Partners
Ceres Community Project is honored to participate in a number of local, statewide and national coalitions and initiatives who share our commitment to creating a healthy, just and sustainable future.
Aspen Institute Food & Society Program
Ceres’ CEO Cathryn is an advisor to the Aspen Institute’s Food & Society Program. This program is developing a national Research Action Plan for the Food as Medicine movement. The Aspen Institute provides a platform of collaboration for organizations like Ceres involved in the Food is Medicine Movement.
California Food is Medicine Coalition
Ceres Community Project is one of the founding members of the California Food is Medicine Coalition (CalFIMC), an association of nonprofit community-based organizations providing medically tailored meals and nutrition services to patients living with serious and chronic illness. CalFIMC has more than 150 years combined experience in feeding and caring for high-risk and high-need individuals. Together, we collaborate to support policy change and adoption of medically tailored meal services by public and private insurers. We led the effort to have California fund the first statewide pilot of medically tailored meals in the MediCal system and are now working to ensure statewide access to the state’s new medically tailored meal benefit. In total, the coalition serves fourteen counties and nearly 70% of the state’s MediCal population.
California Food & Farming Network
This is 50+ agency coalition works to create a better food and farming system in California. California Food & Farming Network (CFFN) envisions an inclusive, equitable, and ecologically regenerative food and farming system that…
prioritizes racial justice.
generates healthy, affordable, accessible, nutritious and culturally appropriate food for all.
Ceres works with CFFN to advance legislation on a state level related to food access, health, sustainable food and farming systems and climate change.
California Certified Organic Farmers
The largest certifier of organic farms, California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) is a leader in supporting organic agriculture. In 2019 they released Roadmap to an Organic California Benefits Report highlighting the broad spectrum of benefits from growing organic agriculture. Ceres works with CCOF to promote this report and develop a policy platform.
Food is Medicine Coalition
The Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC) is a national coalition of about two dozen medically tailored meal providers. FIMC agencies pioneered medically tailored meals during the AIDS/HIV epidemic beginning in the late 1980’s. Thanks to their work, medically tailored meals have been a covered benefit under the Ryan White Act supporting those living with AIDS/HIV since 1990. As a member of this coalition, Ceres helps FIMC…
lead research efforts to prove the benefits of medically tailored meals.
advance policy conversations at the state and national level to support reimbursement for medically tailored meals through public and private insurance.
Food Lab at Google
Ceres has been participating in an invitation-only group hosted by Google since CEO Cathryn Couch presented at a meeting in 2016. She was one of five product leaders for a Food is Medicine Accelerator project that developed a national mapping tool of food as medicine interventions. The Food Lab at Google meets twice annually to bring business, nonprofit and academic leaders together to advance solutions to a healthy and sustainable food system.
Hearts of Sonoma County
Ceres provides backbone support and helps lead Hearts of Sonoma County, a collaboration of health care partners and community-based organizations focused on preventing and addressing cardiovascular disease. A project of Health Action’s Committee for Healthcare Improvement, Hearts members share best practices and work together to address clinical, community and policy solutions to improve cardiovascular health.
Marin Food Policy Council
The Marin Food Policy Council (MFPC) brings together local food system stakeholders to improve health and sustainability by addressing issues connected to food production, access, distribution, and nutritional health. The council develops targeted policies and practical solutions, based on a systems approach to solving food access issues. The council provides a cooperative framework for policy implementation and educates residents about the local food system in Marin County.
Marin County VOAD
VOAD stands for Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster. This coalition maps community resources in Marin County. This allows the County of Marin to…
know what resources are available during disaster.
build emergency response capacity.
Ceres is part of the emergency food response in Marin County.
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation’ Nourish People and Planet initiative focuses on delivering nutrition food to children and families while advancing policies to reduce the racial equity gap in nutrition, improve health outcomes and create shared prosperity. In 2020, we contributed guidance to the Rockefeller Foundation’s Reset the Table report detailing both the breakdowns and opportunities in our food and health care system illuminated by COVID-19.
The Root Cause Coalition
A coalition of 65 health insurers, health care providers and community-based organizations working to support the integration of social determinants of health, including food insecurity, into health care and develop strategies for support services to be reimbursed as a medical expense. Along with a year-round focus on research, education and advocacy, the group holds an annual national conference highlighting promising practices and pilots. Ceres is a member agency and regularly participates in calls, webinars and policy efforts.
Sonoma County COAD
COAD stands for Community Organizations Active in Disaster. This coalition maps community resources in Sonoma County. This allows the County of Sonoma to…
know what resources are available during disaster.
build emergency response capacity.
Ceres is part of the emergency food response in Sonoma County.