Seed Grant Forum: A Report Back on Multidisciplinary Action-Oriented Research

Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 2 – 4pm
Alumni House Toll Room
University of California, Berkeley

Seed Research photo compilation

The Berkeley Food Institute seed grant program supports innovative, collaborative, interdisciplinary research projects that are aligned with the mission of the Institute: to catalyze and support transformative changes in food systems to promote diversity, justice, resilience, and health. In this first annual Seed Grant Forum the 2014 grant recipients will report on their research progress and findings, implications for policy and practice, and next steps. The 2015 grant recipients will also briefly introduce their projects, newly underway.

Video from event below:

Introduction by Claire Kremen, Faculty Co-director, Berkeley Food Institute.

2014 Projects:

  1. Building an Evidence Base for State and Federal Policy: Testing the Effects of Purchase Restrictions and Incentives within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
    Barbara Laraia (Public Health), Pat Crawford (Nutrition Policy Institute), Maria Echaveste (Law), and Hillary Hoynes (Public Policy), in collaboration with California Food Policy Advocates
  1. Making the Road by Mapping: Informing Food System Transformation through Participatory Mapmaking
    Kathryn DeMaster (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), Adam Calo (PhD Student, (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), Darin Jensen (Geography), Maggi Kelly (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; Cooperative Extension), Tapan Parikh (Information), and Sarah Van Wart (PhD Student, Information), in collaboration with Kaley Grimland-Mendoza (Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association), Amber Sciligo (Post-doc, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), Christy Getz (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), Jennifer Sowerwine (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; Cooperative Extension)
  1. Reaping without Sowing: Urban Foraging, Sustainability, Nutrition, and Social Welfare
    Philip Stark (Statistics), Thomas Carlson (Integrative Biology), and Kristen Rasmussen (Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology), in collaboration with Eric Berlow (Vibrant Data, Inc)
  1. An Agroecological Survey of Urban Farms in the Eastern Bay Area to Explore Their Potential to Enhance Food Security
    Miguel Altieri (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management) and Celine Pallud (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management), in collaboration with Eric Holt-Gimenez (Food First) and several East Bay community groups
  1. The Subminimum Wage for Tipped Workers as a Human Rights Issue, Phase 1
    Laurel Fletcher (Law), Saru Jayaraman (Food Labor Research Center), and Allison Davenport (Law), in collaboration with Restaurant Opportunity Centers United and Food Chain Workers Alliance

 2015 Projects:

  1. Home and Harvest: A Participatory Approach to Improving Food Security among Formerly Homeless Youth In Permanent Supportive Housing
    Colette Auerswald (Public Health) and Emily Ozer (Public Health), in collaboration with San Francisco Department of Public Health, Community Housing Partnership, San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships, and Engagement, California Homeless Youth Project, Yale University, and Transitional Age Youth Initiative
  1. Engaging Indigenous Farmworkers in Promoting Occupational Health and Safety
    John Balmes (Public Health) and Suzanne Teran (Labor Occupational Health Program), in collaboration with Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño and Stanford Prevention Research Center
  1. Making the Business Case for Improved Farm Labor Conditions
    Christy Getz (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; Cooperative Extensions), in collaboration with University of San Francisco, UC SAREP, Nutrition Policy Institute, Pesticide Action Network North America, Equitable Food Initiative, Swanton Berry Farm, Grupo Alpine Fresh, S.A. de C.V., and NatureSweet Ltd.
  1. Exploring Millets to Diversify Cereal Options in Our Diet and the Environment
    Amrita Hazra (Post-doc, Plant and Microbial Biology), Patricia Bubner (Energy Biosciences Institute), Peggy Lemaux (Plant and Microbial Biology), and Sarah Hake (USDA Plant Gene Expression Center), in collaboration with Millet Network of India, Mendocino Grain Project, Gospel Flat Farm, and Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley)
  1. The Berkeley Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Evaluating the Impact
    Karen Sokal-Gutierrez (Public Health), Kristine Madsen (Public Health), Jennifer Falbe (Post-doc, Public Health), Lori Dorfman (Public Health), Pamela Mejia (Berkeley Media Studies Group), and Patricia Crawford (Nutrition Policy Institute), in collaboration with UCSF School of Dentistry Center to Address Disparities in Oral Health
  1. Mapping Agro-Biodiversity Hotspots and Cultural Foods in the Urban Food Desert: Fostering Community Food Security, Biocultural Diversity, and Health
    Jennifer Sowerwine (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; Cooperative Extension) and Maggi Kelly (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; Cooperative Extension), in collaboration with UC Cooperative Extension, Integrative Biology (UC Berkeley), Jepson Herbaria (UC Berkeley), Ecology Center, UC Village, International Rescue Committee, Urban Tilth, Berkeley Community Gardens Collaborative