This week's "Special Reports on Regional Change" section focuses on a new report by the Applied Research Center looking at "good food" movements and farmworker movements, and the possibility for collaboration between the two objectives to combat racial discrimination in labor and health issues throughout the state.

The report ends with several key recommendations for those who would like to pursue this type of partnership, including fostering collaborative leadership for the most negatively impacted in the food chain, and supporting the formation of multiracial coalitions between both movements. For more information about this report, please read bellow.

A new study by several UC Davis faculty members shows that patients trust doctors but still choose to use the Internet as a means to inform themselves. This new trend falls in line with an increased use of Internet information for all aspects of life, and should come as a relief to doctors. The study also finds that online health information does not replace traditional source of information, like reference books, friends, and health news reports. To read this report, click here. 

   

Last month, the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution to replicate the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers-West Let's Get Healthy California campaign in other cities throughout the U.S. The California campaign set in place a 10-year plan to improve the health of Californians through prevention and wellness strategies aimed at combating chronic disease. The initiative brings several groups together to address California's health concerns through health screenings, educational films, and healthcare program education in several areas throughout the state. Members of the Conference of Mayors hope the resolution will help combat the growing healthcare crisis. To learn more, click here.

The San Joaquin County regional transit system ranks 29th on a list of 371 transit providers in the nation's largest metropolitan areas, according to a report by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings. The report also finds that nearly 70 percent of metropolitan residents live in areas with access to a transit service, but only one-quarter of low-skill industries are accessible via transit. To read more and to see how your area ranks, click here. 

 

Grants awarded by The California FreshWorks Fund have made it so families in Long Beach, Los Angeles, and West Oakland have easier access to essential foods. The California Freshworks Fund is supported by Kaiser Permanente and The California Endowment, and aims to bring healthy food grocery stores to underserved communities. Over the past few years, the fund has raised $264 million and impacted thousands of low-income communities throughout the state. To read more about this event, click here.  

Increasing good food availability and improving labor conditions are not only attainable, says the Applied Research Center, but they're both attainable simultaneously. In a new report entitled "GOOD FOOD AND GOOD JOBS FOR ALL: Challenges and Opportunities to Advance Racial and Economic Equity in the Food System," the ARC discusses some of the challenges facing healthy food movements and farmworker movements, including systemic barriers to eating well and consumer neglect. What they found is that there are multiple points of collaboration between both movements, and that each would benefit from working cooperatively.

Generally, low-income people and people of color are most disproportionately, negatively impacted by obesity, food security, food deserts, wage and hour violations, and lack of benefits. In the case of the "good food" movement, policies often neglect to address the issues of wages, immigration status, and safe conditions, all of which impact the labor industry. Together, both camps can work to address many of the ills plaguing today's society, such as health issues and unsafe labor practices impacted by race and gender discrimination.

This report's findings are based on a survey of 186 groups and interviews with more than 25 leaders in the food and labor worlds, finding both potential for and obstacles to collaboration in each movement. The report ends with key recommendations for future work. To read this exciting report in-full, click here.

The Geothermal Energy Association is pleased to announce its second annual National Geothermal Summit on Tuesday, August 7th and Wednesday, August 8th in Sacramento. The summit will bring together business and policy leaders, as well as key companies to address the most pressing issues for the industry today. Discussion will focus on reducing geothermal exploration risk and improving incentives for geothermal power, among other topics. To find out more, click here.