recommendations
A. Establish A local food council • Use the existing steering and advisory committee (see Appendix A) to organize a preliminary discussion for local stakeholders. Brainstorm possibilities, potential strategies, and objectives that a community food council could address together. • Reposition the committee as a volunteer community food council; start small and garner support in town. • Solicit involvement and meeting attendance from diverse individuals and groups in Concord to balance stakeholder interests and encourage open discussion of challenges. • Balance responsibilities by rotating administrative management and meeting facilitators through a democratic selection process. • Elect a representative to be responsible for communication and collaboration with other food councils, organizations, and stakeholders in the region. • Develop planning, funding, and implementation processes for future projects. • Long term: Examine and carefully consider opportunities to establish an official town- or county-wide legislative body to implement food policies and interact with the Massachusetts Food Policy Council (see below).
History & Culture
Education
Public Health & Nutrition Economic Vitality
Resilient Community
Ecological Health
Social Justice Planning & Development
Figure 10.1: A food council can serve to bring together stakeholders with a variety of interests to discuss the influence of local food in fostering a more resilient community.
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what is a food council?
Two forms of food councils are: 1) an ad hoc community organization or 2) a policy-making body at the town, county/ region, or state governmental level. Although these local and regional councils vary widely in structure, they generally have four functions: • To serve as forums for discussing food issues • To foster coordination between sectors in the food system • To evaluate and influence policy • To launch or support programs and services that address local needs FURTHER RESEARCH: Food First Institute for Food and Development Policy. See publications: Food Policy Councils: Lessons Learned (2009) and Cutting Through the Red Tape: A Resource Guide for Local Food Policy and Practitioners and Organizers (2011).Visit www.foodfirst.org.
did you know? The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources established a Food Policy Council in 2010. The purpose of the FPC is to: • increase production, sales and consumption of Massachusettsgrown foods; • develop and promote programs that bring healthy Massachusetts-grown foods to Massachusetts residents through various programs such as: • targeted state subsidies; increased state purchasing of local products for school and summer meals and other child and adult care programs; • double coupon initiatives; • direct market subsidies to communities with identified needs; • increased institutional purchases of Massachusetts-grown foods and other programs to make access to healthy Massachusetts products affordable, and increased access to healthy Massachusetts-grown foods in communities with disproportionate burdens of obesity and chronic diseases; • protect the land and water resources needed for sustained local food production; and • train, retain and recruit farmers and to provide for the continued economic viability of local food production, processing and distribution in the commonwealth (Massachusetts.gov).