The People's Produce Project (PPP) was created in 2008, located in San Diego, CA, in response to the growing need for food and health advocacy in the city’s 4th District, locally known as Southeastern San Diego (SESD). The project is a resident-driven multi-faceted program intended to address these important issues.
Preparation for The People’s Produce Project began in November 2008, led by Diane Moss, who also serves as Executive Director of Project New Village, the parent organization to PPP. Initial focus was on gauging the community’s interest in building a program that focused on food justice and a sustainable community. Through the use of surveys and preliminary forums, there was an overwhelmingly positive response from SESD residents who wanted to see the program come to fruition.
The overall goal of the PPP is to improve the health status of residents in SESD by addressing current inequities in access to healthcare and healthy living resources, centering on the overt health and social benefits from gardening and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Objectives include increasing access to locally grown organic public produce, facilitating skill development and new job opportunities to support public produce production and distribution, cultivating a political and social agenda that encourages and supports active participation in food justice movement and re-energizing a community of connected caring residents participating in communal living and community development.
A huge undertaking that is vital to the longevity and sustainability of a healthy Southeastern San Diego, the bigger question was determining how to get it all done. The PPP team established a four-pronged resident-driven approach. The initiatives include: 1) a certified farmers' market which accepts and promotes food stamp use and provides a venue for economic opportunities for backyard growers and free health screening, education and referrals; (2) revenue generating urban farms that supply fruit and vegetables to local restaurants and senior nutrition programs and other eateries (3) community gardens that encourage and rely on volunteerism to supply food to those in need (4) and edible landscaping that will allow residents to create a multi-functional landscape that provides a return (fruits, vegetables, etc.) on investment (water, fertilizer, time, etc.). It’s estimated that 500-600 residents will participate in this effort annually.
The PPP has identified food security as a critical concern in SESD for several reasons. Many of the residents are eager to be involved in and lead the decision-making processes that impact their daily lives. Poverty, violence, chronic health issues and compromised living conditions characterize the reality of far too many neighbors. Consequently, health disparities in SESD are high in comparison to the rest of the county in most disease categories. The People’s Produce Project will implement a social determinant of health model to address inequities in health, more specifically, with food security in SESD.
Most community members agree that not only do the residents have to eat to live, but that they also see there is a significant underutilization of existing resources such as EBT/food stamps. In San Diego County only 89% of eligible population is enrolled for food stamp program compared to 95% in nearby Los Angeles County or 100% in Orange County. The cultural significance of food in communal living and celebrations ultimately lends itself well to establishing empowering social networks among the residents to support healthy living and community sustainability.
Along with the direction of Diane Moss, the leadership of The People’s Produce Project are residents and community leaders with long histories of service provision, community organization, and advocacy in SESD and the larger county. Several key partners have come on board to show either financial or organizational support for this initiative. Partners include: San Ysidro Health Center, San Diego Urban League, SEDC, IRC New Roots Community Farm Project, IRC City Heights Farmer’s Market, Network for a Healthy California, County Obesity Prevention Initiative, County of San Diego HHSA Central Region, Overcoming Gangs & Beyond, Neighborhood Unity Foundation, Office of Councilman Anthony Young and the Jacobs Family Foundation.