Guest speakers Jeffrey Betcher, Bayview Hunters Point resident, community organizer and co-founder of the Quesada Gardens Initiative and Gina Fromer, Executive Director of Bayview YMCA and food security activist, will discuss the importance of community organizing in addressing food access and security needs in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood.

For nearly 20 years, residents of Bayview Hunters Point have been asking for better access to quality food products. In 2007, the Quesada Gardens Initiative led a project of the Southeast Sector Food Access Working Group (SEFA) to survey 562 residents about the food options in their neighborhood.  Ninety-four percent said they would “actively support new food options,” 58 percent said they wanted a co-op market and 53 percent said it was “important” to have foods free of pesticides and chemicals.