Say ‘Hello’ to Our Food4All Mini-Grant Partners
Published on Apr 7, 2021 in Immigrants, State Legislation
We excited to present our Food4All mini-grant partners! These 10 organizations are working closely with Nourish California to uplift the Food4All campaign and communicate its value to policymakers and their own communities.
Thanks to The California Endowment and Stupski Foundation for making these grants possible.
Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC) - Clovis
Mission: is dedicated to ensuring full participation of immigrants in building strong, vibrant, inclusive communities. We do this by collaborating, mobilizing, and combining the resources and talents of our allies to offer, on a large scale, high-quality immigration and naturalization services; strengthening and growing the capacity of our members to serve and empower immigrant communities, and support leadership development by leveraging needed public and private sector resources; working to change the dominant discourse about immigrants and immigration; working to achieve policies which support opportunities for immigrants to pursue their dreams.
"CVIIC empowers immigrant families and immigrant-serving organizations in the Central Valley. It is in our core values to advocate for our families who go hungry every day in the Central Valley despite being the nations most important agricultural region. It is time to change this reality."
Jesus Martinez Ph.D, Executive Director
Latinos United for a New America (LUNA)
San Jose
Mission: Latinos United for a New America aims to dismantle the tangible inequalities the Latino community faces in the Silicon Valley. Standing by the proverb ‘La union hace la fuerza’, we mobilize Latino communities across East San Jose and East Palo Alto to combat disparities by actively participating in the democratic processes across city and county governments.
"LUNA supports the food4all campaign because we believe that everyone regardless of immigration status deserves access to healthy food. Even as front line workers, our undocumented community still suffer from unjust wages, and providing food programs for the most vulnerable populations will be a step in the right direction to balance these systems of injustice and ensuring the wellbeing of our community."
Mayra Pelagio, Executive Director
Merced Lao Family Community, Inc. (MLFC) Merced
Mission: To encourage self-respect and self-sufficiency for all ethnic groups in Merced County; to maintain pride in cultural histories and to offer positive support and hope for the future by leading the populace into becoming well-informed, healthy, productive, self-sufficient, and contributing members of our Central Valley community.
"We support SB 464 because we believe that everyone should have the same rights and privileges regardless of citizenship status. Many come here for the better life and SB 464 will support that."
Thaiyei Thao, Program Coordinator
Mission Food Hub - San Francisco
Mission: The Mission Food Hub was founded in May 2020 to provide culturally appropriate groceries for families who were affected by COVID-19. In San Francisco, food inequity is currently impacting over 12,000 Latinos who are unemployed and the Mission District is Ground Zero for the coronavirus. We started providing 500 families with one grocery bag a week. The lines of people rapidly grew to 1,800 within a couple of weeks. We are now providing culturally appropriate groceries three times a week to 7,000 families.
"The Mission Food Hub supports SB 464 - Food4All because we believe that food is a human right."
Rodrigo Duran, Program Director
National Health Foundation
Los Angeles
Mission: To improve the health of under-resourced communities.
"NHF supports SB 464 Food4All because we believe that every person should be able to achieve their highest level of health; and having adequate food access is essential to that. Too often in the communities we work with, people experience food insecurity simply because of where they came from. Passing SB 464 Food4All will ensure our communities have a foundation for being healthy and would bring us closer to being a community that acknowledges the dignity of every community member."
Chad Monk, Director, Community Initiatives
Rainbow Beginnings - Coachella Valley
Mission: Rainbow Beginnings is a volunteer-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting immigrants begin their new lives in the United States. We focus on LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers by supporting with housing and other basic needs. We also connect people to education, healthcare, mental health, legal assistance and other post release services. Rainbow Beginnings volunteers create a space for LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers to feel safe and connected to a welcoming community.
"We support Food4All because everyone in the rainbow eats and is worthy of food. Access to food is important for LGBTQ asylum seekers because they are forced to wait many months for work authorization and can not turn to family for support."
Craig Scott, Director
South Asian Network (SAN) - Artesia
Mission: The South Asian Network (SAN) is a community-based organization that provided direct services to and advocacy on behalf of South Asians in Southern California in the areas of health & well-being, civil rights and civic engagement, and gender-based violence.
"SAN supports SB-464 Food4All because it will increase access to healthy food for our most vulnerable community members, regardless of immigration status. "
Shikha Bhatnagar, Executive Director
Unidos por NELA - Los Angeles
Mission: Unidos por NELA- Unidos por un ambiente sano y un futuro mejor para nuestra comunidad.
Occidental College, UEPI Mission: The Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College is an applied research and advocacy center. Our mission is to advance community-driven programs and policies to build healthy, thriving communities while achieving social, economic, and environmental justice.
"In the North East LA community, many families have an immigration status that disqualifies them from accessing opportunities and necessary resources. The Food for All campaign would benefit many of our families in need, and have a lasting impact in our community for years to come."
Erika Miramon, President
Visión y Compromiso (VyC) - Statewide
Mission: Visión y Compromiso (VyC) is committed to community well-being by supporting Promotoras and Community Health Workers. Our vision is Hacia una Vida Digna y Sana, Healthy and Dignified Living for All."
"We support SB 464 - Food 4 All because we believe that everyone regardless of their immigration status, deserves to have healthy food on their plates as part of a dignified life. "
Veronica Arciga Barriga, Promotoras Network Regional Manager
UC San Diego Youth Advisory Council - San Diego
Mission: Comprised of passionate young leaders from throughout San Diego, the UC San Diego Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is a group of highly motivated, hard-working, and passionate young people dedicated to improving health for San Diego communities, especially those communities which have experienced historical and systemic health inequities. Through advocacy and projects planned and led by YAC youth leaders, members work to change the social and environment factors that impact health.
"SB - 464 Food4All supports our goal of reducing the inequitable rates of obesity and diabetes in under-resourced neighborhoods by creating environments that provide access to healthy foods and ample opportunities for healthy eating. Food is vital to the health and wellbeing of all people and immigration status should not be a barrier to good health."
Asmaa Deiranieh, Program Coordinator
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