Community Engagement

Aggie Square’s commitment to our community is of utmost importance and a cornerstone of this project. Building community capacity through social and inclusive efforts helps ensure the vitality of residents that will contribute to a successful and thriving region.

Outreach and Engagement

Aggie Square is bringing together community voices to form a shared vision. Through our initial efforts of outreach and engagement, came the exchange of ideas with our local communities. These efforts have allowed us the opportunity to learn from and work together to help develop programs and initiatives to improve our communities. Through this collaboration, we will continue to learn about the needs, issues, and opportunities so we can help contribute to a vibrant, thriving region.

Community Interaction

For more than two years, Aggie Square has worked with various communities — neighborhood associations, community-based organizations, business organizations, chambers of commerce, and others — to engage in discussions regarding Aggie Square and the opportunities and potential challenges it may bring. During this time, more than 90 meetings have taken place.

UC Davis and UC Davis Health Community Engagement

UC Davis Sacramento Campus, home to UC Davis Health, has a track record of community engagement and support in Sacramento. UC Davis Health invests in the community by supporting a variety of health improvement services and projects, conducting research that improves lives and educating health professionals who contribute to the region’s economic vitality through a talented workforce.

Current Community Engagement

Currently we partner with or sponsor over 200 different community programs each year. Included below is a showcase for some of that work:

Food Literacy Center
Sacramento Covered
Sacramento Physicians’ Initiative to Reach Out, Innovate and Teach (SPIRIT)
Oak Park Farmers' Market
Street Soccer USA
Interim Care Program
Pathways to Health + Home Whole Person Care (WPC)
Mercer Clinic for the Pets of the Homeless
UC Davis School of Medicine Student-Run Clinics
UC Davis Clinical Translational Science Center’s Science Cafes
UC Davis MIND Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series
UC Davis Teen Biotech Challenge – SPARK

For more information on UC Davis Health Community Engagement, click here.

Alice Waters Institute
for Edible Education at UC Davis

The Alice Waters Institute will be the anchor program supporting the food and health mission of Aggie Square. Coinciding with the approaching 25th anniversary of the Edible Schoolyard Project and the 50th anniversary of Chez Panisse, the institute's creation will be equally vital in carrying forward Alice Waters' legacy into the next 50 years and beyond.

As two institutions firmly rooted in our commitment to the public good, we have the opportunity to achieve lasting and transformative impact through our collaboration. Together, we will shift the paradigm for how we think about food, create new solutions for feeding our communities healthfully and equitably, and inspire a new generation of change makers to continue this work.

We invite you to join us in this game-changing endeavor. With your support, the Alice Waters Institute for Edible Education at UC Davis will lead the way to more just, equitable and regenerative food systems - for the health of our children, our communities and our planet.