Our Advocacy Work

At Alchemist CDC, we are always rooted in hands-on work within the local food system. Our direct experience with the needs, opportunities, and barriers in the local food system provide us with grounded insights to policy needs at various levels. Because the food system intersects with many other essential needs, we find that housing, transportation, climate, immigration, and other environmental justice issues also require out attention. Since our founding, we have taken up our responsibility to advocate for good policy.

Current Advocacy

  • Save Market Match: Renewing and Expanding funding for the California Nutrition Incentive Program in order to raise the incentive to $20 from $15 and to extend the program to more certified farmers’ markets across California | Alchemist CDC is organizing with the core team | Relevant Government: State of California
  • Home Kitchen Opportunity Act (AB 2315): Expanding the Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) program statewide, to empower food sales from permitted home kitchens | Alchemist CDC is a co-sponsor | Relevant Government: State of California
  • SacraMEHKO: Implementing the Microenteprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) program in Sacramento County | Alchemist CDC is a co-lead | Relevant Government: Sacramento County
  • Funding CalFresh Access at Sacramento County Certified Farmers’ Markets | Advocating with local municipal governments to fund operations of CalFresh access booths at certified farmers’ markets | Alchemist CDC is the lead advocate | Relevant Governments: Sacramento County, City of Sacramento, City of Elk Grove, City of Rancho Cordova
  • The Grocery Store Access Act (AB 1857): AB 1857 would prohibit grocery stores from using restrictive covenants that prevent a property from being used as a grocery store in deeds or land use agreements. Existing restrictive covenants meeting these criteria
    would be rendered void and unenforceable | Alchemist CDC is a supporter | Relevant Government: State of California
  • The CalFresh for Students Act (SB 961): SB 961 directs the California Student Aid Commission to add an “opt-in” option for students to
    receive notification about their potential CalFresh eligibility when submitting their Cal Grant application. This bill also expands the programs of study that increase a student’s eligibility for CalFresh by including part-time students, postgraduate students, and students participating in programs that support foster youth, refugee, single-parent, and first generation students | Alchemist CDC is a supporter | Relevant Government: State of California

Past Advocacy

  • Save Market Match (2024): After securing $35 million for the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) in 2023, the January 2024 state budget proposed cutting $33 million from the program, which would have ended it permanently. Alchemist CDC was one of several organizational leaders that built a coalition to preserve all $35 million for CNIP | Relevant Government: State of California
  • School Meals for All (2024): Alchemist CDC testified in support of continued funding for California’s universal free school meal program | Relevant Government: State of California
  • Renewing Funding Market Match (2023): The California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) does not have permanent funding and must be funded every few years. Alchemist supported the effort to renew funding for CNIP in 2023, which secured $35 million  | Relevant Government: State of California
  • Local Equitable Access to Food, LEAF, SB 907 (2022): Alchemist authored, co-sponsored, and organized to create a statewide non-competitive grant program to fund CalFresh/EBT access work at certified farmers’ markets. The bill was signed into law on its first attempt, but has never been funded | Relevant Government: State of California
  • Protecting the Dos Rios Light Rail Station project from cancellation (2023): Due to budget constraints, the planned construction of the Dos Rios Light Rail Station on Sacramento Regional Transit’s Blue Line was canceled. Alchemist co-led an organizing effort that led to the successful restoration of the project | Relevant Government: Sacramento Regional Transit
  • Sacramento County Urban Agriculture Ordinance (2017): Alchemist CDC participated in advocacy efforts which led the County of Sacramento to adopt its Urban Agriculture Ordinance | Relevant Government: Sacramento County
  • City of Sacramento Urban Agriculture Ordinance (2015): Alchemist CDC participated in advocacy efforts which led the City of Sacramento to adopt its Urban Agriculture Ordinance | Relevant Government: City of Sacramento
  • California Nutrition Incentive Program, AB 1321 (2015): Alchemist CDC participated in advocacy efforts that led to the successful passage of this law. The California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) encourages the purchase and consumption of healthy, California-grown fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts by nutrition benefit clients. Housed within the Office of Farm to Fork, the program provides monetary incentives for the purchase of California grown fruits and vegetables at Certified Farmers Markets and small businesses. CNIP provides competitive grant funding to organizations to provide incentives to nutrition benefit shoppers, support program operations and outreach | Relevant Government: State of California
  • Farmers’ Markets EBT, AB 537 (2009-2010): Alchemist CDC helped organize and advocate for the successful passage of this law that allowed certified farmers’ markets without existing CalFresh/EBT systems in place to designate or assign an interested Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)-authorized organization or farmer association to operate an EBT acceptance system in the market, as specified | Relevant Government: State of California

Advocacy Teamwork

Alchemist CDC has a long history of working with other organizations to drive good policy-making. Listed below are coalitions and networks with which Alchemist CDC currently works or formerly worked. Past networks are marked with an asterisk.

Political Endorsements

Alchemist CDC is a 501c3 non-profit organization and is prohibited by law from endorsing political candidates for office. As a community development corporation, it is our responsibility to work as collaboratively as possible with elected representatives for the benefit of the communities of greater Sacramento.