How to start a Food Policy Council

Posted by on July 23, 2012

Community Food Security Coalition and Harvard U: How to Start a FPC

Unprecedented tools for starting food policy councils released by Harvard Law and Community Food Security Coalition

Guides build on explosive growth in food policy councils across North America

PORTLAND, Ore.—The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) and Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic today released a suite of tools that will make it easier than ever for residents in towns and states across the country to start local food policy councils.

The materials include:

·         CFSC’s census of existing food policy councils in North America, complete with listings, map and analysis, and available at http://bit.ly/CFSCcensus; and

·         Harvard’s “Good Laws, Good Food: Putting Local Food Policy to Work for Our Communities,” a toolkit for navigating regulations, ordinances and other legal topics in starting a food policy council, and available at http://bit.ly/CFSCHarvard.

Additionally, CFSC is nearing completion of “Getting Started: A Guide to Food Policy Council Development,” a manual for those interested in launching or expanding a local food policy council. That manual is expected for release by fall.

“More and more, people are stepping forward to create healthy, sustainable food systems in their communities,” said CFSC Executive Director Miriam Barnard. “These tools provide everyday community members with a voice and a clear pathway through many community and legal issues intertwined in the local food environment.”

Food policy councils bring together stakeholders from diverse food-related sectors—such as farmers, food processors, retailers, legislators and many others—to examine how the food system is operating and to develop recommendations on how to improve it. FPCs may take many forms, but are typically either commissioned by state or local government, or predominately a grassroots effort.

Food policy councils have mushroomed across North America in recent years. From 111 known councils in 2010, to 193 active councils today, the ranks have increased 74 percent in just two years. They stretch from major urban areas such as Los Angeles to Cabarrus County, NC.

“Local and state laws and regulations since World War II have actually had very little to do with food systems,” said Mark Winne, CFSC’s food policy council program director. “They need to be updated. These guides provide a valuable understanding of how policy is made at the local level, and how it affects the food we all depend on.”