Walking into the classroom of Richmond’s Latina Center intimidated Maria Lourdes Sanchez. The other Spanish-speaking women in the room, who also came to develop their leadership skills, were welcoming. But Sanchez was still afraid.
It’s almost spring here in California, which for many means it’s time to start planning this year’s garden. But when it comes to growing food in cities, planning for gardens means more than just picking out seeds. Unless city and county planning documents include policies supporting urban agriculture, community gardening and other local food-growing programs could be in jeopardy.
Gov. Jerry Brown wants California voters to weigh in by June on his plan to balance the budget. But the voters, polls show, know next to nothing about the state’s finances, and much of what they think they know is wrong. That widespread ignorance, understandable in a state as complex as most countries, might play a role in shaping the debate over Brown’s plan, and ultimately the outcome.
Nearly 900 pounds of citrus fruit is making its way to the tables of many hungry Stockton families, thanks to Healthy Choices, a program of the Health Education Council. Students in the YMCA’s Healthy Choices afterschool group at Franklin High School have been spending their afternoons harvesting fruit from citrus trees in the Eastside neighborhood surrounding Franklin High School.
For the first time, American’s official dietary guidelines this year have new advice for the nation: eat less food.
California is making early progress toward its goal of reducing the use of motor vehicles, but more creative and aggressive public policies will be necessary to get people to switch from driving to walking, biking and using public transit, according to a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California.
The Sacramento League of Urban Gardeners helps area residents build gardens in their yards. See our story on this innovative community group that’s making a difference.
Richard Speiglman is a Senior Researcher at the Child and Family Policy Institute of California (CFPIC), recognized for his commitment to understanding California’s welfare system (CalWORKs). His recent work has focused on what are known as “child-only” cases, which now make up just over half of the state’s CalWORKs caseload.
California’s welfare system, known as CalWORKs, is designed as a time-limited cash assistance and welfare-to-work program to help recipients get trained and employed. Self-sufficiency is the buzz word. But consider this fact: Since 2004/2005, children, not adults, have made up the majority of welfare cases in California. Under CalWORKs, cash assistance can be provided to eligible children in situations when their parents or caregivers are no longer eligible for aid or never were (see sidebar). These “child-only” cases comprised 53 percent of the CalWORKs caseload in the federal fiscal year ending in 2009.
Increasing numbers of Californians believe that unhealthy eating habits and the lack of physical activity are major problems for California’s children, according to a new, independent poll by the Field Research Corporation.