CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GRANT WINNERS!
Advancing food justice through community-driven research
Community Researchers for Food Justice is a community granting program co-designed by the YMCA of San Diego County, the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative Community Council, and UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Longevity Science and UC San Diego Center for Community Health. It funds and supports local leaders and community groups to design and lead their own research projects that advance food justice.
The following groups were carefully selected to receive grant funding for their projects!
People of Color Fungi Community (POCFC)
A grassroots community science organization
People Of Color Fungi Community (POCFC) is a grassroots community science organization that focuses on the intersections of mycology, food sovereignty, and ecological justice. The work of POCFC has taken them many places, including researching and educating the community through knowledge shares and cooking demonstrations about their ancestral connection to fungi including the corn fungus, Huitlacoche.
Their most recent project, Spora Libre, will kick off in 2026 and is a collaborative effort and partnership with farmers located in the San Diego region to grow Huitlacoche on a small scale farming environment and document the process that will be featured in a full length film documentary!
Arif Urban Agrarian Collective (AUAC)
A community-run farm in City Heights
Arif Urban Agrarian Collective (AUAC) is a community-run farm located at the Peace Resource Center in City Heights, and is embraced by a bustling community who has helped restore this land after essentially being abandoned since 2018. Restoration has been the focus since April 2025, and 2026 will be the year of growth and tending.
The food grown at the farm will be entirely donated to local mutual aid organizations feeding the community, and for volunteers who show up to help maintain the farm. AUAC is devoted to food sovereignty and justice, making it an oasis in the middle of the city that provides space for harvesting food, organic gardening, educational workshops, areas for recreation and play, community healing, and creative expression.
Follow @arifcollective on Instagram to stay up to date with upcoming volunteer and educational opportunities!
Taupou Samoa Cultural Arts (TSCA)
A Samoan cultural arts and community wellness organization
Taupou Samoa Cultural Arts is on a mission to preserve and perpetuate our Samoan heritage through language, music, dance, storytelling and creative arts. We are dedicated to engaging with our Samoan community at-large and providing resources to support our Samoan and Pasefika people in the realms of art, fitness, mental health and wellness, life skills and advocacy.
JIRAH Providers
A BLACK-OWNED COMMUNITY CLINIC FOR GENERATIONAL HEALING
JIREH Providers is a Black-owned, community-driven organization and pioneering mobile community clinic focused on advancing health equity in communities of color. Their mission is to close gaps in access to care by delivering essential services like immunizations, health screenings, and education directly into neighborhoods where they are needed most.
Their Postpartum Nourishment Program supports mothers during the critical weeks after childbirth by providing two weeks of ready-to-eat meals that blend cultural postpartum traditions with modern nutrition science. In partnership with doulas, birth workers, and community organizations, they offer culturally affirming, accessible support that strengthens maternal and infant health.
Second Chance
A JUSTICE-CENTERED WORFORCE & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION
Second Chance has served justice-impacted adults in San Diego for over 30 years and launched Second Chance Youth Garden 10 years ago as a preventative program for underserved youth. Its mission is to empower young people as stewards of change by linking food, culture, and community while promoting belonging, healing, and self-determination.
Garden Voices: Stories of Food & Culture is a youth-led project engaging underserved and justice-impacted youth in gardening, cooking, and storytelling to explore food and cultural identity. In partnership with Media Arts Center San Diego and local organizations, the project creates healing, creative spaces that build job skills, leadership, and cultural pride.
Comité Organizador Latino de City Heights (COLCH)
A HEALTH EQUITY ORGANIZATION LED BY LATINA-MOTHERS
Comité Organizador Latino de City Heights (COLCH) advances health equity and food justice through its FNC program, which centers education, access, and advocacy for Latino children and families. Rooted in City Heights and led by immigrant Latina mothers, COLCH draws on deep community knowledge to address barriers to healthy food, physical activity, and overall well-being.
Through strong community organizing, COLCH increases Latino parent engagement in schools and works to prevent childhood obesity by connecting families to the links between nutrition, environmental awareness, and mental and physical health. The organization also serves as a bridge between residents and institutional partners, ensuring that research, policy, and advocacy efforts reflect the community’s strengths, needs, and resilience.
ABOUT Community Incubator network (KIN)
The Community Incubator Network (KIN) is a collaborative initiative led by the YMCA of San Diego County, the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative Community Council, UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and UC San Diego Center for Community Health. Funded by the American Heart Association’s Health Equity Research Network (HERN) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, KIN seeks to reimagine and transform traditional research paradigms—shifting how resources, knowledge, and power flow between communities, academia, and institutions.
Learn more about the YMCA’s Community Granting Program.
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