The Neighborhood Food Assessment Project was launched this year in partnership with Veggielution, Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, and SOMOS Mayfair. They are working with Promotores from META Cooperative to help identify food system issues and implement a solution in the community.
As part of this project, Promotores use the photo voice method to document food system issues in the Mayfair neighborhood. This method involves promotores walking around the neighborhood and taking photos of issues and possible solutions to increase access of healthy food. This approach will allow people in the community to express their concerns and issues most important and relevant to them. It will also help others understand and connect with the issues. Some themes they’ve identified were adding more garden beds in underutilized spaces, greater access to communal compost bins, and having more garden and nutritional education for children in local schools.
Promotores must pick one solution to help improve food access. To help them, Promotores joined Veggielution at 1st Saturday to share with families their project and hear from community members what solutions they would like to prioritize. Promotores will review community’s imput to help guide them to implementing a solution.