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April 16, 2026

Volume 12, Issue 4

Greetings!

As always, there’s so much happening across the food movement. Here are a few highlights for this month's issue:

• ROC White Paper: Bridging Regional Foodsystems & Healthcare
• Policy Update: ROC supported legislation
• Latest Flipping the Table Podcast: Guest episode
• Every Cut Matters: Dinner Event at Richards Regenerative Ranch
• Old Salt Festival: Get FREE Tickets!
• SF Climate Week
• Regenerative Meat Purchasing Guide

We encourage you to read our blog post on a new white paper that ROC released this month. The blog shares key takeaways from this new paper, and explores how stronger connections between food systems, public health, and community infrastructure can improve nutrition security and build long-term resilience in the face of wildfires, extreme weather, chronic disease, and other disruptions. The paper highlights practical recommendations for strengthening community-based organizations, integrating local food into healthcare, and investing in local and regional food system infrastructure, with links to the full white paper and model policy language.

California’s legislative season is in full swing, and ROC is actively advancing its policy agenda at the State Capitol. For a full list of the Assembly and Senate bills ROC is tracking, click this link. Recent highlights include:


• AB 1857, authored by Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry, which would void restrictive covenants that block new grocery stores. The bill passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee 12-0 on April 14.
  
• AB 1753 by Assembly Member Wilson, a recipient of the ROC-sponsored Food Champion Award in 2023, passed the Assembly Agriculture Committee on March 25. Sponsored by ROC allies CCOF and Fullwell, AB 1753 would create a California Healthy Food Procurement Fund Program to support equity, student well-being, climate resilience, and greater procurement of healthy foods, including in K-12 settings.

A former farmworker himself, gifted artist Narsiso Martinez, paints farmworker portraits on flattened produce boxes, which now hang in museums, galleries and homes. Narsiso is lifting up men and women that most people never see or hear, but upon whom our very lives depend.


Join Us!

ROC team members will be participating at the EVERY CUT MATTERS fundraiser event at Richard Regenerative Ranch in Oregon House, CA, on 
May 30, 2026.



Every Cut Matters is built around a simple principle: honoring the entire animal. Whole-animal utilization reduces waste, strengthens ranch economics, and deepens our understanding of the food we eat. This evening brings those ideas to the table through craft butchery, shared food, and conversation.

This is a working table—not a gala—designed for people who want to engage more thoughtfully with how meat is raised, processed, and valued. The event includes Whole-Animal Butchery Demonstration and Family-Style Dinner & Silent Auction.


Click here for more information about the event. Proceeds support Good Meat Project’s work strengthening education and collaboration across the regenerative meat economy.

Join the ROC team under the big Montana sky at the Old Salt Festival in Helmville, MT, June 19 through 21, 2026, and secure your free ticket in the link below!


We had such productive and fantastic time at this amazing festival last year that we've decided to return. See our photos from last year's event. 

The festival brings together Montana’s best ranchers, chefs, musicians, makers, and the people who love supporting food, sustainable agriculture, music, and life outdoors. The focus is on land stewardship and community featuring open-fire, locally sourced meals, live music, and lots of educational talks on regenerative agriculture and more.

SF Climate Week is happening from April 18 - 26 with events across the Bay Area. Consider attending – there are tons of free in-person and online events available. See details here.

As part of our Regenerative Meat project, we developed a portal that features a list of NorCal regenerative meat brands and butcheries. Please add your brand/butchery via this link if you're not already on the list, and please share with us if you know of other brands/butcheries that should to be added to the list. Our ally, the Good Meat Project, also has a very useful guide for nationwide options.

Thank you for your support of our work!

Doris Meier

Editor of the PULSE

Roots of Change

A program of the Public Health Institute