how food policy councils are organized and operate

8/2/2019 How Food Policy Councils Are Organized and Operate

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North Carolina Food Policy Council operates many successful programs // Page 45

What is a food policy council & why create one? // Page 46

Policy councils take the holistic approach // Page 47

Possible funding hurdles for FPCs // Page 48

Knoxville, TN: Home of the oldest food policy council in the U.S. // Page 49

Oklahoma Food Policy Council focuses on farmers & rural residents // Page 52

Oregon FPC targets some of highest food insecurity rates in the U.S. // Page 56

Florida Impact: Interfaith group is advocate for food security // Page 59Summary: The roles of a Food Policy Council // Page 62

Food policy council publications // Page 63

A list of food policy councils in the U.S. // Pages 65-67

Food Security Begins at Home: Creating Community Food Coalitions in the South 44

FPCs can broadenthe discussion offood and agriculturalissues to facilitate a

more comprehensiveexamination of foodsystems.


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How Food Policy CouncilsAre Organized & OperateIntroduction

The North CarolinaFood Policy Council hasscored some remarkableresults since its creationin 2001 in its role as theofficial policy office ofthe states Departmentof Agriculture and

Consumer Services.

With its ability to offerrecommendations basedon thorough research tothe AgricultureDepartment, the Councilpaves the way for manysuccessful projects to feedthe states 900,000

residents who experiencechronic bouts of hunger.The projects are designedto be a win-win situationnot only for the statesconsumers and especiallyat-risk people, but forfarmers who supply acornucopia of affordable,nutritious food for the state-operated food

security program.

Examples of the food security programs operated by the NorthCarolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services include:

Volunteerswith the NorthCarolinaGleaningProject bag40,000 poundsof sweetpotatoes as

part of NationalHungerAwareness Dayobservances inJune, 2004.More than900,000 peoplein the stateexperiencechronic hungereach year.

Chapter 4:In thischapter,well visitsome

successfulfood policycouncils inthe U.S. andsee theimpact oftheir workon foodsecurity incommunitiethey serve.



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A farm produce gleaningproject that the departmentoperates made it possible forabout 350 North Carolinafarmers to donate more than

six million pounds of surplusand commercially-unusablefood in 2003 to the statesestimated 900,000 residentswho experience poverty-levelhunger.

WHAT IS A FOOD

POLICY COUNCIL?

State and local Food Policy Councils(FPCs) are an officially sanctioned body

comprised of stakeholders from varioussegments of a food system. FPC's ainnovative collaborations between ciand government officials which give voiceto the concerns and interests of many whohave long been under-served by agriculinstitutions.

retizens

tural

WHY CREATE A

FOOD POLICY COUNCIL?

FPCs can broaden the discussion of foodand agricultural issues to facilitate a more

comprehensive examination of foodsystems. FPCs serve as a forum in which

people involved from many different partsthe food system and government can learnmore about what each does. This in turn

provides stakeholders with more informationas to how individual actions impact localand regional food system

s.

FPC

WHAT ARE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES?

By empowering a citizen group to make acomprehensive examination of a food

system, objective recommendations andideas for improving a food system can bemade. Initiatives resulting fromrecommendations in participating states haveincluded:Creating a State Food Security Task ForceDeveloping guidelines for school nutrition

programsPromoting direct marketing opportunitiessuch as institutional purchasingImplementing the farmers market nutrition

program

Developing state-wide marketing initiativesto promote locally grown foodsOrganizing regional conferences andnational workshopsto promote state and local FPCs.

-- DRAKE UNIVERSITYAGRICULTURAL LAW CENTER

of

Under its farm-to-schoolprogram, North Carolinafarmers sold $335,000 worth ofwatermelons, cantaloupes,tomatoes, apples, pumpkins,cabbage, broccoli and sweetpotatoes as a healthy additionto cafeteria foods such asspaghetti and chicken filetsandwiches in 54 of the states116 school districts.

The State AgricultureDepartment also coordinates a

network of farmers marketsthat makes available healthful,delicious food to residents invirtually every part of NorthCarolina.

And through its nine anti-hunger and food securityprograms, such as a summerprogram to provide meals forschool-aged children at

poverty level, the StateAgriculture Department lastyear requisitioned, stored anddistributed food valued at$41.1 million to agencies andorganizations feeding thehungry.



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The North Carolina Food PolicyCouncil is an excellent example ofhow such groups that research andmonitor food problems can pave theway for projects that effectively

address the identified needs. Theapparatus in place in North Carolinaseems to be a good fit. The FoodPolicy Council makesrecommendations to the NorthCarolina State Department ofAgriculture and Consumer Services, that with its extensive resources andcontacts is in a position to create and coordinate statewide food projects thatinvolve strong farmer to consumer links.

When policy problems oropportunities arise in operation ofthese programs, the North CarolinaFood Policy Council leaps intoaction.

As an example, when a number ofNorth Carolina farmers expressedconcerned about possible liabilitiesthey would face in allowing people

on their land to gather surplus cropsunder the state gleaning project, theFood Policy Council recommendedchanges in state law. North CarolinaHouse Bill 1335, passed by theGeneral Assembly, states thatgrowers are not held liable ifanything happens to a volunteerwhile in their field. And the BillEmerson Good Samaritan FoodDonation Act, signed by PresidentClinton in 1996, protects donorsfrom liability should the productdonated in good faith later causeharm to the recipient. A laterchapter of this handbook, dealingwith community food system

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Food policy councils take

A holistic approach

The growing community food security

movement, which links anti-hunger,

sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and

other groups, encourages examining these

issues together. Food policy councils are

the embodiment of that vision in local and

state governments. These councils have

developed projects and policies toimprove their communities access to food

and overall nutrition as well as support

local farmers and sustainable farming

practices. Overall, food policy members

translate the sometimes disconnected

areas of community food security into

common terms, and they transform win-

lose situations into win-win opportunities

to improve a communitys health, economy,

and environment.

