Focus on Food Policy Councils
by Kami Pothukuchi
What do other communities have to teach about setting up local food policy councils? In April, food systems experts across the country gathered in Madison to discuss how food policy councils can address food security, land use, and environmental issues. The conference, called "Exploring Prospects for a Madison-Dane County Food Policy Council," was organized by the Madison Food System Project of the Wisconsin Food System Partnership.
Food Policy Councils (FPC) provide a focal point for local food system issues with a view toward enhancing community food security. Food security typically involves affordability, accessibility, nutritional value, environmental sensitivity, and cultural responsiveness. FPCs may address issues related to hunger prevention, transportation and access to food, nutrition and consumer education, environmental conservation, land use issues including farmland preservation, and greater food self-reliance. About fifteen communities in North America now have FPCS.
The conference brought together local groups and individuals who are active in different aspects of the food system to discuss how their issues and programs connect. Until now, there has been little discussion about countywide food policy issues and players necessary in formulating responses to community food security questions.
Kate Fitzgerald, Mark Winne, Bob Gottlieb, and Rod MacRae were part of a forum on "Putting Food on the Community Agenda: How the Austin, Hartford, Los Angeles, and Toronto Food Policy Councils are Doing It." The panel showcased the experiences of these communities in addressing community food security issues, and their successes and challenges in promoting food-secure environments.
The Austin Sustainable Food Center, for example, initiated a "food bus" that links low-income communities to area supermarkets. This project is a direct outcome of a study that reported how low levels of car-ownership and existing transit routes limit low income people's access to larger grocery stores. The Hartford Food System collects and disseminates information periodically on the prices of common grocery items in area supermarkets to promote informed food shopping. The Toronto Food Policy Council has taken a public-health perspective to food policy issues, resulting in a broad-based and preventive agenda. The Los Angeles Food Policy Council has undertaken studies related to food pricing and grocery store location relative to low-income communities.
Besides the forum, a food systems workshop drew farmers, retailers, hunger-prevention activists, nutritionists, community garden and sustainable agriculture advocates, and university and government officials. Individuals from different local food system sectors presented their perspectives on key local food policy issues. Newly elected Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk made a statement of support and commitment to community food security -- portraying a political climate sympathetic to food policy work. As a follow up, small groups discussed the potential for a Madison/Dane County Food Policy Council. Issues included the need to involve additional participants; the structure of a potential policy entity and its relationship to local government; and pressing local food policy issues. The workshop ended on a high note of support and enthusiasm for tangible food policy actions, and highlighted the need -- through continued dialogue -- to outline more specific objectives. Forthcoming actions include compiling a report on the workshop and identifying food policy actions that would provide both symbolic and substantive content on which to build future actions.
For more information on the conference or on food policy councils, contact: Jerry Kaufman, Director, Madison Food System Project, at (608) 262-3769. The public forum was aired on Madison cable channel 12, June13 at 8 p. m.
