One year ago, ActiveSGV was selected to join the Los Angeles Food Equity Fund (LAFEF), a countywide effort to address food system inequities and expand access to healthy, affordable food. Over the past 12 months, we’ve worked closely with community members and partnering organizations across the San Gabriel Valley to host 22 bilingual (English & Spanish) hands-on nutrition education classes, seven food preparation demos, and four community crop swaps across Pomona, El Monte, and South El Monte. All three communities are continuously challenged by a lack of consistent access to healthy food, poverty income levels, and high housing costs, therefore, the LAFEF project aims to serve as a resource and opportunity for sustainable solutions.
These programs are more than just events—they respond to real needs in neighborhoods where access to fresh, nutritious food can be limited by geography, affordability, or lack of culturally relevant options. Nutrition classes help residents build lifelong skills in meal planning and healthy eating. The hands-on aspect of the class provides participants with an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned by preparing simple, budget-friendly recipes that support healthier lifestyles. To date, these classes have primarily taken place in the El Monte area, with a focus on parents of students in the El Monte City School District. In the coming year, our goal is to expand to other areas and demographics. The food demos we’ve hosted at community events help share similarly nutritious and budget-friendly recipes with a greater audience.
Crop swaps create welcoming spaces where neighbors can share their homegrown produce, swap gardening tips, and walk away with fresh fruits and vegetables. These events are intentionally held in locations where community members can also access valuable nutrition-related resources, helping to increase awareness of existing support networks—such as those established at the Jeff Seymour Family Center in El Monte and Lopez Urban Farms in Pomona, two of our past collaborators.
While food and nutrition are the common thread, it is also an opportunity for people to build long-term relationships and create stronger communities that are resilient amongst the current environmental crisis. Each event has helped neighbors connect, learn, and grow together, from cooking balanced meals to sharing fresh homegrown produce. Along the way, we’ve seen how food can bring people together, not just to nourish themselves but to build community and support one another.
We're proud to be one of 46 nonprofits selected for this initiative, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and led by Community Partners in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office. Together, we’re tackling food system inequities and making nutritious food more accessible in the communities that need it most.
Thank you to everyone who participated, shared their stories, or brought something to the table. Here’s to another year of growing food equity in the SGV.