Food Policy Councils: Practice andPossibilities by authors Sa ah Borron

and Bill Emerson of the Congressional

Hunger Center published June 2003

r

,



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projects, features gleaning and farm-to-school projects operated by the NorthCarolina Department of Agriculture and ConsumerServices.

About 35 food policy councils similar to the one in North

Carolina are operating as either offices of county or stategovernments, or as independent nonprofit organizations.

In many cases, food policy councils are created bygovernment bodies as the result of a report or series of events in a communityshowing that dramatic changes are needed in the local food system. Forinstance, a report might be issued on the rise in poverty-level households andhunger in a community. The FPCs are formed to conduct public education andresearch, delve into advocacy work, propose necessary legislation and giveoverall guidance about how to remedy such a problem of food insecurity in the

community. Many times these types of FPCs are asked to not only look into localfood system deficiencies and policy issues but to help design and implementprojects that address those matters. Their role is also to continue monitoring andeducate the public and government officials about the community food system.

There are many advantages for an FPC to be linked to government entities:instant status in a community, having a political infrastructure to support andenact its findings, and the funding and office space necessary to function. On the

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ssoommee ffuunnddiinngg hhuurrddlleessWhether a food policy council works for a government body or nonprofitorganization, funding for operations is most likely to be a serious issue. As manyother reports on the subject show, FPCs often operate on thin budgets and dependheavily on volunteer staff and in-kind donations. But then, such is the economicplight of virtually every nonprofit in the U.S. they mostly operate on softmoney or donations of time, products and money.

However, funding sources do exist for food policy councils. A list of possiblefunders is included in Chapter 7 of this handbook. Several possible fundingsources are:

! The USDA Community Food Projects Grant Program and USDA Risk ManagementAgency have recently funded startup food policy councils

! Many cities, counties and states have appropriated money, usually as a line item inthe budget of their administering agency

! Government entities have also donated clerical and professional in-kind staffservices for food policy council operations



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other hand, foodpolicy councils tied tononprofitorganizations and notgovernment entities

might be able toexpress themselvesmore candidly andwork more freely onpolitical barriers thatimpact a local foodsystem. Either way,support by local orstate governmentofficials is an

essential element of the work of food policy councils. No FPC can effectivelywork outside the political arena.

Creating a food policy coalition (FPC) involves much of the same process that wediscussed in the previous chapter on creating a food coalition, as far as the actualorganizational issues are concerned. The process begins as a group ofstakeholders are called together who have a background and interest in suchareas as agriculture, food security, food processing and distribution, nutritionand food legislative matters. The ball gets rolling from there.

In this chapter well see how some successful U.S. food policy councils operateand their impact on the community food systems they serve.

1

Knoxville: Home of the

oldest food policy council

T

he concept of food policiescouncils and the very first foodpolicy council itself had their

origins in the South. The Knoxville-Knox County (TN) Food PolicyCouncil was founded in 1982 as theresult of a groundbreaking study of the citys food system by the University ofTennessee. It broke new ground with its concept that a communitys food system

KKnnooxxvviillllee FFPPCC ffuunnddiinngg

The City of Knoxville allocates $4,000 ayear for administration of the FPC.Grants are sometimes drawn upon to pay

other staff salaries. Upon expansion, thecounty government was asked toprovide funding equivalent to the cityscontribution.

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should be given the same proprietary status as its system of streets and waterworks. Conducted in 1977, the study by Robert Wilson, a professor of urbanplanning, and some of his students at the University of Tennessee found thatKnoxvilles food system wasnt getting the job done when it came to providingnutritious food for all the citys residents. The college researchers found rising

levels of hunger among poverty-level residents and diet-related illness andobesity that was prevalent among residents of all income brackets. Additionally,the county was losing farmland, and its ability to feed itself, to urban sprawl andother causes. Wilson and his students recommended the creation of a city entitythat would be charged with making recommendations to improve the

community food system.

Under its bylaws, the KnoxvilleFPC was mandated to:

Monitor and evaluate the performance of

Knoxvilles Food system, in terms ofcosts, availability, accessibility, andimplications for public health andeconomic efficiency.

Identify food related problems needingattention and disseminate public reportsdescribing those problems, along withsuggested remedies where possible.

Promulgate goals and objectives for thefood system.

Communicate findings andrecommendations about food issues tothe Mayor, City Council, CountyCommission, and other relevant publicofficials.

Act as a forum for discussion andcoordination of community-wide effortsto improve the overall food supply anddistribution network of the Knoxvillecommunity.

As the city prepared to host the1982 World Fair, the time seemedripe for the Knoxville-Knox

County Community ActionCommittee (CAC) and theMetropolitan PlanningCommission (MPC) to organize apublic body to examine andaddress the food system as awhole. The Knoxville CityCouncil agreed with theuniversity research team that foodplanning was a legitimate

responsibility of localgovernment. In 1982, theKnoxville Food Policy Council(KFPC) became this body, the firstof its kind in the nation.

As the scope of the food policycouncil was expanded in 2002 toinclude the entire county, the FPCwas re-named the Knoxville-KnoxCounty Food Policy Council.

