Candice Elder recognized the lack of equal access to fresh food in Oakland, California, before the coronavirus pandemic compounded those disparities. While whiter, wealthier Oakland neighborhoods house plenty of big-box grocery stores, there are virtually none to be found in deep East Oakland. This food insecurity is the result of deeply rooted systemic racism that limits access to resources for the city’s black and brown residents. In 2016, Elder, a longtime leader and organizer, founded the East Oakland Collective, an