Mandela Partners, formerly Mandela MarketPlace, is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, that works to aid low-income communities in improving access to food and healthcare resources.

Past projects

From 2007 to 2013, Mandela Partners sustained the West Oakland Youth Standing Empowered (WYSE) youth development program. The WYSE program focused on educating

West Oakland West Oakland is a neighborhood situated in the northwestern corner of Oakland, California, United States, situated west of Downtown Oakland, south of Emeryville, and north of Alameda. The neighborhood is located along the waterfront at the Po ...

's youth on the

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

impacts of food and health. WYSE's initiatives included improving the

walkability Walkability is a term for planning concepts best understood by the mixed-use of amenities in high-density neighborhoods where people can access said amenities by foot. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport ...

of West Oakland, bettering the public transit infrastructure, cleaning and improving local parks, and starting an elementary school garden. Mandela Partners also implemented the Food to Families (F2F) program, which " rovidedhealth & wellness workshops, cooking demos, and group experiences for community families." F2F primarily worked with pregnant women and their families by educating them on how eating healthier and more nutritious food would improve their health and the health of their communities. F2F also worked to establish a network that would sustain the goals of the program past its own existence. This network created a cookbook written by "senior moms", ''Mommas Kitchen Stove''.

Food cooperative

In 2008, Mandela Partners opened The Mandela Foods Cooperative, a worker owned grocery store and nutrition education center. The inception of the

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

was in response to requests made to Mandela Partners by residents of West Oakland.Soref, Dave
Organic Connections "Mandela MarketPlace: A Beacon of Healthy Hope in Disadvantaged West Oakland."
Organic Connections. Natural Vitality, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. The Mandela Foods Cooperative holds classes focused on nutrition and is centrally located two blocks from the West Oakland

BART Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...

station making it accessible to both West Oakland residents and other residents of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. The co-op "sources their produce from small to medium sized local farms within a 120-mile radius from Oakland." The Mandela Foods Cooperative helps "under-resourced farmers by establishing an alternative distribution network that passes on wholesale prices to community retailers and institutions." The co-op has received the below awards for their achievements in the

Food Justice Movement The Food Justice Movement is a grassroots initiative which emerged in response to food insecurity and economic pressures that prevent access to healthy, nutritious, and culturally appropriate foods (food should fit the cultural background of the p ...

. * 2012:

San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. It was relaun ...

Small Business Award - Employee Owned Business * 2011: Oakland Indie Award -The Ripple Effect * 2011: Ella Baker Center - Ella Award * 2010: Robert Redford Art of Activism Award - James Berk, Mandela Foods Cooperative Worker-Owner

Financing

Mandela Partners partnered with

Kiva A kiva is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circular and underground, ...

to offer a ladder-up

microfinance Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

initiative. The organization endorses West Oakland residents for access to micro loans of up to $25,000. "As a community resource, andela Partnersalso rovidesone-on-one support to local entrepreneurs that are eligible for loans and connect them to

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

resource network to help them build their businesses."

Current projects

Mandela Partners aims to build local economies, increase food access, and support family farmers and a healthier community. The organization has started several projects such as Healthy Neighborhood Store Alliance (HNSA) which promotes West Oakland residents’ rights to access healthy and affordable food. Mandela Partners provides delivery service to some of the community's well-known corner stores and offers nutrition education and improvements at each store. The organization also manages weekly events for residents to purchase fresh produce. Mandela Partners participates in the Ashland Cherryland Initiative. The organization has coordinated with several community programs in

Ashland, California Ashland is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 23,823 at the 2020 census. Ashland is located between the city of San Leandro to the north, the unincorporated ...

, and

Cherryland, California Cherryland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County, California, United States. Cherryland is located between Ashland to the north and the city of Hayward to the south. The population was 15,808 at the ...

, to create the Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council, which provides advice to local government on policies that produce greener environments."Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council."
Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council. Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.

References

* {{cite web , url=http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2012/09/10/west-oakland-activist-honored-by-the-white-house/ , title=West Oakland Activist Honored by the White House , publisher= KQED News , date=September 10, 2012 , accessdate=9 May 2014 , author=(News staff)

External links

Official website
Non-profit organizations based in California Food security in the United States Hunger relief organizations