Rosalind Waltz-Peters

October 17, 2014

Barefoot in Business Casual: Oakland-Style Grassroots Public Policy

The Community Food and Justice Coalition, in Oakland, California, is a non-profit dedicated to helping build coalitions between local grassroots and governmental organizations to create social justice and an equitable and sustainable food system. As one of seven interns, Rosalind participated in the daily running of CFJC, including staff and messaging meetings, and conference calls with national coalitions. She also independently researched and wrote about genetically modified organisms used as food and the issues surrounding their labeling, in addition to doing some research and numerical analysis of the 113th Congress. Work at CFJC, while always busy, was not always structured or positive. It was a summer of immersion in the culture of food justice, not always in ways she loved or agreed with, but in a way that gave her a solid knowledge base.