Frequently Asked Questions

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• What is The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose?
• Who is involved in The Campaign?
• Why is this Campaign important?
• Is this a priority for the City?
• Is this something that the City has fiscal capacity to take on? Is this the best use of our resources?
• Will this Campaign create more regulations?
• Why isn’t The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose focusing on other healthy food providers such as grocery stores?
• How does this Campaign relate to the obesity epidemic that is in the news?

• Why are farmers’ markets a part of The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose?
• What are the benefits of farmers’ markets?
• What is a Certified Farmers’ Market?
• How many farmers’ markets are there in San Jose?
• Why does San Jose need more farmers’ markets?
• How do farmers’ markets impact traffic?
• What is mobile produce vending?
• Why is mobile produce vending a part of this Campaign?

• What is urban agriculture?
• Why is urban agriculture a part of The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose?
• What is a community garden?
• Why are community gardens part of The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose?
• What are the benefits of community gardens?
• How can I join a community garden?
• How do community gardens affect property values?
• How will the City of San Jose protect the best interest of residents as urban agriculture expands?

 

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The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose’s goal is to increase access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables for all San Jose residents. Working with city departments and food providers, the Campaign will seek changes in city policies that will:

• Increase urban agriculture, including home gardens, community gardens and urban farms, particularly in areas with limited access to healthy food options
• Support Certified Farmers’ Markets and mobile produce vendors in neighborhoods with the highest need, and promote use of EBT for purchases
• Make healthier food and beverages more available in public facilities and city-sponsored programs and events

Led by The Health Trust and funded through the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, the Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose is championed by the City of San Jose and a coalition of non-profits. Our Campaign partners include:

• City of San Jose Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement
• City of San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services
• FIRST 5 Santa Clara County
• Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association
• Working Partnerships USA

Many residents in San Jose’s low-income communities do not have adequate access to affordable, fresh produce. Current policies make it difficult to bring new healthy food resources into these communities. This is one reason why residents in these communities experience higher rates of nutrition-related diseases than residents of more affluent areas. Policy changes are needed to ensure that all residents have an equal opportunity to make healthy choices and live healthy lives.

The City of San Jose recently adopted a new General Plan that identifies healthy food access and urban agriculture as priorities. The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose’s strategies align with these city priorities and build off the momentum created by the new General Plan. The City of San Jose Department of Planning and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services are partners on this Campaign.

Like many local governments, the City of San Jose is currently facing difficult economic times. As a result, The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose coalition specifically selected strategies that are low-cost for the City, valued by the community, and have immediate impact. The proposed policy changes will focus on making it easier to bring new gardens, farmers’ markets and mobile produce vendors into low-income communities, with minimal increased demands on city resources.

The coalition also strategically timed The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose to take advantage of federal resources made available this fiscal year. The Health Trust received a grant from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant includes funding for City of San Jose staff time to support the proposed changes. It would be a waste of resources not to take advantage of this opportunity to increase access to healthy food for all San Jose residents.

The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose is working to reduce barriers that currently hinder efforts to bring healthy food into communities. The new policies being proposed will serve to facilitate and protect—not prevent—activities that increase healthy food access by making them safe and fair for everyone. The proposed policies will help to streamline the process and reduce the cost to community partners and the City to bring new healthy food resources into low-income communities.

Bringing in more grocery stores, as with many other strategies, is expensive and takes a long time. The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose is working to bring immediate, low-cost access to healthier food to the communities that most need it.

The Health Trust is engaged in other work aimed at longer-term strategies to increase healthy food access. Please visit www.healthtrust.org for more information.

The Campaign is based on research which shows that people who eat a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables are less likely to be obese. They also are less likely to develop heart disease and other serious illnesses. However, obesity is a complex issue that needs to be addressed comprehensively – including tactics to increase physical activity; foster safe, walkable neighborhoods and make healthy food more accessible to all communities. See The Health Trust’s Healthy Living Initiative for more information about obesity and activities to create healthier environments.

Farmers’ markets increase access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly in low-income neighborhoods. They have low start-up costs, can be implemented quickly, and have the additional benefits of boosting economic development and building local community. Launching farmers’ markets has a more immediate impact than other long-term strategies such as attracting grocery stores to communities that lack access to healthy foods.

• They increase consumption of fruits and vegetables.²
• The offer a variety of available produce at affordable prices.
  • Farmers’ markets provide locally grown fruits and vegetables that are harvested at the peak of freshness.³
  • Shoppers have reported better quality fruits and vegetables than in grocery stores²
  • Studies have shown that products sold at farmers’ markets actually cost less on average than comparable products sold in grocery stores^{4, 5}
  • Research has estimated that farmers’ markets offer savings of 10-28% as compared to grocery stores.⁵
• People support surrounding businesses when they visit farmers’ markets.
  • For instance, in one Bay Area survey, over sixty percent of shoppers spent money at surrounding businesses during their trip to a farmers’ market.¹
  • Research shows farmers’ market shoppers spend an average of $18.78 at local businesses when they visit the market.¹
  • Farmers’ markets also drive business to boost economic activity on a frequent basis, with hundreds of shoppers visiting the market weekly.⁶
  • Farmers’ markets attract new shoppers to downtowns and commercial areas and generate spillover economic activity, benefiting surrounding businesses.⁷
  • Every $5 spent at a farmers market generates nearly $8 of economic activity in the region. Furthermore, two full-time jobs created at a farmers market create one job elsewhere in the regional economy.⁸
• They serve as community gathering places.
  • Residents from every income level come together at farmers’ markets.¹
  • Nearly half of farmers’ market shoppers live in the same ZIP code as the farmers’ market location.¹
  • Farmers’ market shoppers living in the same ZIP code as the farmers’ market location average more monthly visits than shoppers residing in other ZIP codes.¹
• They require less time and fewer resources to launch than more complex options, like developing a new grocery store.
  • It takes only a few weeks to months to launch a new farmers’ market, compared to years for a new grocery store.⁶
  • A farmers’ market may cost around $25,000 in its first year, compared to $1 million or more for a new grocery store.^{5, 6}
  • Farmers’ markets can operate in an existing parking lot or other public space and require far less space than grocery stores, which may require 10,000-40,000 square feet of land. ⁵

