Our Mission:
To help communities build healthy sustainable food systems through effective systems planning and development.
Need Statement
In many communities there are several innovative projects underway to help rebuild a community food system, but typically they are not fully coordinated, planned in a strategic sequence, nor integrated into a whole-system view of community sustainability. As a result, efficient use of community resources, synergies with other community development projects, and overall sustainability are often compromised.
Goal
To provide communities with whole systems models as well as the strategic planning and implementation tools needed for effective development of healthy sustainable community food systems.
Objectives:
1. Provide communities with conceptual and real world models to guide effective strategic planning and implementation of healthy sustainable food systems.
2. Provide communities with tools for successful food system development including strategic systems planning, organizational development, communications, and policy development.
3. Help communities develop and sustain productive partnerships within the food sector as well as with the agriculture, economic development, and environmental sectors.
4. Help communities develop climate-friendly food systems that minimize the greenhouse gas impacts of the entire local food system on climate, while reducing their vulnerability to anticipated climate change impacts.
5. Assist communities in addressing their food security needs so that everyone, no matter what their income or circumstance, has access to healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate foods from local sustainable sources as much as possible.
6. Promote rigorous community discussions on issues fundamental to the sustainability of their food system and the whole community.
