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By Richmond Standard Staff

Seventeen California public school districts, including West Contra Costa Unified (WCCUSD), have joined a purchasing cooperative to pool their buying power and expand access to organic food in school meals.

The nonprofit Conscious Kitchen recently announced the launch of the Conscious Organic School Food Purchasing Cooperative. Its founding districts serve more than 300,000 students combined.

The cooperative partnered with food distributors UNFI and Sysco to expand the organic products available to participating districts. Combining schools’ purchasing demand helps distributors plan with suppliers while creating more dependable markets for organic farmers and food makers, according to Conscious Kitchen.

Other eligible California school districts can access the cooperative’s products and pricing through its existing contracts without conducting their own bids. Mt. Diablo Unified School District serves as the lead district for the cooperative’s grocery bid.

Other districts involved include: Alameda USD, Albany USD, Berkeley USD, Capistrano USD, Cupertino Union SD, Hayward USD, Laguna Beach USD, Lagunitas Elementary SD, Mt. Diablo USD, North Monterey County USD, Pajaro Valley USD, San Leandro USD, San Ramon Valley USD, Santa Clara USD, Sausalito Marin City SD, Tahoe-Truckee USD and West Contra Costa USD.

Barbara Jellison, WCCUSD’s executive director of food services, said the cooperative builds on years of work bringing fresh, organic food into school kitchens.

“The next challenge has always been how to make that possible for more districts,” Jellison said. “The Co-op gives schools a way to take what we have learned and move it to a completely different scale.”

By Oakland Post Staff

The Alameda County Democratic Party has voted to endorse Measure EE, the Oakland Charter reform measure on the November 2026 ballot. The party’s endorsement is announced alongside a broad coalition of organizations spanning labor, business, faith, and community advocacy, including Oakland Rising Action that are also supporting the measure.

Those supporters include:

• League of Women Voters of Oakland
• AFSCME Council 57
• SPUR
• Bay Area Council
• Black Women Organized for Political Action
• Faith in Action East Bay
• Oakland Chamber of Commerce
• Oakland Rising Action
• Revitalize East Bay
• Empower Oakland

Measure EE would reform Oakland’s hybrid governance system by establishing a strong-mayor structure, making the mayor the city’s chief executive, responsible for delivering effective, efficient services.

The measure would also reform and expand responsibilities of City Councilmembers.

Measure EE would create clearer lines of responsibility for the performance of city government, allowing voters to evaluate the mayor based on how effectively the city delivers services and produces results.

Along with clearer executive responsibility, the Charter reform would also create new checks and balances, including an independent Budget and Legislative Analyst office, City Council confirmation of key appointments, expanded council hearing and subpoena authority, and give the council the ability to override a mayoral veto with six votes. 

“Oakland voters deserve a City Hall where they know exactly who’s responsible when something goes wrong and exactly who to credit when it gets fixed. Measure EE puts that responsibility squarely with the mayor, backed by real checks and balances, so Oakland can finally move as fast as its problems demand. That’s why the Alameda County Democratic Party is proud to stand behind it,” said Igor Tregub, chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party. 

Oakland Rising Action, a collaboration of racial, economic, and environmental justice organizations, has also issued a press statement explaining its support for Measure EE.

Measure EE “represents a critical opportunity for residents to clarify the governance role of the Oakland Mayor and City Council, so we, as residents, know who to hold accountable for the execution of voter-approved and budgeted services within city departments,” the statement said.

Measure EE would reform Oakland’s Charter, which is the city’s Constitution, strengthening “the role of the mayor as the CEO of Oakland, with the city administrator being hired and managed by the mayor explicitly.”

The measure would also strengthen oversight of city departments by mandating reporting directly to the City Council and provide the mayor with veto power in approving policies and the budget.

Measure EE was placed on the ballot by the Oakland City Council in June 2026. For more than half a year, the mayor’s working group on Charter reform engaged residents and elected officials on the options for governance of Oakland, which led to Measure EE. 

“Oaklanders need clarity about who is responsible for the management of our city departments, our tax dollars, and our voter-approved ballot measures,” said Pecolia Manigo, executive director of Oakland Rising. 

“The average resident believes that we already have a strong mayor system,” she continued. “However, this is simply not the truth in our City Charter. It is time for us to stop talking about the Charter changes Oakland needs. This is the first of many Charter reforms that are needed to improve conditions in Oakland, especially the flatlands. It’s time all voters start paying attention to who is making decisions for Oakland. This election allows us to say how we believe Oakland should be governed.”