This week in Social Impact Across the U.S.:

After three years of severe drought, California is implementing restrictions on water use for the first time in the state’s history. The rules issued by Governor Jerry Brown mandate that municipalities cut water use by 25 percent. The New York Times examines what this means for the state’s reputation as a haven for continuous growth.

D.C. Central Kitchen, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that helps provide produce to the city’s food deserts, has released a guidebook to help other nonprofits serve areas without access to healthy foods, reports the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

After Walmart announced that it was raising wages for its employees, a slew of other large companies have followed suit. The Washington Post’s Wonkblog reports that McDonald’s recently announced that it would raise its baseline wages to $1 above the local minimum wage, raising its average to $9.90.

Governing asks whether programs that teach financial literacy and management to low income people — such as Philly’s Financial Empowerment Centers — are actually working, in terms of helping them get out and stay out of poverty.

Next City’s weekly feature story looks at New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s urban agenda and what it has meant for the state’s hard-hit cities.

What do you think about what’s happening in Social Impact Across the U.S.? How could Philly learn from other cities and states? Please leave a comment or email us news@generocity.org to help us bring the national and local conversations together.

Photo via Flickr user Mr.Lujan