Community Event

In 2016, the State of California passed Senate Bill 1000: The Planning for Healthy Communities Act to incorporate environmental justice into city and county land use planning. The law requires cities and counties with “disadvantaged communities” — as defined by the California Environmental Protection Agency through its CalEnviroScreen tool — to integrate environmental justice into their General Plan, a document that serves as that municipalities development framework. While communities of color disproportionately face environmental hazards and limited access to green space, safe housing, and healthy food, SB 1000 promotes equitably land use policies that would reverse this legacy of discriminatory land use planning.

The Berkeley Food Institute’s faculty directors, Dr. Charisma Acey and Dr. Susana Matias, along with recent Masters in City Planning graduate Katie Fallon, conducted research and developed a database to track city and county efforts to design and implement equitable food access policies.

We’re now taking their research on the road with our first stop on November 14, 2023 from 12-2 PM at CoBiz Richmond. In October 2022, the City of Richmond amended its General Plan with an Environmental Justice element in compliance with SB 1000. What’s the next step to make this vision for equity a reality in the community?

Join us for a hybrid lunchtime community meeting to learn about SB 1000, how Richmond has been implementing the law within its new Environmental Justice element, and what further steps can be taken to expand access to healthy fresh foods for all. We welcome critical perspectives from Richmond residents, local elected representatives, city staff, and community organizations that work to secure good food access for the people of Richmond.

Lunch will be provided at this hybrid meeting. The zoom link for virtual participants will be shared at a later date.