Knoxville-Knox

FPC membership

While the Knoxville-Knox County FPC does not have the power to enforce orcontrol local food policies, it serves as an advisory body that makesrecommendations about food-related policies to the city and county



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governments. The FPC is composed of 11 volunteer members, of which five areappointed by the citys mayor and six are named by the Knox County chiefexecutive. Members include one city councilor, one county commissioner,consumer and neighborhood advocates, people from the nutrition and healthsector, and individuals involved in agriculture and the food industry.

The FPC also makes use of an associate member category to include relevantpublic agency representatives when the need arises. Associate members canparticipate in deliberations of the food policy council but do not have votingrights. The food policy council routinely elects officers and names executive,nominating and special committees whose members can be elected, appointed orassigned respectively from among its members. Advisory committees areoccasionally assembled from external representatives to provide access to issuesand additional expertise.

The city provides up to four staff people on a limited, part-time basis for councilwork.

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# After receiving a recommendation from KFPC, the Knoxville PublicSchool District hired a full-time nutrition educator who is responsible forpreparation and delivery of educational programs and coordinatesexisting programs.

# Breakfasts are now provided free or at reduced cost to all of Knoxvilleslow-income students.

# The FPC issues newsletters and annual reports in order to maintainaccountability and increase visibility. It conducts workshops, forums, andhearings to call attention to deficiencies in the local food system.

# The regional transportation authority commonly requests a review offood access from the FPC when altering its bus routes. Some buses haveinstalled racks for the convenience of riders who take the bus to do theirgrocery shopping.

# Recommendations from the FPC helped to establish twenty-sevencommunity and school gardens.



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Contact:

Knoxville/Knox County Food Policy Council -- www.korrnet.org/kfpc

Herbert Donaldson4120 Shangrila DriveKnoxville, TN 37914

Elaine MachielaSecond Harvest Food Bank922 Delaware AvenueKnoxville, TN 37921

Carolyn Perry-BurstKnox County Health Department140 Dameron AvenueKnoxville, TN 37914

2

Oklahoma FPC focuseson farmers & rural residents

2

Sometimes the community that afood policy council serves is notdefined by physical boundaries

but by a specific population of a state.Since its founding in 2001, theOklahoma Food Policy Council hasdevoted itself to making life better forthe 38% of the states population wholive on farms and other rural places.However, as readers will see, the farm-to-school program that the FPC islaunching to economically invigoraterural Oklahoma will benefit everyresident of the state by providing

locally-produced, nutritious food forschool children. Money from sales oflocal farm goods to the school districtswill be a boon for many rural townsthat still play a key role in determining thewell-being of the states economy.

A directory of Oklahoma farmers and theproducts they provide for institutionalbuyers was published by the state foodpolicy council.

http://www.korrnet.org/kfpchttp://www.korrnet.org/kfpc


10/24

The two foundingorganizations of theFPC are themselveswell-based inOklahoma

agriculture theyare the OklahomaDepartment ofAgriculture and thenonprofit KerrCenter forSustainableAgriculture ofPoteau, OK, thatsince 1965 has

helped strugglingfamily farmers stayon the land. The FPC members set two main goals: to bring food security to thefour percent of Oklahomans who experience chronic hunger each year andgenerate economic development in the rural areas by providing new markets forfamily farms.

In Oklahoma and everywhere around the nation,the small and medium sized, independent family facontinues to be in crisis.

rm

ns.

According to the USDAs Small Farm CommissionReport, Local patterns of production, distribution andconsumption of food are increasingly replaced byglobal operations and interests. Small and mediumfarmers are regularly squeezed out of business byhigh input costs, low prices for their products, andpoor access to markets.

No wonder then that in a recent MSN web article oncareer choices, farming was #1 on the list of dead-end occupatio

-- The Oklahoma Farm-to-School Report

In heavily rural states like Oklahoma, the collapse of the farm economy has had far-reaching impacts. While about 7.5 percent of Oklahomans are engaged in farmingor farm-related jobs and the states 86,000 farms contribute about $4.6 billion

annually to the Oklahoma economy, each farm in the state makes on average lessthan $3,759 after expenses annually. The states farmers are among the hiddenpoor because in many instances they do not seek public relief and so theirpoverty remains unreported.

Persistent poverty pervades much of rural Oklahoma. Poverty rates in non-metro Oklahoma are17.5%, compared to the12.9% poverty rate of themetropolitan parts of thestate. Almost 12 per centof Oklahoma householdsare food insecure, whichis defined as "limited oruncertain access tonutritious food on adaily basis.

The Oklahoma Food Connec ion Directorycan be

downloaded at the website:

The Oklahoma Farm-to School Reportis

available at:

-

http://www.kerrcenter.com/ofpc/farmtoschool.htm

http://www.kerrcenter.com/ofpc/foodconnection.htm

t

http://www.kerrcenter.com/ofpc/farmtoschool.htmhttp://www.kerrcenter.com/ofpc/farmtoschool.htm


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Soon after the Oklahoma Food Policy Council was founded in 2001, the 15people who made up the initial membership decided to examine the potential forincreasing the amount of locally-grown food in public institutions in the state.They conducted a survey of 638 institutional food service directors at Oklahomapublic schools, colleges, correctional centers, state hospitals, technology centers

and state resorts. With a phenomenal return rate of 67%, the survey showed thatnot much Oklahoma-grown food was being used in these institutions but thattheir food staffs had a high level of interest in buying local produce. Over half offood service managers and 73 percent of food service staffs in large schoolsystems said they would like to connect with local food producers.

