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San Diego Food Justice Organization To Hold Fundraiser This Week

Project New Village Director Diane Moss is pictured at the Mount Hope community garden in this undated photo.
Project New Village/ Facebook
Project New Village Director Diane Moss is pictured at the Mount Hope community garden in this undated photo.
San Diego Food Justice Organization To Hold Fundraiser This Week
San Diego Food Justice Organization To Hold Fundraiser This Week GUESTS:Diane Moss, executive director, Project New Village Bryant Terry, author, "Afro Vegan"

The Justice Department and five states have finalized a settlement of more than $20 billion arising from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It resolved all civil claims against the play and ends five years of legal fighting over 134,000,000 gallons spilled. The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to New York State's requirement that all children be vaccinated before they can attend public school. The justices today let's span and approval court ruling that says the policy does not violate students constitutional right of religious freedom. With similar law was recently enacted here in California. There are still places in the city of San Diego where you can go miles without finding a supermarket but you can find fast food outlets and liquor stores on every other block. Never like that happen identified and discussed, but they don't change unless somebody makes that change happen. Project new village and urban our cultural organization has been a catalyst for change in southeastern San Diego. Greening up community gardens with locally grown produce. As it prepares to celebrate his fourth annual Gala we will discuss accomplishments and goals for the future. Turning me is Diane Moss, executive director of project new village. Welcome to the show. Chef Bryant Terry is the Gala of celebrity guest. Dealership in residence at the Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco.'s latest cookbook is called Apple begin. Bryant, welcome. Die and as I said lots of people talk about this problem but not many people do anything about it. What inspired the creation of project new village? Project new village has been around for some time looking at some of the issues in southeastern San Diego. In 2008 equity shall up on our screen as something to do. Equity is a critical piece of having a multiple system. In southeastern San Diego we are lacking that boot system. I live there, my neighbors are there and we want to relive to be the rest of sort of food. I think most people are familiar of the phrase food desert -- the lack of the supermarket and stores selling fresh produce and healthy. Mid-American southeastern San Diego have also been called the swamps. What does that mean question my The distinction -- we do have places or outlets where people can get food but the quality is bad. We are looking at forcing our -- using our EBT at convenience stores and gas stations. We don't have the best produced some of the whole system categories are missing or not available to those were shopping there. What are some of the health effects of living on that kind of food? If you look at any health profile itself the San Diego we are the highest among the highest in cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and asthma. Bryant Terry how do we get here? Were people in so many neighborhoods only have access to packaged, process and fast food? It is historical. It is systemic. A lot comes from the disinvestment and cities that started happening when you have economic blight or white flight in the late 60s. Along with people you have supermarket leaving, the tax base that supported these places leave. I think is important that they are doing, it's really been clear that the problem -- to address the problem with both insecurity we can't simply rely on supermarkets. I think every community deserves a full-service supermarket and there are staple products and things that one needs that can't be grown. The true solution to addressing community insecurity -- both insecurity or injustice is having solutions be owned and driven by the people living in that community. That is what makes the work that project new village is doing so powerful. Is building a happy and systemic -- sustainable. But the ground up. Making sure people are contributing to our most impacted by the issues. Diane, tell us what does project new village does this -- to turn this whole solution around. As you mentioned early we have a community garden on market Street. I was told on my way here is the most beautiful market in San Diego. What we're doing is place making. But we do have in southeastern San Diego as a lot of vacant lots, larger residential lots. These for me to represent opportunities for growing. We're trying to engage the community if it is not at the store, we can grow our own. We have the resources and the know-how and human capital to grow our own food. Market Street is our first garden, but we're looking now to add to other locations in southeastern San Diego. All of our work is in collaboration with that. A lot of people in the neighborhood are pretty stressed in the amount of time they have. Working a couple of jobs in trying to make ends meet. How do they also grow their own? Is more than just food growing, there is relationships. We have some of our best times in the garden, sharing recipes, people look out for each other, we show each other how to grow and really time does not seem to be a factor. When you are there and have a lot of benefit. Bryant are you going around the country speaking about food justice,. Were some of the frequent comments you hear question mark There is a mixed perception that people living in low income working-class poor communities -- actually don't have a desire to eat healthy fresh bills. There are many studies that show that when there are adequate resources that provide healthy and fresh sustainable and culturally appropriate boot, people will eat it. As we talked about earlier we're dealing with a problem where there simply isn't enough options -- for people who live in those communities. So much of the focus is on personal responsibility but we can talk about that without talking about the physical and economical barriers that people have. People want to move. -- Good food. Is really about how can we ensure that people have those names, access to good food and the tools to make a fresh meals from scratch for themselves and their families. Diane where do farmers markets begin question my We have a farmers market and sell used in San Diego.. Is a struggle to get our residents to come out and put this into their routine. We are trying for the fourth time to open a farmers market on October 28. On a main street. What we are doing this time is making it more convenient for the working population. This will be a night market. Will reopen on