Live Well San Diego Food System Group

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Live Well San Diego Food Systems Working Group was created in May 2014 to improve and integrate the County of San Diego’s governmental approach to the food system. The intention of the working group is to break through silos to offer a collaborative and agile response to food system concerns. The group includes the County Departments of: Agriculture, Weights, and Measures; Environmental Health; Health and Human Services Agency; Parks and Recreation; Planning and Development Services; Public Works; and the Farm and Home Advisor, with a goal of advancing a safe, healthy, and robust food system that considers the triple bottom line of health, the environment, and the local economy. The group identified the unique roles each of the departments play in the food system and developed an action plan composed of short-, mid-, and long-term goals that require teamwork. Cross-departmental collaboration in the group facilitated approval of fishermen’s markets legislation in California; development of an agreement between schools and their onsite gardens for culinary use; expansion of San Diego Grown 365 to promote locally grown foods; mapping of public land for urban agriculture; and the promotion of food recovery strategies, including waste prevention, donation, animal feeding, and composting.