An analysis of the survey on the importance of increasing consumption oflocally-produced food was compiled in a publication titled, The Oklahoma Farm-to-School Report. Over a two-year period, the FPC also gathered information forthe Oklahoma Food Connection Directory that contains information about

individual Oklahoma farmers and the crops and livestock they produce, directmarketing outlets such as farmers markets, public institutions interested inbuying local produce, and a harvest calendar.

One of the key findings of thesurvey was that the Oklahomafarm family's share of the fooddollar is now on average less thanseventeen cents, and is much lessfor many individual food items.

As The Oklahoma Farm-to-SchoolReport states, This state of affairsgoes largely unnoticed by theurban population because peopleare by and large alienated fromfarming and their food. Withoutcountry-of-originlabeling, many people do notknow where their food comesfrom, much less the ins and outsof agricultural production. They

certainly would have difficulty calculating how much of the food in their grocerycarts was grown or processed in Oklahoma.

Today, analysts say that most major

cities have a limited amount of foodavailable close at hand. In the U.S. the

typical fresh food item is typically hauled

an average of 1500 to 2500 miles from

farmer to consumer, 25 per cent fartherthan in 1980. (Distances are much greater

for imported foods, such as grapes from

Chile.) It can take a week for food to

travel from coast to coast.

Dr. Jim Horne, Director

Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Poteau, OK

The Oklahoma State Food Policy Council determined that one way to keep fooddollars at home and also improve the diets of the states children would be tooffer school students healthy, locally grown food. A farm-to-school program



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involving hundreds of school districts and state farm families was set to belaunched in fall of 2004.

In Oklahoma, about 387,000 of approximately 600,000 schoolchildren (about 61%)participate in the school lunch program. As in other states, vending machines,

which most often offer soda pop and candy to children at school, are comingunder fire for contributing to the obesity crisis. Many Oklahoma school children,as well as their parents, do not have a firm idea about what constitutes a dailybalanced diet. And like many Americans, they have lost touch with how theirfood is produced.

Dr. Jim Horne, director of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, reflects onsome major changes in the U.S. food system the past century: Our food systemhas evolved from one in which most cities were surrounded by farms whichsupplied them with produce and dairy products to one in which urban sprawl

and the concentration of foodproduction in select areas of thecountry have virtuallyeliminated the near-urban food

supply.

The FPC is confident that thefarm-to-school program will bea win-win program for thestates farm families and school

children. Schools will be able toprovide fresh produce quicklyand with lower transportationcosts by buying it from smallfarmers instead of from distantmarkets. While fresh fruits andvegetables are often themainstays of such programs,other locally-raised farmproducts such as dairy, eggs,nuts, meat, even breads andother locally-processed products could also be sold to schools.

$ Members of the Oklahoma State Food

Policy Council represent a diversity of

backgrounds: farming and ranching,

food processing, retail foods,

education, the media, tribal,

conservation, religious and anti-hungerorganizations.

$ Key staff from the Oklahoma

Department of Agriculture, Food, andForestry and the Kerr Center for

Sustainable Agriculture assist

members.

$ The Food Policy Council meets once a

month to monitor progress and discuss

new projects.

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To broaden the discussion of issues beyond simply agricultural production to amore comprehensive, food system-wide examination To provide an opportunity for a focused examination of how state and localgovernment actions shape the food system



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To create a forum in which people involved in all different parts of the foodsystem and government can meet to learn more about what each one does and toconsider how their actions impact other parts of the system. To improve nutrition and the provision of nutritional information throughoutOklahoma

To create an infrastructure within the food system which will better connectstakeholders such as food producers, consumers, communities, food processors,marketers, and government agencies, including those agencies which may alsobe consumers To improve the economic status of Oklahomans involved in the food system bycreating new opportunities, increasing profitability and ensuring that fooddollars stay close to home through local processing, enhanced distribution, directmarketing diversification of products, and distribution of information regardingpresently under-utilized opportunities.

Contact:Oklahoma Food Policy CouncilKerr Center for Sustainable AgriculturePO Box 588Poteau, OK 74953918-647-9123 Website: www.kerrcenter.com

A worker in the Lane CountyCommunity Gardens bundlessome carrots for the anti-hunger food program.

3

Lane County, Oregon FPC targetsone of highest hunger rates in U.S.

3

Heading up northwest, well see that not allfood policy councils are operated in directpa

governmenrtnership with local or statets. The Lane County Food Policy

Council at Eugene/Springfield, OR, is the off-

spring of two nonprofit organizations, a localcollege and a network of six community actiongroups. Now in the final formation stage, thefledgling FPC has set an ambitious agenda toaddress what are some of the highest statewiderates of hunger and unemployment in the U.S.



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Recent federal Census Bureau statistics show that 4.3% of Oregon residentsexperience food insecurity with hunger, and 12.9% of Oregonians are rated as food insecure. Approximately one in five Oregon residents at some point during

the year do not know where their nextmeal is coming from.

The founding organizations of theLane County FPC bring to the tableyears of experience in operating anti-hunger programs and conductingcommunity food projects plusinvaluable new learnings amassedduring a thorough assessment of thelocal food system. The foundingpartners are: Food for Lane County

(FFLC) , a nonprofit that serves one infive county residents annually with an

array of food programs such as emergency distributions, community gardens andsummer school lunches; the Lane County Food Coalition that operates a slew oflocal food projects for county farmers and consumers; and the University of OregonCooperative Extension Service. Through a USDA Community Food Projects grant,the partners developed six community action groups of residents across the countyto discuss the local food system and concoct a plan for countywide food security.

