501CTHREE Food and Water Box

We understand that historic and systematic barriers keep people of color from accessing things like voting, food & water but we also know that racial inequality doesn't stop there. The racial gaps go way deeper, multiplying injustice into lesser known areas (like clean energy and the internet) and harming the wellness, safety and success of millions of Black, LatinX and Indigenous people every day. “Race X” is about understanding the intersections between race and access everywhere, and taking action to change things, no matter how hard the challenge may seem. Communities of color have been facing racial problems in the shadows for too long. Low income communities and communities of color disproportionally experience contaminated tap water. We saw this problem most notoriously in Flint, but contaminated drinking water is a problem throughout the country. According to studies, Black children are 3 times more likely than white children to have elevated levels of lead in their blood.

501CTHREE will use our voices, our platform and our resources to make an impact and empower people of color, starting at RaceX. The 501CTHREE Food and Water Box delivers fresh food and up to 20 gallons of clean water per minute and the program is designed in partnership with the community to multiply their food and water distribution efforts. The goal of the Food and Water Justice campaign is to launch Food and Water Boxes in low income communities and communities of color that disproportionately experience contaminated water. 501CTHREE will introduce a new element of workforce development and job-skills training with the Food and Water Box. The community partners will learn the assembly and fabrication skills required to build and assemble the Food and Water Box and provide back to their own community. The program teaches key skills that workers need to enter an apprentice program across a variety of skilled trades and key mentorship for guidance and future opportunities. The program is designed to prepare people for the technical elements of an apprenticeship, teaching key skills including project planning, electrical assembly, mechanical assembly, plumbing & inventory management. 501CTHREE also builds a smart content series and emotional yet informative storytelling that will grab the attention of potential partners that want to get involved in the community while amplifying the program - ranging from equipment donations, college scholarships to career opportunities.

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

The program's goal is for residents to adopt healthier food choices as part of their lifestyle which helps helps combat the symptoms of unclean water and improve overall health outcomes in food insecure communities. As a culture of survival rooted in poverty encourages parents to purchase the cheapest available foods, which, living in a food desert, tend to be either pre-packaged or fast food. For families living below the Federal poverty line (ie $24,858 for a family of four), 30.8% are food insecure. According to the our theory of change, programming will scale up and there will be improved community access to sustainable and climate-resilient solutions and in turn, improved health outcomes and workforce development. Also, as the community connects with opportunities to make a difference, a new generation will expect and demand sustainability and climate justice, and in turn there will be more investment in climate solutions research and job opportunities in climate change tech.

IMPACT: Number of Food and Water Boxes Population served and demographics Improved health outcomes Single-use bottles replaced and COS reduction ENGAGEMENT: Number of donors and volunteers Number of jugs distributed and reused Supporting organizations, fundraisers INFLUENCE: Content and SM impressions Improved health outcomes in population Awareness in the target population ADOPTION: Number of organizations adopting the program Institutional support and endorsement for program SUSTAINABILITY: Open source program model Program cost reduction Food and Water Box for 501CTHREE Lab for Climate Innovation w/ UCLA and MIT IoT sensing platform