Download the Full Uplift report here: Central-Coast-UPLIFT-Regional-Plan-Part-II
Download the Executive Summary here: UPLIFT Executive Summary Report
Food is the Central Coast’s biggest job sector. So why was it missing from the regional jobs plan?
That’s why the Central Coast Resilient Food Systems Community of Practice formed in November 2022, co-convened by SBCFAN and CAFPC. By 2024, it had more than 200 members across all six counties.
In August 2024, the Community of Practice put its case in writing. It petitioned the regional planning effort behind California Jobs First (Uplift, EDC, REACH, and MBEP) to include food systems in Regional Plan Part II.
The argument was simple:
- Food systems employ more people here than any other sector.
- Local supply chains keep money in our communities.
- Regions that plan together win more funding. Ours was fragmented.
The petition recommended ten strategies, from protecting working lands to building the missing middle of the supply chain. 43 farmers, fishers, nonprofits, and food businesses signed.
It worked. Food systems made it into the plan, and the resulting report also named SBCFAN as an example of a solution. That set the stage for the Catalyst funding that followed.