Nearly 323,000 people live in LaneCounty, with about half of the

population residing in Eugene and

Springfield, the second largest

metro area next to Portland. Many

small rural towns and family farms

that are capable of producing an

abundant diversity of food dot the

countryside.

Community action groups make recommendations

The work of the six community action groups during 2003 culminated in aLane County Food Planning Summit. As a result, the community actiongroups identified some key food policy issues that included:

!Access to nutritious local food for hunger reliefExample: Senior and disabled people need more and better transportation toemergency food pantries, farmers' markets, community gardens and affordablegrocery stores. Drivers may need insurance.

!An economic development strategy that increases the production, marketing

and consumption of local food .Example: Food producers favored a branding of local food with a label onproduce, processed foods (with some local ingredients), and wines to develop andadvertise niche marketsExample: A number of farmers would like a year-round farmers' market to have astable market. Some would extend their growing season through greenhouses.



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!Customers also requested that many more dollars stay in our region whenlocal food is purchased from local outlets. Are policy makers willing to invest ininfrastructure?

!Present and future generations of farmers and the land base to support them.Example: A number of farmers are ready to retire. Beginning farmers need land andmentors. What policies can keep land in or restored to farming?

!Opportunities for healthier food choices, especially among youth, seniors, andpersons with limited access to food .Example: Farmers and people with low incomes strongly support federal and stateSenior/WIC coupon programs that allow some seniors and mothers to purchasedirectly from farmers' markets and put fresh, high-quality produce in the mouthsof people who may not otherwise be able to afford it. Participants felt itsadministrative guidelines could be improved.

!A survey of students at some high schools in Eugene indicates that they wouldlike to try a local, organic salad bar in their schools. Could policies support thepurchasing of local food by public institutions such as schools?

Lane County FPC takes action on the recommendations

Acting on recommendations of the six community action groups, the Lane CountyFood Policy Council has created the following action steps to address food securityand policy needs to date:

# Develop a Food Charter and strategy (on the model of Portland and Toronto)

to guide the development of specific initiatives.# Support Farm to Cafeteria Projects in Lane County (schools, hospitals, prisons,

nursing homes).# Promote the available funds from the Farm Service Agency to new farmers

looking to purchase land and retiring farmers who wish to keep their land inagriculture.

# Support a branded buy-local campaign for regional food producers.# Do an assessment of transportation to food sources in Lane County (time,

distance, route and cost).# Recommend that access to fresh foods through retail outlets is considered

essential in all neighborhoods.# Investigate and recommend incentives for waste reduction and food reuse

(rescue) for food businesses.# Provide a comprehensive look at Lane Countys disaster preparedness as

regards food. Encourage the County and Cities to designate food processing asa strategic industry.



16/24

# Investigate the Community Reinvestment Act to encourage structures thatallow citizens to invest in local projects.

# Investigate and propose incentives for urban homeowners with yard gardensand businesses that reduce asphalt usageand increase garden space (capturing more rainwater and improving air

quality).# Create a workshop or lecture series for city and county planners on food

policy/security issues.# Identify level 1 farmland in Lane County and develop policies to keep it in food

production.# Investigate food producing capacity on public lands (ex. utility right-of-ways)

and develop a plan for transitioningthem to multi-use community garden space.

# Develop incentives for food businesses (restaurants, processors, stores) that uselocally grown or produced products.

# Conduct impact studies of current land use practices on local food systems.

Contacts:

Mariah Leavitt -- Community Food AdvocateFOOD for Lane County770 Bailey Hill Rd.Eugene, OR 97402(541)343-2822

Lane County Food Coalition

340 Polk St.Eugene, OR 97402(541) 684-4962

4

Florida Impact: Interfaith groupis advocate for food security

4

Religious organizations have been aleading catalyst for social justice in theSo

work in fouth for more than 200 years, so theirod policy councils that bring food to

the poor is a natural fit. Florida Impact is onesuch interfaith organization that since 1979has wracked up a record of one successful

The motto of the Tallahassee-basednonprofit is: Mobilizing communitiesagainst hunger & poverty

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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policy campaign after another, many of which concern community food security.The Tallahassee-based nonprofit also holds regular trainings for religious andnonprofit organizations in how to become active in public policy matters that focuson economic and social justice for impoverished people.

Florida Impact does not describe itself as a food policy council it was foundedin 1979 before the phrase itself was coined. But the organization functions as anFPC in light of its mission to reduce hunger in Florida by increasing access tofood programs through aggressive outreach strategies and public policyadvocacy. It has been at the forefront of the anti-hunger movement in Floridafor many years, and the past several years has been heavily involved with acollaboration of other nonprofits and state and federal government agencies inactivities of the Florida Security Team. That official state entity has a mandate toeradicate hunger in the Sunshine State within the next five years, mainly byimproving and expanding public access to public food programs.

There are 660,000 foodinsecure households inFlorida which translatesinto 1.5 million Floridianswho are hungry at somepoint during the year. Foodinsecurity in Florida has beenon the rise in recent years,increasing from 10.5 percent

in 1999 to 11.7 percent in2004. The number of Floridaresidents listed by the USDAas food insecure withhunger was 3.7% in 2004.

Florida Impact is involvedseparately with its own foodsecurity initiative which itcalls Stamp Out Hunger.A five-year strategic plan thenonprofit has createdtowards that objective isavailable for downloading atits website. Much of thatplan describes food policy issues to be addressed at the local and state level withthe Florida legislature by the nonprofits statewide network of citizen advocatesand constituent organizations of religious and community groups.

