Food Policy Councils and Coalitions: Making the Right Prevalent

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Food Policy Councils and Coalitions Making the
Right Prevalent
Closing the Food Gap
Mark Winne Food Policy Council Director Community
Food Security Coalition 41 Arroyo Hondo
Trail Santa Fe, New Mexico [phone] email
win5m_at_aol.com
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FFavorite Quotes All you need in this life is
ignorance and confidence success is sure to
follow -- Mark Twain Everyone takes sides in
social change if it is profound enough. --
Wallace Stevens
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Mark Winne has 30 years of experiencedirecting
local food organizations inMaine, Massachusetts,
and Connecticut,and 15 years of food policy
council experiencein Connecticut and New Mexico.
He currently provides food policy assistance
through the Community Food Security, an
organization that he co-founded 14 years ago.
Mark also writes extensively on food and
agriculture topics.
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Where are the Gaps?

• Access to healthy and affordable food, especially
  in lower income communities
• Hunger and food insecurity
• Access to markets that provide fair prices to
  farmers
• Access to decision makers and policy making
  forums (food democracy)

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The 3-Ps of Developing Just and Sustainable
Local Food Systems

• Projects the programs, activities, businesses,
  and initiatives that make up local food systems
• Partnerships the process, collaborations,
  coalitions, and multi-stakeholder efforts that
  are formed to accomplish something that no single
  entity can accomplish alone
• Policy the actions and in-actions of government
  at all levels (local, state, federal) that
  influence the supply, quality, price, production,
  distribution, and consumption of food

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Food and Agriculture Policies are an Expression
of Our Individual and Community Values

• Values fairness, equality, opportunity,
  compassion
• Yes, we can be responsible food system
  participants and consumers
• But we must also be responsible and active food
  citizens
• It is not only our responsibility to make the
  right known, it is also our responsibility to
  make it prevalent. -- Edmund Burke

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Local Food Organizations (LFOs) and Businesses
Begin to Fill the Gap with Projects

• Non-profit organizations (farmers markets, CSAs,
  community gardens)
• Community Development Corporations (supermarket
  development, new farm enterprises)
• Faith-based institutions (food pantries, food
  banks)
• Government Services and Programs (food stamps,
  WIC, farmland preservation)
• Schools (child nutrition programs,
  farm-to-school)
• Cooperative Extension (farmer assistance,
  nutrition education)
• Private entrepreneurs (market-based enterprises,
  coops)

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But Theyre Never Enough

• Never enough money
• Dont become large enough to make a major impact
• Replication and expansion are stymied
• Many food and agriculture problems too entrenched
  and complex
• LFO efforts are often fragmented and
  uncoordinated

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FPCs Can Complement and Extend the Work of LFOs

• Since state and local governments dont have
  Departments of Food, FPCs can
• -    represent a variety of private and public
  food system interest groups and agencies
• -    cut across government department lines and
  focus on food, nutrition, and agriculture issues
• -    serve as a food system planning venue and
  promote coordination between food system
  stakeholders
• - accept responsibility for ensuring that major
  food and farming goals, e.g. food is a human
  right, farmers are protected, are met

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FPCs work within the framework of existing
governmental structures, responsibilities and
authority

• Allocation of government resources, e.g. budgets
• Regulation
• Management and administration
• Public education and awareness

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FPC Models

• Connecticut State FPC (also Maine)
• created by state statute (1998)
• 12 members 6 state agencies, 6 private sector
  appointed by legislative leadership, and several
  affiliate (non-appointed) members
• receives small annual appropriation,
  administrative support from state dept. of
  agriculture, staff support from the Hartford Food
  System (non-profit organization)

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Cities of Hartford, CT and Knoxville, TN

• Created by city ordinance (response to a hunger
  crisis)
• 15 members including ex-officio representatives
  from city agencies
• Limited funding support from city and staff
  support from Hartford Food System

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• Iowa (also Michigan and New York)
• created by executive order
• 20 to 30 members all appointed by Governor
  representing public and private sectors
• IA - no state appropriation but receive
  administrative support from Drake University MI
  received funding from Kellogg Foundation

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• New Mexico (also Birmingham/Jefferson Co., AL,
  Colorado regional councils)
• self-organized as a statewide coalition (operates
  under association governance guidelines)
• NM legislature passed a resolution (2003)
  encouraging state agencies to participate in the
  council
• membership is open to everyone
• administrative and funding support provided by
  Farm to Table (non-profit organization)

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Dual-Jurisdictional FPCsSanta Fe, NM and
Portland, OR

• City of Portland and Multinomah County (OR)
• City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County (NM)
• Joint Resolution passed by city and county
• Council appointments shared by both
• Staff representation and funding shared by both

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Getting Started

• Community Food Assessment and inventory of
  government programs and services (food policy
  assessment)
• Community engagement and participation
• Crisis, such as a major hunger report or loss of
  land or programs, can precipitate FPC
• Convene a forum prepare a white paper

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Find a Champion!

