July General Meeting: The Future of the San Diego Regional Food System

Ripening on the vine and enjoying the sun.

By Tommy Hough

This Wednesday's San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action general membership meeting will include an update from Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear, who serves as the Chair of SANDAG, and a panel discussion on the future of the San Diego regional food system.

As SANDAG chair, Mayor Blakespear has navigated an often challenging course at the nexus between coastal and environmental protection, climate action, housing, and transit. We'll hear about the environmental work that has occupied her since her last visit to the club, and the challenging road ahead.

And while the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the deep inequities, inefficiencies, and disarticulations of our regional food system, it has also provided a renewed impetus to collaborate to improve the quality, equity, and sustainability of food in our region. Joining us for a discussion on the challenges facing the many segments of our food system, and the most promising opportunities for transformation, are:

Elly Brown
Executive Director of the San Diego Food System Alliance
Elly has led the development of San Diego County Food Vision 2030, released early this month, which lays out a bold plan for transforming our regional food system around matters of equity, sustainability, and resilience.

Ellee Igoe
Co-Founder of Solidarity Farm and the Foodshed
Solidarity Farm is a regional leader in regenerative farming, agricultural carbon sequestration, food aggregation and distribution, and youth and student engagement. 

Mikey Knab
General Manager at Ponce's, Board Member at San Diego Business for Good, National Strategy Director for RAISE High Road Restaurants
A long-time friend of the San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action (Ponce's hosted out first three club anniversary events), Mikey remains one of the region's foremost advocates for local food sourcing and rights and dignity of restaurant workers. 

Eric Span
Director of Nutrition Services at Sweetwater Union High School District
Eric has been pioneering transformative approaches to integrating schools with local farms and communities, and ensuring fresh, high quality, locally sourced meals for Sweetwater Union's students, many of whom face challenges of poverty, housing insecurity, and discrimination, and are disproportionately dependent on the district's food services.

Our meeting will come to order at 6:30 p.m. You can access the Zoom link here.

Click here for the Facebook event page for Wednesday's meeting.

Photo by Tommy Hough