Florida Impact Policy Board

African Methodist Episcopal Church

Florida Association of Jewish Federations

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Church Women United in Florida

The Episcopal Diocese of Florida The EpiscopalDiocese of Southeast Florida

Evangelical Lutheran Church of America

Farm worker Organizations Action Group

Florida Coalition for the Homeless

Lutheran Church/Missouri SynodPresbyterian Church/Synod of South Atlantic:

Central Florida Presbytery

Peace River Presbytery

Tampa Bay Presbytery

Religious Society of Friends

SHARE Tampa Bay

United Church of Christ/Florida Conference:

Celebration Mission Council

Central Coastal Mission Council

Gold Coast Mission Council

Southwest Mission Council

St. John's Mission CouncilUnitarian Universalist Association

United Methodist Church/Florida Conference

United Methodist Women



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Florida Impacts legislative victories include:

Laws that made it possible for 14 counties in 2003 to issue Farmers MarketNutrition Program (FMNP) coupons to over 32,000 WIC clients in 2003. Farmers

received payments of over $324,000. Program participation increased by 17.5%over the 2000 baseline data.

A state mandate to require all of Florida's elementary schools to offer the federalSchool Breakfast Program (16 counties did not provide this entitlement programuntil the mandate took effect in 1990.)A law to provide farm workers with the right to know about hazardouschemicals in the workplace without fear of employer retributionRegulation of the interest rates of the title loan industry

A state-funded match for Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) targetedto savings accounts for public assistance participantsState funding for the Temporary Income Bridge Program - an extension offood stamps for legal immigrants denied them via federal welfare reforms

Health and safety worker protections (including those relative to sexualharassment) for "workfare" workersEstablishment of an environmental justice commission to study andrecommend changes for the disproportionate placement of toxic waste sites inlow-income neighborhoodsRegulation of the labor pool industry to prevent the exploitation of low-wageworkers

Much of Florida Impacts focus is on increasing the capacity of organizations that

serve limited-resource people to change or create public policy to assist theirefforts. In this area, the nonprofit provides:

Trainings. Florida Impact conducts legislative trainings at the state capitol inwhich service lobbyists share information on bills and budget priorities relativeto food security concerns. Participants are guided through the process a billtakes to passage and, when possible, participate in a news conference on one ofImpacts priorities.

Publications for Citizen Advocacy. Each year Impact publishes the Prepareand the Update, two booklets that come out before and after (respectively) theconvening of the Florida Legislature. These materials provide information onbills and budget priorities before the state legislature and U.S. Congress thataffect low-income people. Prepare provides a legislative directory, and theUpdate publishes voting records on legislation outlined in the Prepare. Threelegislative Alerts are mailed to members as the Florida Legislature movesthrough its annual session. Every two years, Florida Impact publishes Feeding



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Florida, a report on hunger and the effectiveness of food and nutritionprograms in each of the states 67 counties.

Contact:Florida Impact345 S. Magnolia Dr., #E-11Tallahassee FL 32301Phone: 850-309-1488Fax: 850-309-1489http://www.flimpact.org/

SUMMARY

As weve seen inthis chapter, theterm foodpolicy councilis a bit of amisnomerbecause FPCsplay a muchbroader rolethan onlyaddressing matters of public policy.

Publications available at the Florida Impact website are:

!Florida Food Resource DirectoryA searchable database that con ains both public and private food resou ces in eact r

of the state's 67 counties.

!Feeding Florida: Responses to Hunger in the Sunshine StateIn 2003, Florida Impact issued its most recen edition of this repor that serves as

an education and advocacy resource for lawmakers and organizations working on food

security in the s ate. New edi ions of the publication are issued every two years.

t t

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!RRoolleess ooffaa FFoooodd PPoolliiccyy CCoouunncciill!!PPuubblliicc ffoooodd ssyysstteemm eedduuccaattiioonn

!!IIddeennttiiffyy && ddeeffiinnee tthhee nneecceessssaarryy ffoooodd ssyysstteemm

!!FFoooodd ssyysstteemm rreesseeaarrcchh

!!AAddvvooccaaccyy iinniittiiaattiivveess

!!GGuuiiddaannccee ttoo eelleecctteedd ooffffiicciiaallss && ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt ooffffiicceess

!!PPrrooppoossiinngg lleeggiissllaattiioonn

!!EEssttaabblliisshhiinngg ffoooodd pprroojjeeccttss

http://www.flimpact.org/http://www.flimpact.org/directory/index.cfmhttp://www.flimpact.org/directory/index.cfmhttp://www.flimpact.org/


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Consisting of diversememberships from thecity, county or state theyrepresent, they areusually connected to

government entities.They do not relegatethemselves solely toserving agriculturalinterests within thesegovernments -- althoughagriculture is a main areaof focus and devotion forthem but work acrossgovernment offices to

cover many other aspectsof the food system suchas anti-hunger, nutritionand food safety. Inserving these broadconstituencies, food policy councils work in the areas of public education, foodsystem research, and advocacy efforts.

!AAccttuuaallllyy ggeettttiinngg ssttaarrtteedd iiss uussuuaallllyy tthhee hhaarrddeessttppaarrtt ooffaannyy eennddeeaavvoorr.. OOrrggaanniizzeerrss ((ppeerrhhaappss aa

ssiinnggllee ppeerrssoonn)) wwoonnddeerrss:: WWhhoo ddoo II ggoo ttoo?? HHooww

ddoo II ggeett ootthheerrss iinntteerreesstteedd??

