and board member of the Center for Good Food Purchasing, inspires the audience with key strategies to build food movement power.

Photo 4: Good Food Rising Panelists: San Francisco Unified School District Commissioner Sandra Lee Fewer, Anna Lappé, Founder and Director of Real Food Media (panel moderator), Alex Emmott, Farm to School Supervisor, Oakland Unified School District, Shakirah Simley, Community Programs Manager, Bi-Rite Family of Businesses, and Doug Bloch, Political Director, Teamsters Joint Council 7.

Photo 5: Paula Daniels, Co-founder and Chair of the Center for Good Food Purchasing, reminds the audience of the foresight of Frances Moore Lappé in her book “Diet for a Small Planet”.