CANAL COMMUNITY ACTION TEAM
The MarinHEAL Community Action Teams (CATs) lead garden projects in The Canal, Marin City, and West Marin to foster the development of community selected equitable food system priorities. Learn about the work led by the Canal CAT below.
2024-2025
Alcohol Justice Urban Greening Project
Alcohol Justice launched the framework for their urban greening project, a hands-on training program which allowed youth to practice and develop skills for growing food. Funding provided by MarinHEAL supported with the development of the garden.
Click on the image below to learn about the Alcohol Justice Greening Project.
2022-2023
Community Engagement
Alcohol Justice held regular meetings with Canal stakeholders and thought leaders, including Community Action Marin, Indigenous Healing Center of Marin, Parent Services Project, and Solidaridad Guatemalteca. Through these meetings, the Canal CAT agreed to the 3 food system priorities outlined below to bring forward to the Canal residents for input.
Priorities for a Comprehensive Community Food System in the Canal
- Promote edible urban greening in the Canal and identify underutilized land for community gardens to grow organic produce.
- Leverage expertise of those in the restaurant industry and community gardens to support a public market with a commercial kitchen and food trucks.
- Support an educational campaign around decolonizing food ways with local community leaders to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.
2021-2022
Stakeholder Interviews and Recommendations
Over the course of four months, MarinHEAL Collaborative leadership interviewed 24 identified community stakeholders in the Canal District, Marin City, and West Marin. The same questions were asked of each participant and sought to identify what a community food system and community empowerment could look like in each community. Of the 24 interviews conducted, 10 of the stakeholders were representatives of the Canal.
Defining an Equitable Food System
The reccomendations listed below served as a starting point to be further refined through a broader engagement process co-led by each Community Action Team (CAT).
Draft Reccomendations
- Leverage expertise of those in the restaurant industry and community gardens to support a public market with a commercial kitchen and food trucks.
- Peer Health Promoters to build skills around healthy eating, decolonizing food ways, and healthy marketing.
Canal Interviews
Interview themes prompted further discussion and inquiries about root causes and strategies for change that were planned, implemented, and evaluated by the Community Action Teams (CAT’s).
Interview Themes
- Financial insecurity, lack of time due to working multiple jobs, and limited access to affordable options are the largest barriers between community members and healthy eating.
- Healthy food will fuel people to work harder to better themselves and the community.
- Not bringing in something new but improving upon existing businesses and organizing home cooks into a mercado would be helpful.
- Community food systems mean taking care of those in need, a sustainable food system, and reclaiming cultural traditions.
Community empowerment means a collective culture of inclusive and organized networks for mutual aid, uniting the community to hold power to make key decisions