Wee hhooppee tthhaatt iinn tthhiiss cchhaapptteerr rreeaaddeerrss hhaavveeaaccqquuiirreedd aann eelleemmeennttaarryy uunnddeerrssttaannddiinngg ooffhhooww

ffoooodd ppoolliiccyy ccoouunncciillss aarree ffoorrmmeedd aanndd ooppeerraattee..

TThhee iinnffoorrmmaattiioonnaall rreessoouurrcceess mmeennttiioonneedd sshhoouulldd

hheellpp ppootteennttiiaall FFPPCC oorrggaanniizzeerrss ttoo uunnddeerrssttaanndd tthhaatt

mmaannyy ffoorrmmss ooffffrreeee aanndd llooww--ccoosstt iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn aarree

aavvaaiillaabbllee ttoo tthheemm,, aalloonngg wwiitthh ppeeooppllee aatt wwoorrkk iinn

tthhee ffiieelldd wwhhoo ccaann aassssiisstt tthheemm.. PPeeooppllee iinnvvoollvveedd

wwiitthh eexxiissttiinngg ffoooodd ppoolliiccyy ccoouunncciillss aarree ssoommee oofftthhee

bbeesstt ssoouurrcceess ooffgguuiiddaannccee,, aanndd iinn oouurr eexxppeerriieennccee

wwee hhaavvee ffoouunndd tthheemm eeaaggeerr ttoo hheellpp.. WWee mmeennttiioonn

ssoommee oofftthheessee ccoonnttaaccttss iinn tthhee rreeffeerreennccee sseeccttiioonn aatt

tthhee eenndd oofftthhiiss cchhaapptteerr..

However, as weve seen in examples of food policy councils presented in thischapter, not all food policy councils are the creation of public governments.

Some are stand-alone organizations that were created to help reform communityfood systems by bands of private citizens, community nonprofit organizations orinterfaith groups.

The scope of work for food policy councils ranges from a single neighborhood orportion of a city or town to a statewide network.

Food policy council publications

The publication, Getting Food on the Table: An Action Guide to Local Food Policy(1999) by the Community Food Security Coalition, is an excellent tool designed

to support local efforts to promote community food security, by helping readersto understand the breadth of policies affecting their local food system, evaluatepolicy barriers and opportunities, develop innovative policy solutions, andidentify useful resources.

Order it for $10 at:

http://www.foodsecurity.org/pubs.html#action_guide

http://www.foodsecurity.org/pubs.htmlhttp://www.foodsecurity.org/pubs.html


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"""

Food Policy Councils: Practice and Possibilitiesis one of the best informationalsources on the work of food policy councils in community food security

programs. The 43-page report, issued in 2003, was funded by the USDACommunity Food Project Grants program and written by Sarah Borron, a BillEmerson Fellow of the Congressional Hunger Center. Below are some examplesfrom that report of how food policy councils pave the way and fortify the workof food coalitions with their research, outreach and advocacy efforts.

The Hartford Advisory Commission on Food Policy in Connecticutmonitors grocery store prices. It uses this information to ensure equitablepricing for low-income residents within grocery chains.

The Toronto Food Policy Council, for example, produced fifteen

discussion papers on topics ranging from incorporating food security inurban planning to the impact of international trade agreements onCanadian food security.

Based on a report showing that residents of low-income neighborhoods inAustin, Texas, had fewer, smaller, and more expensive food outlets thanother parts of the city, the Austin/Travis Food Policy Council worked todevelop low-cost community gardens that provided a local source ofcheap, nutritious food for low-income community members.

The Berkeley Food Policy Council in California successfully petitioned thecity council to adopt a federal resolution calling for the ban of genetically-

modified (GMO) foods. That council was also instrumental in the citys ofthe nations first municipal food policies in October 2001.

To download the publication, please go to:

http://www.lanefood.org/pdf/food_policy_councils/food_policy_council_report_february_2003.pdf

"""

The Agricultural Law Center at Drake University in Iowa-- in partnership with

the USDA Risk Management Agency is a national information clearinghousethat helps communities and states to establish food policy councils. Theirwebsite features many publications to assist communities in the areas ofagricultural law and food policy.

Visit the organizations website at:

www.statefoodpolicy.org

http://www.lanefood.org/pdf/food_policy_councils/food_policy_council_report_february_2003.pdfhttp://www.lanefood.org/pdf/food_policy_councils/food_policy_council_report_february_2003.pdfhttp://www.lanefood.org/pdf/food_policy_councils/food_policy_council_report_february_2003.pdfhttp://www.lanefood.org/pdf/food_policy_councils/food_policy_council_report_february_2003.pdf


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Food policy councils in the U.S.

Arizona Pasadena Food Policy Council

Arizona Food Policy Coalition Marc SaenzCindy GentryDirector,Community Food ConnectionsP.O. Box 22216Phoenix, AZ 85028602.493.5231F: 602.296.4255

Phone: (626) 744-6163

Placer County Food Policy CouncilMartha Jacoby, Program RepresentativeUniversity of California CooperativeExtension Food Security ProjectPhone: (530) 889-7350

www.foodconnect.org E-mail: [email protected]://ceplacer.ucdavis.edu/Nutrition,

_Family_and_Consumer_Sciences/California

Berkeley Food Policy CouncilE-mail: [email protected] Sacramento Hunger Commissionwww.berkeleyfood.org 909 12th Street, Suite 200

Sacramento, CA 95814California Community Food SecurityNetwork

Phone: (916) 447-7063, ext. 335 or 331Fax: (916) 447-7052

Community Food Security Coalition www.targethunger.comPO Box 209Venice, CA 90294 West Contra Costa County Food

