Food and Agriculture

From 2011 to 2024, SPUR ran a program focused on food and agriculture policy. In May 2024, the program started a new chapter as Fullwell, an independent nonprofit public policy group working to put an end to food insecurity and create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. The team continues to focus on the same campaigns it originated at SPUR, only from a new home. Learn more at fullwell.us.

Double Up Food Bucks California

Piloting a scalable model for making healthy food more affordable

One of the biggest obstacles to healthy eating is the affordability of healthy food. Our Double Up Food Bucks California project helps families overcome that barrier. The project provides matching funds so that families and individuals participating in the CalFresh program can buy even more fresh fruits and vegetables at the grocery store.

Medically-Supportive Food and Nutrition

Expanding health care coverage to use food as medicine

The need for these food-based interventions in Medicaid has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which highlighted many health and social inequities, especially for Black and Brown communities. This pandemic emphasizes the need to use food to treat and prevent chronic disease and to decrease the effects of health disparities and food insecurity on chronic disease.

Featured Publications

Healthy Food Within Reach

Helping Bay Area residents find, afford and choose healthy food

One in 10 adults in the Bay Area struggle to find three meals a day, while more than half of adults are overweight or obese. To meet our basic needs, improve public health and enhance our quality of life, Bay Area residents must have access to healthy food. SPUR recommends 12 actions that local governments can take to improve food access in Bay Area communities.
Read the report >>

Locally Nourished

How a stronger regional food system benefits the Bay Area

The Bay Area’s food system supports our greenbelt, employs hundreds of thousands of people, and helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. SPUR's recommends a series of policies to help us more effectively capture the benefits of our regional food system.
Read the report >>

Public Harvest

Expanding the use of public land for urban agriculture in San Francisco

Urban agriculture has captured the imagination of San Franciscans in recent years. But the city won't realize all the benefits of this growing interest unless it provides more land, more resources and better institutional support.
Read the report >>

Updates

California’s New Urban Agriculture Property Tax Incentive

News / October 2, 2013

One of the biggest challenges urban farmers face is access to land. Signed into law on September 28, the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act — introduced by Assembly Member Phil Ting and supported by more than 25 organizations across the state — will increase the use of privately owned, vacant land for urban agriculture and improve land security for urban ag projects.

SPUR Supports Healthy Food Retailer Ordinance

Advocacy Letter / July 24, 2013

As we detail in our recent report, Locally Nourished, many people in the city do not have access to fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthy options near their homes. SPUR supports the Healthy Food Retailer Ordinance, which would increase access to fresh, healthy food to residents citywide.

Green Light for San Francisco’s New Urban Agriculture Program

News / July 17, 2013

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has given the green light for the Recreation and Parks Department (RPD) to take the lead coordinating the city’s support of urban agriculture. Among SPUR's recommended priorities for this program are developing a strategy to reduce community garden waiting lists and operating as a "one-stop-shop" for the people seeking assistance with urban agriculture projects.

SPUR Supports Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone Legislation

Advocacy Letter / July 8, 2013

One of the biggest obstacles to expanding the number of Californians who enjoy the benefits of urban agriculture is access to land. SPUR strongly encourages state legislators to support Assembly Bill 551, an "opt-in" measure which would allow counties to create "urban agriculture incentive zones," offering a conservative approach to nurturing emergent urban agriculture projects across the state.

SPUR Recommends Priorities for New Urban Agriculture Program

Advocacy Letter / July 5, 2013

The first year of the new urban agriculture program provides a unique chance to truly expand the city’s internal coordination and general support for urban gardeners and farmers. During recent public meetings, the department expressed interest in receiving recommendations from community organizations regarding how the new program should prioritize its efforts. With this in mind, SPUR offers six recommendations for how the program can be most successful from its inception.

SPUR Supports Urban Agriculture Resolution

Advocacy Letter / July 5, 2013

SPUR supports the resolution that would create a new program dedicated to urban agriculture within the Recreation and Parks Department (RPD). T he RPD has land, resources and staff that can support the new program in a way unavailable to other departments and understands that the mission of this new program is to coordinate with other agencies and community groups, rather than replace them.