CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2026 Community Researchers!
Advancing food justice through community-driven research
Community Researchers for Food Justice is a community granting program of the Community Incubator Network (KIN), a collaborative initiative led by the YMCA of San Diego County, UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and UC San Diego Center for Community Health, and the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative.
The program provides community leaders and groups across San Diego County with funding and support to design and lead research projects rooted in lived experience and community priorities that advance food justice.
Meet our first cohort of Community Researchers! These six groups were selected to lead projects that put community knowledge, lived experience, and local priorities at the center of food justice research.
People of Color Fungi Community (POCFC)
A grassroots community science organization
People Of Color Fungi Community (POCFC) is a grassroots community science organization that focuses on the intersections of mycology, food sovereignty, and ecological justice. The work of POCFC has taken them many places, including researching and educating the community through knowledge shares and cooking demonstrations about their ancestral connection to fungi including the corn fungus, Huitlacoche.
Their most recent project, Spora Libre, will kick off in 2026 and is a collaborative effort and partnership with farmers located in the San Diego region to grow Huitlacoche on a small scale farming environment and document the process that will be featured in a full length film documentary!
Follow @pocfungicommunity on Instagram!
Arif Urban Agrarian Collective (AUAC)
A community-run farm in City Heights
Arif Urban Agrarian Collective (AUAC) is a community-run farm located at the Peace Church in City Heights and is embraced by a bustling community who has helped restore this land. Restoration has been the focus since April 2025, and 2026 is the year of growth and tending.
The food grown at the farm will be entirely donated to local mutual aid organizations feeding the community, and for volunteers who show up to help maintain the farm.
AUAC is devoted to food sovereignty and justice, making it an oasis in the middle of the city that provides space for harvesting food, organic gardening, educational workshops, areas for recreation and play, community healing, and creative expression.
Follow @arifcollective on Instagram!
Taupou Samoa Cultural Arts (TSCA)
A Samoan cultural arts and community wellness organization
Taupou Samoa Cultural Arts is on a mission to preserve and perpetuate their Samoan heritage through language, music, dance, storytelling and creative arts. They are dedicated to engaging with their Samoan community at-large and providing resources to support the Samoan and Pasefika people in the realms of art, fitness, mental health and wellness, life skills and advocacy.
For their KIN project, TSCA is using talanoa, which emphasizes collaborative and inclusive conversations and fosters a sense of community and shared understanding. Through these conversations, they are exploring food insecurity in the Samoan community and what it would look like to create a culturally grounded food bank shaped by the community it would serve.
Follow @taupousamoaculturalarts on Instagram!
JIREH Providers
A BLACK-OWNED COMMUNITY CLINIC FOR GENERATIONAL HEALING
JIREH Providers is a Black-owned, community-driven organization and pioneering mobile community clinic focused on advancing health equity in communities of color. Their mission is to close gaps in access to care by delivering essential services like immunizations, health screenings, and education directly into neighborhoods where they are needed most.
Their postpartum nutritional support initiative provides nourishing meals to support recovery, lactation, and emotional well-being during a critical stage of motherhood. Through these efforts, JIREH ensures that Black mothers and infants are not only visible—but prioritized, supported, and affirmed.
Follow @jirehproviders on Instagram!
San Diego Second Chance Program
A JUSTICE-CENTERED WORFORCE & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION
San Diego Second Chance Program has served justice-impacted adults in San Diego for over 30 years and launched Second Chance Youth Garden 10 years ago as a preventative program for underserved youth. Its mission is to empower young people as stewards of change by linking food, culture, and community while promoting belonging, healing, and self-determination.
Garden Voices is a youth-led project that empowers underserved and justice-impacted youth to explore connections between food, culture, and community through gardening, cooking, and storytelling. In partnership with Media Arts Center San Diego, the project creates healing, creative spaces that build job skills, leadership, and cultural pride.
Follow @scyouthgarden on Instagram!
Comité Organizador Latino de City Heights (COLCH)
A HEALTH EQUITY ORGANIZATION LED BY LATINA-MOTHERS
Comité Organizador Latino de City Heights (COLCH) advances health equity and food justice through its Formando Niños Campeones (FNC) program, which centers education, access, and advocacy for Latino children and families. Rooted in City Heights and led by immigrant Latina mothers, COLCH draws on deep community knowledge to address barriers to healthy food, physical activity, and overall well-being.
Through strong community organizing, COLCH increases Latino parent engagement in schools and works to prevent childhood obesity by connecting families to the links between nutrition, environmental awareness, and mental and physical health. The organization also serves as a bridge between residents and institutional partners, ensuring that research, policy, and advocacy efforts reflect the community’s strengths, needs, and resilience.
Follow @colch2014 Instagram!
ABOUT Community Incubator network (KIN)
The Community Incubator Network (KIN) is a collaborative initiative led by the YMCA of San Diego County, UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and UC San Diego Center for Community Health, and the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative. Funded by the American Heart Association’s Health Equity Research Network (HERN) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, KIN seeks to reimagine and transform traditional research paradigms—shifting how resources, knowledge, and power flow between communities, academia, and institutions.
Learn more about the KIN Project
Stay Connected
Follow @kinproject_sd on Instagram to stay connected with KIN and see updates from our Community Researchers.
Have questions about the Community Researchers for Food Justice program? Email us at kincommunitygrants@ymcasd.org.
