The San Francisco Urban-Rural Roundtable made recommendations to then Mayor Gavin Newsom on how San Francisco City and County can support the regional agricultural economy and make high quality, sustainably produced, and regionally sourced food available to all residents regardless of income level. The time frame for this project was September 2008.
In September of 2008, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom invited 50 leaders from city and country, including California’s Secretary of Food and Agriculture, AG Kawamura, to convene three times over five months in order to prototype an urban-rural collaboration in the development of a “foodshed” for the City. In September of 2008, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom invited 50 leaders from city and country, including California’s Secretary of Food and Agriculture, AG Kawamura, to convene three times over five months in order to prototype an urban-rural collaboration in the development of a “foodshed” for the City.
The Mayor charged roundtable participants with developing an “integrated set of recommendations for programs, incentives, strategies and practical actions” that San Francisco can implement “to support the regional agricultural economy and increase the amount of high quality, California grown food for all of our residents.”
Four committees were formed: Place-based Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Cultural Values; Resources and Environment; Healthy Food Access; and Agricultural Economic Viability. The Urban-Rural Roundtable provided a tangible opportunity for city and country stakeholders from across the food system to create a sustainable, place-based food system.
The work with Mayor Newsom culminated in July 2009, when Roots of Change co-hosted with USDA a Foodshed Summit during which we advocated for a re-regionalization of the food system in California and across the nation.
The Coordinating Team
- Ed Thompson Jr., California Director, American Farmland Trust
- Sibella Kraus, President, Sustainable Agriculture Education
- Michael Dimock, President, Roots of Change
- Paula Jones, Director of Food Systems, San Francisco Department of Public Health
- Larry Bain, Founder & CEO, Let’s be Frank; Executive Director, Food From the Parks
- Wade Crowfoot, former Director of Climate Protection Initiatives, Office of Mayor Gavin Newsom
- Hannah Burton Laurison, Senior Associate, Planning for Healthy Places
- Joseph McIntyre, Executive Director, Ag Innovations Network