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Certified Farmers’ Markets are regulated markets where farmers sell the fresh fruits, vegetables, and other farm products they grow directly to shoppers. The county agricultural commissioner must 1) certify the market and approve its location, and 2) enforce regulations about what products are sold. In California, 100% of the products sold in a Certified Farmers’ Market must be grown in California. Certified Farmers’ Markets must also follow health and safety standards.

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As of December 2011, there were fourteen Certified Farmers’ Markets in San Jose and about 30 in Santa Clara County. The California Department of Food and Agriculture provides information about farmers’ market locators on its Certified Farmers’ Market Program homepage

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Most San Jose residents do not live within walking distance of a farmers’ market. In fact, 52 percent of low-income families live more than a mile from the nearest farmers’ market, community garden or other healthy food resource. Bringing farmers’ markets into more neighborhoods will increase the number of people who can walk to this important resource and buy fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables.

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Farmers’ market help create walkable communities and contribute to “complete neighborhoods,” or neighborhoods that can meet most residents’ needs within walking distances. Many residents will be able to walk to the farmers’ market. In addition, as part of the planning process, The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose is working with the City of San Jose to ensure that any local residents’ concerns are adequately addressed, including the potential traffic impact a farmers’ market might have.

Mobile produce vending is the sale of fruits and vegetables from a cart or vehicle that can set up in one location or multiple locations each day.

Mobile vending increases access to healthy food by creating new retail outlets for fresh produce. San Jose, along with other communities around the country, is exploring the potential of mobile produce vendors, often entrepreneurs, to provide retail outlets for affordable healthy produce in communities with few options for fresh foods. One model for this approach is the NYC Green Carts program in New York City. In 2008, the New York City Council created a new class of mobile food vending permit that allows individual business owners to sell fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables from mobile carts in New York City neighborhoods with the most limited access to fresh and healthy foods.

Major types of urban agriculture include home gardens, community gardens and urban farms. The types of urban agriculture vary by size, location, participants and reason for their use. For instance, home gardens are usually small gardens on residential property for personal use. By contrast, community gardens are located on private or public property and tend to serve many residents in a neighborhood. Urban farms are typically larger-scale sites where food is grown by organizations or private entities, often for sale to the public.

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Developing urban agriculture can quickly and cost-effectively achieve The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose’s goal to increase access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly in low-income neighborhoods.

Community gardens can be defined as “shared open spaces where individuals garden together to grow fresh, healthful, and affordable fruits and vegetables.” They are typically small areas where neighborhood residents can grow food for personal consumption or donation. In some community gardens, each gardener has his or her own plot to garden. In others, one operator manages the entire site, which all gardeners help tend.

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Today there is a high, unmet demand for joining a community garden, with more than 400 people on waiting lists. At the same time, there are many available schools and properties with underutilized land where gardens could be located. Finally, community gardens are aligned with healthy food access and urban agriculture policies in the City of San Jose’s General Plan, which will help facilitate their implementation.

• They improve access to food and better nutrition.¹
• They increase consumption of fruits and vegetables. ^{1, 2}
  • Community gardeners report consuming more servings and a greater variety of fruits and vegetables than non-gardeners. ²
• They promote physical activity. ³
• They can help save on food costs. ²
  • In Philadelphia, families participating in a community garden saved an average of $700/year. ⁴
• They provide opportunities for education and job skills training. ¹
• They improve neighborhood safety and security. ¹
• They help build community. ^{3, 5}

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The Department of Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services manages community gardens in San Jose. Today, there are 19 community gardens in San Jose. Visit the San Jose Community Gardens homepage for information about garden locations and to register for the program. The waitlist to join a community garden is currently 2-3 years long, which is partly why The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose is working to remove barriers to launching additional community gardens.

Research has shown that community gardens positively affect property values, with the greatest impact in low-income neighborhoods. In one study, property values in low-income neighborhoods increased by up to nine percent within five years of opening a new community garden.¹

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With thoughtful planning and regulation, urban agriculture can be a great neighbor. The City of San Jose is interested in drafting regulations and operating standards to regulate the safety and aesthetics of urban agriculture sites. Specific operating standards and use regulations may address the following issues:

• On-site sales & farm stands
• Soil Testing
• Structures (e.g., greenhouses, hoop houses, raised beds, etc.)
• Other issues, including accessibility requirements, parking, requirements to submit management plans, etc.

Such regulations will ensure that community gardens and urban farms are operated in a way that promotes and protects public health, safety, and welfare. Additionally, by creating a distinction between a community garden (generally either smaller in size, or non-commercial, or both) and an urban farm (larger scale/intensity of use, oriented towards growing for sale rather than personal consumption), the City may allow smaller, more neighborhood-serving community gardens in residential districts, while limiting urban farms to industrial or commercial districts.

The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose is made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Resources

Fresh Cart Silicon Valley read the feasibility study (PDF 1.03 Mb) Interested in more information? visit resources