October 28 and at a new location for Will be right there in the lot -- woodlot parking lot. Are you that the misconceptions you come up with a lot is that people say will income people do not want to eat healthy and that is not a big priority for them. Your latest book, Afro vegan really reinterpret some familiar foods and a healthier way. Can you describe for us how you go about doing that? Yes -- in the more than decade I've been doing this happened clear that some of the communities most impacted by illnesses are African American communities -- both African descent. One of the criteria I think is important that we focus on when we talk about reclaiming health and well-being is consuming our cultural. The. Parents and grandparents were eating. When we talk about African-American choosing, or soul food as people will call it, it is reduced to the comfort foods, the deep-fried meats, sugary desserts and food people most often have on holidays. Part of my goal is to help people reimagine African American using and understand the complex and nutrient rich kissing with lots of dark green -- only talk about reclaiming African-American health, we need to ensure that the diet is including all of those diverse and helpful as well that is what my work has been about is introducing them in a modern context that makes it easy to cook, accessible, delicious and reflecting on our cultural bolts.'s. Even though your latest book is called Afro vegan Don't concentrate on the vegan concentrate on the taste. There are a number of studies that are clear and more studies are coming out that a plant centered diet can be very effective in helping prevent a lot of chronic illnesses and can help to the meliorate symptoms and reverse chronic illnesses. I simply want to provide people with the tools to be able to make more plant centered meals. If they decide they want to put bacon grease -- or they want to add some meat to the mustard greens and correct them, that is fine. There are not enough resources for people who want to have creative reinterpretations, classic dishes or taking the Staples of African American cuisine. Your gala this week is called the family will Hamer celebration. Most all of the people would recognize her as a civil rights leader. She was a forerunner in the food justice movement. And the last decade of her life she did lots of programming to deal with the issues of the poor. In 1968 she established a blue -- food lifestyle which existed of a farm. She also worked with the national Council of [ NULL ] women to establish freedom farms. Chief at over 5000 people were growing their own food over 680 acres that they secured. Are doing man taking so people can get meat and nutrition in their diet. This was back in the 60s? This was in the mid-60s. I know that you say project new village is about the -- the project itself is about the intersection of farming, health, activism, art and culture. Why do you think it is about evening something grown in your own neighborhood that ties people into so many other aspects of the community? I think both is a part of our culture. The food tastes good, there is something that happens. People smile and you feel good. It reinforces that you can do but rings right where you live. I know that the project new village is actually has gotten large -- lost change. Tell about that? Mustivar work we had to change the landscape here such that we could grow together. It was not permitted to have a community garden in a commercial or residential zone. So we worked with countywide coalition, and changed the ordinances such that we can now grow food and commercial areas, residential areas and we can be in those areas one day a week. This was the firstborn is that was changed. It allows us to have picks and chickens in those same areas. You have said earlier that one of the goals is to expand the garden into more gardens. Tell us more. We are working now just in the same neighborhood on 47th St., there is a parcel of property we will be working with to transform into a garden space. It may not be the garden space we see with the facts, but this is centered around schools. We want the science of growing food -- is right on -- Lake. Will looking at the impact of the watershed. It becomes a larger speed -- please educate us about their relationship with food, the growing of food. There will be some potlucks and testing of food into spots. Chef Brian, that's a bit incompletely well with your expertise. I know you are often called a eco-chef. What does that mean? So much of my work has been about changing the habits and attitudes of eaters. The way they interact with food, multiple systems. I realized that starting with the intellectual ideas of the food or starting with the talking about policy issues, it often does not resonate with most people. I found resonates is talking about -- not just talking about the starting with food, serving people delicious, flavorful food that is grown locally and gardens and prepared by community members. And from there I have found that people want to talk more about the issues, they want to get more involved. The whole idea -- with this idea that we are all interconnected. There is no separation. We talk about the land, the land is unhealthy when we are unhealthy. If the food is unhealthy and we are unhealthy. Ultimate people make those connections. Of the things that is so brilliant is that they understand just we need to have that individual transformation, the consumer change understanding where we spend our dollars -- we are voting for the type of. We want to see. Living be on that too community change -- how can we involve local stakeholders and have everyone in the community involved in transforming. But ending -- keeping one eye on specific engagement please. How can we understand ourselves as citizens will are charged with ensuring our elected officials are making policy to benefit every day there's? Fannie Lou Hamer legacy celebration will be held this Wednesday at the shyly sweet at the San Diego central library from 4:00 to 6 PM. Thank you both very much. Thank you. Thank you.

While Southeastern San Diego has many convenience and liquor stores, some areas lack supermarkets, making it difficult for residents to obtain healthy food. It has been designated a food desert by the USDA.

Since 2010, Project New Village has been working to change the area's food landscape by creating the Mount Hope Community Garden, supporting efforts to help residents grow their own food at home, and increasing access to fresh healthy produce in the area.

On Wednesday, the nonprofit is holding its 5th annual gala fundraiser. It will feature vegan cookbook author Bryant Terry and honor civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer.

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The gala will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the New Central Library at 330 Park Blvd. in San Diego.