About the Hayward Food Action Plan
What is a Food Action Plan?
A Food Action Plan is a roadmap for an equitable, sustainable, and resilient local food system that supports healthy, vibrant communities.
Goal of the Hayward Food Action Plan
The goal of the Hayward Food Action Plan is to help Hayward’s non-profit and educational partners develop a list of action steps to close services gaps in Hayward.
Historically, Alameda County Social Services, in partnership with the Alameda County Food Bank, has been the lead on addressing food insecurity, with the Alameda County Board of Supervisors funding the bulk of the regional work to grow a circular food economy. The Hayward Food Action Plan will build on existing County efforts and assess the specific needs of Hayward residents and the existing capacities of Hayward-based services providers.
About the Hayward Food Action Plan:
Background
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City, in partnership with Chabot Community College, the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District and several community based organizations, launched and staffed a distribution site to tackle the drastic increase in Hayward residents facing food insecurity. In under two years of operation the site distributed over 1,701,432 pounds of food to 179,700 people. During this time it became clear that there was a need for a coherent, community-led plan around food access, capacity building and career pathways.
In response, the Hayward City Council adopted a resolution in October 2021 to partner with Alameda County’s ALL IN Eats. Through this partnership the City was able to collaborate across public, private, and community sectors during steering committee and working group meetings.
During the January 2022 Strategic Roadmap Planning session, Council ranked “explore funding opportunities to increase the circular food economy in Hayward” as one of the highest priority items.
A year after the City partnered with Alameda County's ALL IN Eats, in October 2022, Council authorized the City Manager to accept and appropriate $125,000 in Grant Funding from the Stupski Foundation for the Hayward Food, Agriculture, and Economy Plan.
On October 24, 2023, staff presented the Food Action Plan summary and findings to Council - a recording of this presentation can be found here. Learn more about the process, next steps, and deliverables of the Hayward Food Action Plan on the Food Action Plan Portal.
