Policy improvements are essential to the success of community efforts to rebuild or improve local food systems. Here is a guide to some resources and links to help you develop —and develop support for — innovative and supportive local food policies. A few resources are specific to Southwest Colorado, but by example they should be useful across the region.
1. Four Corners Local, State, and Federal Policy: Find policy councils and your state and federal legislators.
2. La Plata Local Food Policy Council: Advocating for a local, secure, and sustainable food system for the La Plata County area – coordinated by HCFS.
3. Rebuilding Your Local Food System describes a systems approach to local food initiatives and the policies that support them.
4. State and federal policies are often needed to support local efforts:
- Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council: Information on state efforts and other Colorado regional policy groups.
- NCSA: National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture: One of the most comprehensive and innovative federal policy groups.
5. HCFS Local Food Policy Framework: A framework or blueprint that outlines how to integrate food and agricultural policy needs into discussions in all sectors of the community.
6. Selected Local Food Policies — Excerpts from Draft La Plata Comprehensive Plan
7. Key resources for local food policy — the short list:
- Mark Winne’s Food Policy Blog
- John Hopkins Food Policy Resources