• One or more public officials are usually
  necessary to secure government support
• Allow ample time to educate public officials and
  solicit their input
• Work with individuals and organizations who are
  familiar city hall or the state house

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General Purposes and Mission

• 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 governmental
  leadership
• Employ research and information gathering, policy
  analysis, and public education methods
• Serve as a public forum for the discussion of key
  food system issues

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FPC Membership

• Membership represents a balance between private
  organizations non-profit and for-profit and
  govt agencies
• - food banks, nutrition, farming, community
  development
• - Depts of education, health, human svcs.,
  agriculture, planning, etc.
• Ordinance or statute should specify membership

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Issues FPCs Develop New Markets for Farmers

• FPC (Connecticut Food Policy Council)
• Introduced EBT at farmers markets
• Addressing lack of slaughter and processing
  infrastructure in state
• Prepared Connecticut Farm Map which helped
  farmers
• Supported farm-to-school funding proposals
• Promoted the development of Connecticut Comes
  First - public institutions buy Connecticut
  grown food

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Issue Develop New Markets for Farmers

• FPC (NM Food Agriculture Policy Council)
• Increased funding for small farm program
• Supported expansion of farm-to-school

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Increase Access

• FPC
• Promoted development and expansion of Women,
  Infant and Children and Senior Farmers Market
  Nutrition Programs (CT)
• Protected WIC FMNP from cuts and secured passage
  of Senior FMNP (NM)
• Developed state funded program to purchase
  locally grown food for food banks and schools
  (NM)
• Worked for passage of food security bills (NM
  CT)
• Assisting tribal communities with development of
  farmers markets and other food programs (NM)

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Increase Access to Food Stores

• CT developed new bus route to supermarkets
  conducted food price survey secured state
  funding for supermarket development
• Develop Healthy Corner Store Campaign
• NM conduct rural and urban food gap assessment
  established task force

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Issue School Food Environments and Nutrition
Programs

• Removal of junk (unhealthy) food from City of
  Hartford schools
• Better access to school breakfast
• Improvements in city-run WIC Program

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Improved Food Environment

• FPC
• State funds for school breakfast start ups (CT)
• State funds for universal school breakfast (NM)
• City task force recommended and oversaw changes
  in WIC program (CT)
• State junk food ban in schools (CT)
• Task force to create school nutrition standards
  (NM) soft drink industry opposed it

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Loss of Farmland

• FPC
• Conducted public education about farmland and
  farm loss
• Introduced farmland protection and food system
  issues into government planning work
• Formed the Working Land Alliance which
• - increased public awareness of farmland loss
• - Secured 10 m. over 5 years of state farmland
  preservation funds
• - passed bill (2005) that creates self-funded
  25 m. program to protect farmland, open space,
  and promote farm-to-school, farm viability and
  new farmer programs

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Opposition and Resistance

• FPCs are intended to be non-confrontational and
  non-partisan
• They are advisory they dont make policy
• Be prepared to negotiate with those who may
  oppose you, but know your bottom-line
• Know who your opposition is (or may be) and work
  to keep them neutral
• Work for consensus on issues spend time
  educating one another maintain a spirit of open
  and healthy debate

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Lessons Learned

• Relationships count cultivate them
• Try to be inclusive of a wide range of food
  system interests and issues
• On conflict work on what you can agree, for
  everything else, foster climate of robust debate
• (remember Everyone takes sides in social change
  if it is profound enough.)

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Lessons Learned

• Educate the public and policy makers about
  concepts like food security, sustainable food
  systems, and food policy
• Public education and information gathering may be
  your most important tool
• Look for uncommon connections
• Look for synergy and crossover in policy issues
  between local, state, and federal

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Lessons Learned

• Dont Worryit will take 20 years!