Back to basics

Working with people who experience homelessness and live in their cars during a pandemic has highlighted the dire need to go back to basics. Now more than ever, we are motivated to promote food justice in communities that do not have access to a kitchen to prepare healthy meals or fridge to store food. We want to focus on two communities that are often overlooked- adults with a mental health diagnosis who live in Board and Care Homes and individual adults/families who live in their cars throughout San Diego County. Neither communities have access to storage, a kitchen and are often on limited/fixed incomes.

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On a daily basis, we hear stories of individuals and families who struggle to maintain their health because of their limited options to store fresh fruits and vegetables in their cars. From our previous work, we know board and care residents often to not receive nutritious or even good tasting meals. These residents either eat the meals knowing it's one of their only options or spend money they shouldn't have to on fast food to feel some semblance of control over than own health.

 

We have a few programs in the works with the following goals:

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During the Pandemic:

1. Teach classes on how to prepare healthy and simple meals that requires no heat or storage. 

2. Prepare and deliver hot and ready-to-eat vegan meals to people who live in Board and Care homes or live in their cars.

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Long-term Future Goal:​

1. Teach clients to garden, harvest and prepare their meals using fresh ingredients from our Botanic Garden and prepared in our Community Kitchen.

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