N. Diane Moss has worked as a community organizer and activist for most of her life and has called herself a San Diegan since the ’70s. That’s when she first came down from Los Angeles to study at UCSD before buying a home in Southeastern San Diego in the ’80s. But it wasn’t until a conversation in 2008 with Ellee Igoe, Foodshed’s director and co-founder, that she began to tie together the idea that food justice was social justice.
“I never thought of food as an issue or sourcing your food as an issue,” Moss says. “But when she said it wasn’t about the scarcity—it was about people making decisions, and we weren’t a priority.”
Project New Village managing director N. Diane Ross
Nearly 800,000 people across San Diego—one in four residents—are considered food insecure. Many of these people live in Southeast San Diego, like Moss. She saw her community’s needs firsthand, day in and day out, including a lack of access to healthy foods, grocery stores, and community gardens. It was a catalyst to action. “It was an issue, just like any other social justice issue, in terms of disinvested or a marginalized community not getting the assets needed,” she explains. “An organizer’s role here would be to bring this awareness to folks that we can demand better.”
Now, she is the managing director of Project New Village, which started as a community hub in 1994. The group pivoted to focus on food equity in 2008 and formally incorporated as a 501(c) 3 nonprofit in 2010. The group prioritizes five zip codes, including neighborhoods like Southcrest, Logan Heights, Skyline, Paradise Hills, Chollas View, and Oak Park—all considered some of the most food-insecure areas across the county.
Moss says the group’s goals center around empowering residents to create change in their neighborhood, building self-reliance through access to nutritious food grown locally, teaching community members how to develop their food and cook it at home, decreasing the need for long-term reliance on food banks, and investing in where they live to keep dollars close to home. “Everything we do is in collaboration,” she says. “Our decision-making is with residents. Good solutions or effective solutions are usually driven or led by the most impacted people.”
Project New Village runs a mobile farmers market that goes to eight sites per week within the “Good Food District” and coordinates a network of 16 backyard growers who sell or donate their crops for distribution. The group also helps launch community gardens—Moss estimates they’ll have five garden sites by the end of the year at different schools and churches—and hope to open a commercial kitchen and food hub, dubbed The Village, for local entrepreneurs to rent and launch their food businesses in Mount Hope.
“We’ve assembled the construction, architect, engineer—all that’s ready to go,” explains Moss. “What we need at this point is to continue raising the capital to do the construction and then open the building.”
The group’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the 13th Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Legacy Celebration, takes place on Thursday, December 5, at Park & Market from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Proceeds will go directly to Project New Village’s initiatives, and Moss says even if people can’t attend, there are always plenty of ways to volunteer their time with the group.
But, she adds, come prepared to listen. “I work with others that come from other places and come to the community to fix a problem, but I live here,” she says. “The answers come from these conversations and people getting involved… to help. Not to guide or lead, but to help with strategies that can change communities like ours.”
Tickets for the fundraising celebration are available here.
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Valle to Host Multiple Holiday Gathering Options
There’s certainly no shortage of upscale holiday dining choices this year, and Valle is hosting quite a few of them. From Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and private dining options, this Michelin-starred beachside restaurant impresses your in-laws and keeps your kitchen clean. Make your reservations early, or get stuck at home.
Beth’s Bites
- I don’t know if sushi and kappo joint Chef Jun is relocating or opening a second location (they seemed very busy on the phone when I called), but it looks like they are coming in one form or another to Point Loma. I know I said La Jolla is the place to watch next year, but I also remain curious about the whole Midway District/Sports Arena redevelopment plans as well…
- I’ve been on a very good sandwich streak the past few weeks, the latest of which was the “Leftover Sandwich” at Ultreya Coffee & Tea. What sandwich in San Diego should I try next? Shoot me your recs at [email protected].
- On December 5, boxer Canelo Álvarez and his brother Ricardo are opening El Pastor Del Rica Taqueria, a Jalisco, Mexico-inspired taco shop in Chula Vista. I don’t know a ton about boxing—although I did, regrettably, tune in to the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight—but I do know a ton about tacos, so hopefully, these pack a nice punch. (Sorry, not sorry.)
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
