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June 18, 2026
Volume 12, Issue 6
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We hope you're enjoying some beautiful Summer weather and fun BBQs! With 4th of July around the corner, check out our meat purchasing guide for locally sourced and regeneratively produced meats.
For the Flipping the Table June episode we talked to Erin Martin and Dr. Steven Chen about how Food is Medicine, an emerging therapeutic field at the intersection of nutrition and health care, is directly connected to a healthy food system. The pod aligns with ROC's recent white paper Bridging Regional Food Systems and Healthcare - check it out!
Image: Paul Carras of Butchers of America (team USA)
by Matthew Marsom
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In addition, we are excited to announce our next major event: REAL Food LA - a Celebration of Healthy Meat, Grains, and Seafood, Regional Regenerative Sources, and Women’s Culinary Leadership. We wanted to put this on your radar as we are working to finalize the event dates and put together a fun and engaging program with delicious food tastings. See more details below.
In this PULSE you will find:
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Dr. Steven Chen and Erin Martin: From Regenerative Farms to Food is Medicine
Food is Medicine is gaining momentum across the country, grounded in a simple but powerful idea: healthy food can help prevent, manage, and even reverse chronic disease. But this movement is about more than treating illness. It is about changing the conditions that shape health, including nutrition security, access to care, soil health, food quality, and the strength of local and regional food systems. In this episode, we explore what that vision looks like in practice with two leaders helping shape the future of Food is Medicine. Click below to watch the podcast video.
| | From left-right: Erin Martin, Tulsa Urban Ag Coalition, Director of Oklahoma’s FreshRx program, and co-lead of Oklahoma’s Food is Medicine Policy Coalition, Steven Chen, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Recipe4Health, Alameda County, host Coco Sanabria, Program Manager ROC, and co-host Matthew Marsom, CEO of Goodwin Strategies and ROC's consultant policy adviser. | | ROC allies are urged to act now and ask Governor Newsom to approve the Legislature’s proposal to continue funding for the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) and save Market Match. | |
The good news: the California Senate and Assembly’s joint budget proposal includes $15 million for CNIP in the FY 2026–27 state budget. Now we need to make sure this funding remains in the final budget agreement negotiated between the Legislature and Governor Newsom.
CNIP provides critical funding for Market Match, a program founded by ROC in 2009 to which doubles the purchasing power of CalFresh shoppers at California farmers markets and farm-direct sites, helping families buy fresh, healthy food while supporting California farmers.
Please take action today and help save Market Match. Thank you!
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ROC on the Road: What I Found on my Plate in Far North California (Pt. 1 of 2)
By Tay Lotte
"Behind every successful cattle rancher is a wife who works in town." That line stopped me cold on a trip to Siskiyou County last month with the Roots of Change team. We went to understand how regenerative, regional food systems could grow in Far North California. We’ve lost 72% of American farms between 1935 and today. The families still holding on to multi-generational ranches aren't doing it on margins. They're doing it on pride and a second paycheck. You can't deposit dignity in the bank. So, what is keeping these ranches alive? Read our recent blog.
| | | | Reminder: The ROC and Fresh Approach teams are now conducting survey outreach across California
via phone and email. | | We’re inviting producers, infrastructure operators, and technical assistance providers to participate in a survey on what infrastructure needs you and your region have and on the financing support you have experienced or lack. | | |
Our effort to map California’s “middle of the food supply chain” includes processing, aggregation, and distribution. The goal of the project is to better understand current hard and soft infrastructure gaps and to determine future investment needs to support small and mid-size producers.
The first iteration of the MAP is live!
Your input will directly inform statewide strategy and investment priorities. Please share this email with your network! Data collection will be open until July 10.
| | This survey will collect information about middle of the supply chain processing, aggregation, and distribution. This survey is intended for producers and middle of the supply chain facility operators. | | This survey will ask about grants and financing tools that have aided your operation in the past and what types of infrastructure and financing are needed for the future of your operation. The survey is intended for producers, middle of the supply chain operators, and organizations offering technical assistance service. | | |
Producers who complete both surveys will be eligible for a $50 stipend
(subject to availability).
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Our planned Los Angeles event is starting to take shape! It builds on the success and impact of our 2025 Slow Meat Pavilion at Terra Madre Americas.
The event will be at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College,
home of a state-of-the-art culinary program equipped with professional kitchens, a large theater for cooking and butchery demos and marketplace space. It is the perfect venue for celebrating the real food and producers surrounding California's largest city. Stay tuned for more info and confirmation of event dates.
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We need your help to continue making positive changes in the California Food System - your donation is very much appreciated!
Any amount helps us continue to build a healthy, resilient and
peaceful future. THANK YOU!
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Thank you for your support of our work!
Doris Meier
Editor of the PULSE
Roots of Change
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