East Bay food-justice movement has deep roots in Black Panther Party
Echoes of social justice programs that the Black Panther Party started resonate within current East Bay food-justice groups.
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Spiral Gardens
Recent Stories
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For Sale sign at Spiral Gardens met with confusion, alarm
It started with a “For Sale” sign, prominently displayed to traffic whizzing up and down Sacramento Street in South Berkeley. Next came a formidable black fence surrounding a relatively small pizza-slice of land smack in front of Spiral Gardens, a popular nonprofit community garden project at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon streets. The fence blocks the garden’s main entrance.
Berkeley groups want old railroad bed to be a public park
A group of local residents is asking the city to raise funds to turn an old, fenced-off railroad bed in South Berkeley, called the Santa Fe Right of Way, into open space with community gardens and a trail that connects to the Ohlone Greenway.
‘Innovative’ housing with rooftop farms set for Southside
City zoning board members approved a 77-unit mixed-use housing development near downtown Berkeley late last week, expressing excitement about a “unique” design set to include more than a dozen working rooftop farm plots and a novel approach to parking.
High lead levels an issue for backyard chickens, soil
A local vet shares his concerns that people are raising chickens in lead-contaminated urban soils, unaware that the lead can enter the chicken eggs we eat.
Berkeleyans closer to being able to sell backyard produce
In August 2010, Sophie Hahn told a reporter it was easier to have a pot collective in Berkeley than to have a vegetable collective. Last night Hahn’s desire to see the city allow residents to sell the food they grow in their backyards came one step closer to reality when the Planning Commission unanimously passed the Edible Garden Initiative.
Field trip highlights programs in food-forward Berkeley
Berkeley's alternative food programs and businesses in the spotlight on a food soverignty tour co-hosted by Bay Area Green Tours Saturday.
Urban farmer Willow Rosenthal plants seeds in Berkeley
The aptly named Willow Rosenthal grew up around trees in Sonoma County in a community that farmed its own food. Raised by hippies who didn’t have a lot of money, she nonetheless ate well. She also learned how to grow her own food by working on an organic farm and for a local nursery.
Garden teacher Kim Allen offers youth space to grow
For four years Kim Allen has served as garden program manager for Berkeley Youth Alternatives (BYA), which provides a minimum-wage, internship program for socio-economically challenged adolescents ages 14 to 18. Some come to the garden through word-of-mouth from family or friends, others as part of mandated community service.
Spiral Gardens produce stand in jeopardy
Like many nonprofits, it took a while for the downturn in the economy to impact the nursery sales at Spiral Gardens, a community food security project on Sacramento Street in South Berkeley.
Berkeley Bites: Ben Feldman, Farmers’ Market man
This weekend, Berkeley’s Saturday farmers’ market reaches its 20th anniversary milestone. Ben Feldman is program manager for the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, a project of the Ecology Center. Previously, Feldman worked as a market manager for the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association.
