Berkeley Food Institute

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our Community Showcase! Despite the heat, we had nearly 200 students, faculty, staff and community partners join us for an afternoon celebrating the Berkeley Food Institute’s work to support a just and sustainable food and farm system. And, a special thank you to the Basic Needs Center and Berkeley Student Farms to the Center for Responsible Business, Cal Dining’s Office of Sustainability, and People’s Programs, for representing your work on the land. There are many opportunities to partner with BFI throughout the year. Please feel free to check out our Events page for further opportunities, and be sure to stay connected by subscribing to our News & Events Newsletter. https://lnkd.in/g4Nbs27d

The first of BFI's Lunch and Learn webinar series will begin next Tuesday, and will cover the first evaluation of California's Farm to School Program, which aims to support local farmers and improve school-time nutrition by connecting farms to their neighboring school systems. We've got Farm to School Webinars planned for the next three weeks: The first will cover results from the evaluation and provide an early snapshot of progress and barriers to success. The second will look at early findings exploring how K-12 schools and Early Care and Education (ECE) Centers are using their grant funds to purchase from local and organic farmers. The third will look at the experiences of Farm to School grantees with the application process and program implementation and will feature Farm to School Program Lead for the California Department of Food & Agriculture, Nick Anicich, who will share what changes his team made to the grant application process based on these learnings. Register here: https://lnkd.in/g4Nbs27d

The Berkeley Food Institute is helping to lead a Berkeley-based research team study the nexus of solar energy production and farming. “While agrivoltaics have a lot of potential in California to help farm with limited water and rising temperatures, economies of scale and conventional business models would likely favor installations on large-scale farms and ranches,” said Tim Bowles, Associate Professor of Agroecology and Faculty Director of BFI. The team’s central research question explores how the multiple climate and environmental benefits of agrivoltaic systems can be equitably distributed amongst small and midsized farms as well. Read more about BFI's latest agrovoltaics research project on the BFI blog here: https://lnkd.in/gbsFvKSz.

BFI is excited to welcome our new Policy Director Neha Sanghera. Neha joins BFI after completing her Master’s in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. As the new Policy Director, Neha will lead BFI’s policy program and play a key role in connecting faculty research with relevant policy discussions in California and Washington D.C. With a focus on policy communication and dissemination, Neha will amplify BFI’s engagement with policymakers and coalitions of organizations which are addressing critical policy issues in food and agricultural systems. Read more about Neha and her role at BFI on our BFI Blog here: https://ow.ly/UpTn50TI4T4.

Interested in pursuing a career in food and farming systems? Wondering what types of careers exist within this industry, and how to turn your academic experience into a successful career? Network with leading professionals in the food system at the Berkeley Food Institute Career Panel on November 12th, where you'll get the opportunity to hear from people who have developed thriving careers in food and farming systems. This is your opportunity to get acquainted with food systems work and build a network of relationships outside of Berkeley campus. Register here: https://ow.ly/OIYU50TAA3r. If you're interested in attending any of BFI's other career programming events, make sure to check out the Events page on our website: https://ow.ly/RkbR50TAA3u.

BFI is holding a series of webinars on the first evaluation of California's Farm to School Program, which aims to support local farmers and improve school-time nutrition by connecting farms to their neighboring school systems. After supporting the first evaluation of this program, BFI is continuing our work on the Farm to School program by hosting a series of three lunchtime webinars which will review important aspects of the evaluation. The first two will occur this month on October 22nd and 28th, from 12-1pm. Please register for these webinars here: https://lnkd.in/g4Nbs27d.

As a food focused institution, BFI knows that the contributions and wellbeing of farmworkers play a critical role in healthy, sustainable, and equitable food supply chains. Through the UC-Mexico Farm Labor Research Cluster, we have been able to help build a pathway to connect researchers from Mexico and the UC system. Mexican research institutions and the UC system both have a significant depth of knowledge regarding farm labor wellbeing. Tapping into this current knowledge base in both regions will result in an improvement of our understanding as to how environmental drivers impact the farm labor, and increases the possibility of scaling up policies that benefit both regions. BFI's Undergraduate Agricultural Labor Research Fellow Moncerrat Hernandez has been integral to the planning and creation of the Farm Labor Research Cluster. Read her reflection of the process on our BFI blog here: https://lnkd.in/gzPUsEEz.

In case you missed it, BFI's annual Community Showcase is next Friday, October 4th. Every year, the Community Showcase brings together the local food systems community to celebrate the research and advocacy work that goes on here at Berkeley. Here are some photos from last year's Community Showcase! Be sure to register ahead of time via this link: https://ow.ly/jfYW50TuOhE

As a campus connected institute, BFI has the special ability to partner with the student community to promote the success of the next generation of food systems advocates. Part of this mission is to give opportunities to students in the undergraduate and graduate community who are interested in pursuing careers in food systems by giving them equitable wages while also helping to open doors to food systems career paths. This fall semester, BFI is growing. BFI has hired four new student staff, for a total of 6 students working for BFI this year. From a wide range of colleges and majors and backgrounds, each of the students displays a strong interest and alignment with BFI’s vision for the food system. Read more about the students on our BFI blog: https://ow.ly/9Mq350Trnij.

If you walk down Walnut Street in Berkeley, just north of UC Berkeley campus, a flash of blooming flowers or verdant vegetable rows might catch your eye through a vine-covered chain link fence. If you haven't already, meet the Oxford Tract farm. The Oxford Tract is a center on UC Berkeley campus for hands-on agroecology research, food justice efforts, farm education, culturally relevant food production, indigenous knowledge sharing, and so much more. Read more about the Oxford Tract on our BFI blog here: https://ow.ly/taag50TkFmf.