Rockwood Food Systems Collaborative

Working for the flourishing of all in East Multnomah County.

DSC_1001-3

We use food, nutritional education, business incubation, and agricultural development as tools to help our neighbors attain better health outcomes, equity, greater prosperity, a cleaner environment, and increased social capital.

Our neighbors in Rockwood have Oregon’s highest levels of hypertension, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Consider how our Grandma’s Hands program meets the needs of young African-American families in this article.

The results of these activities are the alleviation of suffering caused by COVID, increased social capital among 90 cultural groups, better nutrition and health outcomes, and successful young BIPOC businesses.

8W1A7710

People are hungry for food, they are hungry for business success, and they are hungry for social justice. These three sectors intersect in Rockwood, where great change is occurring in food systems.

Our diverse collective is:

  • Supporting 850 gardeners to feed their families and launch businesses
  • Helping 22 food entrepreneurs build wealth
  • Engaging African-American grandmas to teach nutrition to young families
  • Encouraging black-owned farms and other food businesses
  • Feeding 650+ families every week during the COVID crisis
  • Finding investment capital
  • Engaging mid-tier industry players as new stakeholders
  • Using CSAs to build connections between farmers and consumers
  • Finding the funding to support this transformative work

To learn more, to engage our team, or to join our collaborative, visit the Rockwood Food Systems Collaborative Website.

Our Work

We work intentionally with community members to solve systems-level issues with systems-level solutions.