Security CouncilPhone: 310-822-5410www.foodsecurity.org Melody Steeples

Community Wellness & PreventionProgramContra Costa County Food andNutrition Policy Consortium 597 Center Avenue, #115Lindsay Johnson Martinez, CA 94553The Food Bank of Contra Costa andSolano

Phone: (925) 313-6839Fax: (925) 313-6840

P.O. Box 271966 www.ccprevention.orgConcord, CA 94527-1966Phone: (925) 676-7543 x204 ConnecticutE-mail: [email protected] City of Hartford Advisory Commission

on Food PolicyMarin County Food Policy Council Contact Jennifer MartinP.O. Box 101 Hartford Food SystemLagunitas CA 94938 (860) 296-9325Phone: (415) 488-9464 E-mail: [email protected]: (415) 488-0600 www.hartfordfood.org (Click on

.Programs.)E-mail: [email protected]

http://www.foodconnect.org/http://www.ccprevention.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.slideranch.org/http://www.ccprevention.org/http://www.slideranch.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.foodconnect.org/


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Connecticut Food Policy CouncilDept. of Agriculture765 Asylum Ave.Hartford, CT 06105-2822www.foodpc.state.ct.us

IllinoisIllinois Food Policy CouncilMark BeorkremExecutive Director,Illinois Stewardship AllianceP.O Box 648114 E. MainRochester, Illinois 62420Ph: 217/498-9707Fax: 217/498-9235www.illinoisstewardshipalliance.org/

IowaDrake Agricultural Law Center Staff &Legal Research AssociatesChristine PardeeState Food Policy Council ProjectCoordinator & Iowa Food PolicyCouncil CoordinatorAgricultural Law CenterThe Law SchoolDrake University

2507 University Ave.Des Moines, Iowa 50311515.271.4956F: 515.271.1965

Iowa Food Policy CouncilChristine Pardee, Council CoordinatorAg Law Center, Drake UniversityDes Moines, IA 50311Phone: (515) 271-4956Fax: (515) 271-2530

E-mail: [email protected]

KansasSalina Regional Food Policy CouncilDan NagengastConsultant,Kansas Rural Center

966 E. 800 Rd.Lawrence, KS 66047785.748.0959F: 785.748.0609www.kansasruralcenter.org

MassachusettsHolyoke Food Policy CouncilMary Anne Carrasquillo, Food PolicyCouncil CoordinatorPlanning DepartmentCity Hall Annex Room 406Holyoke, Mass 01040Phone: 413-322-5575Fax: 413-322-5576

MinnesotaTwin-Cities Food Policy CouncilChristopher B. MortonExecutive Director,Minnesota Food Association

3502 32nd Ave. NESt. Anthony, MN 55418612.788.4342F: 612.788.4344www.mnfoodassociation.org

Mexico

New Mexico Food and AgriculturePolicy Council (a project of Farm toTable)Pamela RoyFarm to Table3900 Paseo del SolSanta Fe, NM 87507Phone: (505) 473-1004Fax: (505) 424-1144E-mail: [email protected]

North Carolinahttp://www.korrnet.org/kfpc/North Carolina Food Policy CouncilGary GayNorth Carolina Department ofAgricultureP.O. Box 659Butner, NC 27509

http://www.illinoisstewardshipalliance.org/http://www.iowafoodpolicy.org/http://www.wannabhealthy.com/http://www.kansasruralcenter.org/http://www.mnfoodassociation.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.mnfoodassociation.org/http://www.kansasruralcenter.org/http://www.wannabhealthy.com/http://www.iowafoodpolicy.org/http://www.illinoisstewardshipalliance.org/


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Phone: (919) 575-4490 TennesseeKnoxville/Knox County Food PolicyCouncil

E-mail: [email protected]

Gail HarrisOklahomaP.O. Box 51650Oklahoma State Food Policy Council

Knoxville, TN 37950-1650Jim Horne, Co-Chair; or Anita Poole,Project Coordinator Phone: (423) 546-3500E-mail: [email protected] Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Inc. www.korrnet.org/kfpcBox 588Poteau, Oklahoma 74953 Utah

Utah Food Strategy TeamPhone: (918) 647-9123Richard SparksFax: (918) 647-8712

350 N. Redwood [email protected] Lake City, [email protected] Address: P.O. Box 146500Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6500OregonPhone: (801) 538-7100City of Portland-Multnomah County

Food Policy Council E-mail: [email protected] EmlenCommunity Relations SpecialistCity of Portland,Office ofSustainable Development721 NW 9th Avenue STE 350Portland, OR 97209503.823.7224

WashingtonTahoma Food SystemMail: P.O. Box 64801

University Place, WA 98464Fax: (253) 475-3663E-mail: staff@tahomafoodsystem.orgwww.tahomafoodsystem.orgwww.sustainableportland.org

Washington State Food Policy CouncilFOOD for Lane CountyLeslie Zenz, Program ManagerSusan BowieSmall Farms and Direct MarketingCommunity Food AdvocateP.O. Box 42560Olympia, WA 98504(360)902-1884

770 Bailey Hill RoadEugene, OR 97402Phone: (541) 343-2822Fax: (541) 343-5019E-mail: [email protected]

PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia Food Marketing Task

ForceDuane PerryThe Food Trust1201 Chestnut St.Philadelphia, PA 19107Phone: (215) 568-0830E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.tahomafoodsystem.org/http://www.sustainableportland.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.tahomafoodsystem.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.sustainableportland.org/

how food policy councils are organized and operate

Documents