Ubuntu Urban Garden Cleanup a Great Success!

On Saturday, August 26, a group of more than 30 young people in Sacramento took the first step towards transforming a blighted lot into a bright spot for the entire community.  Ubuntu Green's Green Youth Leadership Team (known as the G-Squad), led the effort to turn a vacant lot at 44^th Street and 14^th Avenue into a community garden.  The lot is adjacent to a corner store that provides fresh, locally produced fruits and vegetables. 

The cleanup effort was done in partnership with other youth in the region and community partners, including Alchemist CDC, Soil Born Farms and Asian Resources.  According to Ubuntu Green's President and CEO Charles Mason, "Saturday's cleanup was a great opportunity for all residents to come together and create something beautiful.  We had a great response from the community, and the G-Squad's energy and creativity made it a great success!"

Before Cleanup

After Cleanup

PolicyLink Releases Report on Healthy Food, Healthy Communities

PolicyLink recently released a report entitled Healthy Food, Healthy Communities:  Promising Strategies to Improve Access to Fresh, Healthy Food and Transform Communities.  For decades, low-income urban and rural communities have faced limited opportunities to purchase healthy food.   Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, middle-class families fled urban centers for homes in the suburbs. The supermarkets followed, leaving the families who remained with limited access to fresh, healthy, affordable foods. These residents have instead had to rely on expensive, fatty, processed foods sold at corner convenience stores and small local shops.

The report details the efforts that are taking place nationwide to make healthy food access a reality to all.  It focuses on several main objectives:  developing new grocery stores in underserved areas through dedicated financing sources and better planning; improving existing small neighborhood and convenience stores by reducing the store's costs through subsidies and government assistance; establishing and sustaining farmers' markets; connecting local farmers to low-income consumers; and encouraging community gardens and urban agriculture.  For more information on what is working throughout the nation to improve healthy food access, view the full report here. 

Measure to Form Blue Ribbon Commission to Study Public Transit Passed by Legislature

On Tuesday, the California Assembly passed AB 650 by Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D-Van Nuys), by a vote of 52-24, clearing it for the Governor's desk.  The bill would establish a blue ribbon task force to create a public transportation development plan that assesses our current public transit capacity, the amount of transit we need, and how we can finance transit construction.  The task force would be composed of 12 experts in finance, transit, the environment, and public health who must complete their plan by September 30, 2012.  The work would be done, in part, through workshops conducted across the state, using existing transit funds provided through the state's gas tax, specifically those devoted to transit planning.

According to Blumenfield, "Each commuter loses 63 hours of life to traveling by car at peak hours.  This staggering statistic is a reflection that we do not have enough transit alternatives."  AB 650 is supported by Ubuntu Green, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Transform and many other groups.

Green Home Services Partnering with Ubuntu Green to Raise Funds!

Ubuntu Green is partnering with Green Home Services, a green cleaning company, to raise funds for its Home and Community Gardens Project.  Green Home Services is a Sacramento-based green company that specializes in all types of home cleaning: green carpet cleaning, upholstery, rugs, air duct systems, and even tile & grout!   They are affordable, professional, 100% Green, and community-oriented. All their products are green, bio-degradable, and approved by the EPA. 

This year Green Home Services is joining with community organizations to raise money for green projects in our region, and has selected Ubuntu Green!    When you make an appointment and have a cleaning service done in your home, Ubuntu Green will receive 20% of the total cost of that service!  Greener Homes = Greener Communities. 

Please visit www.GreenHome-Services.com or call 1-855-714-8500 to make an appointment, and help Ubuntu Green!

Announcements

9/8 - 3pm to 5 pm -- CDFA Secretary Karen Ross Listening Session on Federal Farm Bill, Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner's Office, 1428 Abbott Street, Salinas CA.  California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross is holding farm bill listening sessions across the state to gather input from farmers, ranchers and the public regarding California's priorities for the federal farm bill. The listening sessions will offer an opportunity for individuals and organizations to provide comments that will help determine California's farm bill priorities.  Contact:  Steve Lyle, (916) 654-0462.

9/10 - 9 am to 1 pm - Oak Park Farmer's Market, McClatchy Park, 35^th Street and 5^th Avenue, Sacramento.  Our award-winning market features a diverse group of vendors selling locally produced and delicious fruits and vegetables, specialty plants and sprouts, breads, cheese, tamales, fresh flowers and more! EBT and WIC benefits are gladly accepted-ask us about our EBT incentive! For more information, visit http://www.nwsac.org/oakparkfarmersmarket/.

 9/14 - 9 am to 12 pm - Cultural Competency:  How to Work Effectively With Diverse Populations to Improve Nutrition and Physical Activity, Sierra 2 Community Center
2791 24th Street, Sacramento.  Dr. Lisa Gunderson, tenured psychology faculty member at Sacramento City College will lead a discussion on how partners can use new tools to work more effectively with diverse populations.  For more information, contact llee@healthedcouncil.org by Sept. 12.