San Diego Food System Alliance Launches Food Vision 2030 Process

The Alliance has launched a major new initiative to plan for the future of food in San Diego County! San Diego County Food Vision 2030 is a 10-year strategic plan for moving the region toward a healthier, more sustainable, and more just food system.

“We launched Food Vision 2030 with the understanding that the time to reimagine our food system is now,” said Elly Brown, Executive Director of the San Diego Food System Alliance. “There is no question that our current path is unsustainable and transformations must take root at the community level.”

Global food system accelerates climate change, creates inequity

While it’s not often recognized, the global food system is an enormous driver of climate change, contributing anywhere from 21-50% of global GHG emissions. As a result, we are experiencing significant disruptions and deep uncertainty across the food chain.

In addition, this same food system perpetuates underlying structural inequities that keep land, power, and good health out of the hands of marginalized communities and communities of color over generations.

A Turning Point for San Diego County

“Food Vision 2030 is San Diego County’s response to the increasing impacts of climate change and the deep inequities affecting the health of our food system,” says Brown. “San Diego County is at a turning point. We can either continue to be part of the problem, or take steps toward being part of the solution.”

The food system is a powerful lever for transforming our communities, and provides significant opportunities to elevate social, environmental, and economic equity for all. With the launch of Food Vision 2030, the Alliance seeks to imagine a more equitable and more resilient  food system for San Diegans.

Community Engagement and Collective Action

To develop Food Vision 2030, the Alliance is creating an inclusive process that engages the full community, including people that produce, prepare, distribute, serve, and eat food. “We need to build a shared vision,” says Sona Desai, Associate Director of the San Diego Food System Alliance. “One that includes the voices of all community members, particularly  those most affected by current inequities in the food system.”

An unprecedented community engagement effort—including multiple Community Forums open to the public, held in each County District—will kick off in early spring 2020.

To ensure transparency and inclusivity, a 17-member Steering Committee made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds is supporting and guiding the Food Vision 2030 process:

  • Naomi Billups, County of San Diego, Health & Human Services Agency

  • Anahid Brakke, San Diego Hunger Coalition

  • Henok Getaneh, MidCity CAN

  • Eric Larson, San Diego County Farm Bureau (Retired)

  • Herminia Ledesma, Farm Worker CARE Coalition (Vista Community Clinic)

  • Connor Magee, Climate Science Alliance

  • Debbie McKeon, San Diego Grantmakers

  • Blanca Melendrez, UC San Diego Center for Community Health

  • Diane Moss, Project New Village

  • Mai Nguyen, National Young Farmers Coalition

  • Derrick Robinson, Center on Policy Initiatives

  • Chuck Samuelson, Kitchens for Good

  • Theresa Talley, California Sea Grant, Scripps Institute of Oceanography

  • Jena Thompson Meredith, The Conservation Fund

  • Eduardo Velasquez, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation

  • Domingo Vigil, County of San Diego, Land Use & Environment Group

  • Richard Winkler, San Diego Food System Alliance Board, Victory Gardens San Diego

AnnouncementsSDFSA Staff