MISSION
Our mission is to connect local and sustainably grown Asian specialty foods to communities and businesses in the greater Los Angeles area while supporting Asian American small farms and other farmers of color in California.
VISION
To create a just, equitable, and sustainable local food system focused on reconnecting people to their food, the land, and the people who grow it.
BUSINESS VALUES
EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE: Food Roots values reliability, accessibility, working as a team, and good business with all our clients. We promise to work closely with our customers to always provide the best business experience for our clients.
INTEGRITY: We guarantee fair, honest, and transparent pricing that enables Food Roots to cover all operating expenses while ensuring that our social enterprise model remains sustainable.
QUALITY SPECIALTY ASIAN FOOD: We provide high quality produce from local, small farms run by families of color who use environmentally friendly and sustainable growing practices.
FOOD, LAND, PEOPLE: We support and source from farmers of color, especially within the Asian American community such as: Hmong, Vietnamese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Chinese and South Asian farmers.
INVESTING IN COMMUNITY: Our social enterprise model reinvests a portion of our profits into community programs such as free healthy cooking/nutrition workshops, fresh produce donations for low-income families, and subsidized ready-to-eat healthy meals.
The Food Roots Team
Kyle Tsukahira
Co- Director
Kyle is currently a Co-Director at Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement (APIFM). Kyle has over ten years of experience in leading community-based programs focused on health equity, food access, and environmental justice for Asian & Pacific Islander (API) communities in Los Angeles. Since 2013, Kyle has been at the forefront of APIFM’s air pollution and environmental justice work centered on education, outreach, and advocacy. Kyle leads APIFM’s Food Roots Harvest (FRH) program which connects local and sustainably grown Asian produce to communities and businesses in Los Angeles while supporting Asian American and other farmers of color in California.
Kevin Cortez
Distribution Coordinator II
Kevin Cortez (he/him) is the Distribution Coordinator II on the Food Roots Harvest team. Throughout the week, he handles sales as well as the deliveries for the food hub program. Coordinating orders between local farmers and clients to place their orders. He makes his deliveries to restaurants, schools, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations throughout LA. Kevin is also part of the CalFresh Health Living (CFHL) team, partnering with food rescue organizations to fight hunger by hosting distribution events and delivering produce.
Outside of work, Kevin likes to spend time with friends/family, watch sports, binge new shows, try new food, and drink an excessive amount of coffee.
Freddy Ramos
Program Coodinator
Freddy Ramos (he/him) is a Program Coordinator for APIFM’s CalFresh Health Living (CFHL) team. He is dedicated to addressing food insecurity in Los Angeles, CA. With a passion for social justice and community empowerment, he channels his energy into creating tangible change by organizing produce deliveries and distributions, data collection, and collaborating with community stakeholders. Working for APIFM gives him the opportunity to work towards implementing sustainable solutions to combat hunger and build a more resilient and nourished Los Angeles.
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