Mission, Vision & Values

Our Vision

Every Californian thrives and has equitable access to food, resources, and opportunity.

Our Mission

We collaborate with diverse community partners for policy change, ensuring equitable access to food, health, and well-being for all Californians.

Our Values

People

People are the core of our work and the power behind it.

We honor the identities, experiences, and insights of our fellow Californians: our organization and our policy efforts are inclusive of that diversity.

We center individuals who have lived experience with poverty, food insecurity, and the many unjust outcomes of systemic racism and structural oppression.

Each of our actions serves both the well-being of our staff and the well-being of Californians with inequitable access to food and other resources.

Equity

All Californians should share fairly in the resources of our state and nation.

We acknowledge the current and historic harm driven by systemic racism and structural oppression in all forms. We hold ourselves accountable for reversing that harm.

We pursue internal and external policies that shift resources and opportunity to individuals and communities targeted by oppressive systems.

To advance equity in California and within our own organization, we innovate--crafting fundamental changes to the work we do and how we do it.

We recognize the power of people and communities fighting for social justice and aim to help amplify that power.

Collaboration

We learn, share, build trust, and take action with others.

We treat everyone with respect, center lived experiences, communicate with transparency, and work to balance power within relationships.

We approach people and policy change with humility, understanding that we will continue to learn, grow, and change.

We engage in the necessary, difficult conversations to confront racism, inequity, and exclusion. We hold ourselves and others accountable for respecting the dignity of all people.

Integrity

We are beholden solely to our mission, vision, and values.

Our staff and board are accountable for acting within those principles.

Our priorities are grounded in evidence, drawing on rigorous research and the lived experiences of individuals across our state.

We assess our decisions to anticipate real and perceived conflicts of interest. When possible, we proactively prevent such conflicts. When conflicts of interest arise, we make timely changes to resolve them and rebuild.