If you are interested in food policy, LEAF is organizing a Hawaii Food Policy Council. If you want to serve on the council, send us an email on the homepage contact us link.
What Is a “Food Policy Council?”
These are some of Jill Richardson’s notes on a food policy council training program led by Mark Winne and Keecha Harris. Complete notes at…
http://www.goldenapplepress.com/node/5
A food policy council is a group – which may or may not be officially part of a local or state government – that looks at ALL of the food issues in the area and recommends policy to improve the health of the food system.
What Sorts of Things Do They Do?
Step One for any council worth its salt is a food assessment, to determine what exactly is going on in their city, county, or state (whatever area the council represents). But after that, they advocate changing the rules to make fixing the food system possible.
They might: :
- Help bring grocery stores or food cooperatives into areas that have none
- Work on farm to school programs to bring farm fresh food from local farmers into school cafeterias
- Work to get farmers’ markets to accept food stamps as payment
- Change government purchasing rules so they give preference to local farmers over out of state food suppliers
- Work to preserve farmland from development into subdivisions
- Link up land owners with wannabe-farmers who can farm their land
- Reconnect with sustainable practices of Native groups
- Survey food prices in different stores so people can compare prices without driving around
- Remove junk food from schools
- Improve access to school breakfast
- Expand the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), a program that gives WIC participants vouchers to buy fruits & veggies from farmers’ markets
Mark defines their purpose as:
- Develop, coordinate, and implement a food system policy.
- Connect economic development, food security efforts, preservation and enhancement of agriculture, and environmental concerns.
- Ensure universal access to healthy and affordable food for all citizens.
- Support development and expansion of locally produced food.
- Review proposed legislation affecting the food system.
- Make recommendations to the government leadership.
- Employ research and information gathering, policy analysis, and public education methods.
- Serve as a public forum for a discussion of key food system issues…
How Do You Form a Food Policy Council?
There are three basic methods for forming a food policy council, and examples of each of the three are in place around the country. (Currently there are about 100 food policy councils in the U.S.) The three methods are:
1. Have your legislature pass a resolution or bill calling for a food policy council.
2. Have your governor make an executive order forming a food policy council.
3. Create a food policy council privately/independently.
Examples of councils started by city ordinance are those in Hartford, CT and Knoxville, TN. The Hartford council gets limited funding and support from the city and staff support from the Hartford Food System.
Those begun by executive order are the councils in Iowa, Michigan, and New York. The vulnerability of this method is underscored by the fact that the New York council was formed by Eliot Spitzer… and he ain’t in charge no more. Michigan gives us a more successful example, as Gov. Jennifer Granholm won re-election and stayed current with food policy council appointments. Unfortunately, Iowa can’t say the same – Vilsack forgot to re-appoint council members before leaving office and his successor isn’t doing much either.
The last type of council – independently formed councils – is exemplified by New Mexico’s food policy council. It was organized by a group called Farm to Table. The New Mexico legislature passed a resolution in 2003 calling for state agencies to participate in the council, but state government participation can be irregular.
One last type of food policy council to note – regardless of how it was formed – are dual-jurisdictional food policy councils. These tend to be city-county councils, like those in Portland, OR and Multnomah County and Santa Fe city and county.