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Welcome to Roots of Change

Roots of Change (ROC) is a collaborative of diverse leaders and institutions unified in common pursuit of achieving a sustainable food system in California by 2030.  ROC is an emerging alliance; its purpose and beliefs will continue to evolve as the community of allies grows.
Why California?
Why The Food System?
Why Now?

Learn more about ROC's history and structure .

Join the ROC Changemakers Network!

Across California, farmers, eaters, health advocates, chefs, business owners, policy makers and many more are forming an alliance to create a sustainable food system for our state in one generation. Be informed. Be invited. Be involved.  If you would like to join the Changemakers Network, sign up here…    

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The Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture

has been endorsed by 200 national leaders of the sustainable food movement.  Your endorsement will increase the influence of these reform leaders and thousands of others who are working to speed the transition to a more sustainable food and agricultural system across the USA. 

Read, endorse, or comment on the draft Declaration here.



Changemakers Day
roc-changemakers-map-pos.jpgOn Friday, August 29th over 600 people came together for the first-ever Changemakers Day.  Through a collaboration with Roots of Change and Slow Food Nation, the day explored the challenges and opportunities we face as we build a movement for a good, clean, and fair food system.  The goal of the day was to spur deep dialogue, initiate action, expand networks, and ultimately to inspire lasting change in the sustainable food systems movement. The event was a great success. 

The day consisted of over 30 panels ranging from: the future of farming, the ways we must encourage leadership development and diversity within the food system, to the nuts and bolts of how we can better link the health and food system movements.  

We've begun to post reports on the panels  and will add more in the coming weeks for those of you who weren't able to join us. We encourage you to weigh in, pose provocative questions to the experts who sat on the panels, and to add any thoughts that you might have. 

Please click here to view a full list of the sessions, moderators and panelists.
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Photos via Hill St. Studios
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The New Mainstream 5-Year Campaign Strategy
In 2003, ROC began work with hundreds of CA food system leaders on the Vivid Picture Project  to create a comprehensive vision for a sustainable food system for CA by 2030.  Released in Nov. 2005, The Vivid Picture outlined this vision and the associated measurable indicators that can be used to track progress toward sustainability.  

Over the last year, the ROC community has been hard at work on a detailed implementation strategy for this vision.  Last summer, the first class of ROC Planning Fellows lent their experience, expertise, and on-the-ground knowledge of the state’s food system to an intensive strategic planning process. The ROC Fellows began to  identify  and prioritize the work needed between 2007 and 2011 to achieve the 2030 goal for a sustainable food system.   This work was then honed by members of the ROC Stewardship Council, the Business Leaders Council , the Workforce Workgroup,  and ROC’s Coordinating Team, resulting is this draft 5-Year Campaign Strategy.  The plan identifies three key change levers to move the entire food system toward sustainability, please click on each leaver listed below to see its associated objectives and suggested actions: 

INTRODUCTION - Values, Principals, and Goals

LEVER 1:  LEADERSHIP  Network leaders and build leadership capacity to mobilize communities (geographic and affinity) to act together to create a sustainable food system for CA by 2030.  These networks must cross ethnic, class and interest boundaries to create maximum synergy.

LEVER 2: PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION  Inject new values, incentives, and business models that will shift the food system to triple bottom line accounting in order to insure food production in perpetuity and to increase the supply of sustainable food available to all income levels.

LEVER 3: PUBLIC PERCEPTION  Create a shift in public perception so that all Californians see and value the interrelationship between farms, food, and health. 

To download a copy of the entire document, click here.


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Be a Changemaker - Actions You Can Take Today

Here are some actions you can take today to help create a sustainable food system for CA in one generation. 
Learn more here.   

Call For Volunteers –

How would you like to meet new people, help them connect to the sustainable food movement, and have fun at the same time?
Find out more...

Donate to the Roots of Change!

Click here to donate and help support a sustainable food system for California!

Log onto the California Food Systems Network

Connect, collaborate, and create. The Food California Food Systems Network is a hub where all parts of the California food system can share, learn, and demonstrate the links between organizations, individuals, and businesses.

Just click here to check it out!


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