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Selected Food Policy Council Success Stories
Connecticut Food Policy Council
The Connecticut Food Policy Council and its private  partner organizations have addressed economic development, strengthening local agriculture, public health and obesity prevention, as well as hunger, through passing statutes that got soda machines out of schools, built support for funding to protect farmland, brought EBT machines to farmers markets, brought some order and coordination to the state’s nutrition education campaigns, addressed the lack of livestock slaughtering and processing infrastructure, increased purchasing by state agencies and institutions of locally grown food, increased public transportation to supermarkets, made state funding available for the development of supermarkets, and prepared an official state road map that identifies over 300 farm-related locations where local food can be purchased. An effort that began at the Connecticut Food Policy Council became the Working Lands Alliance, a separate organization with a goal to permanently protect 150,000 acres of the state’s traditional farmlands.
Knoxville Food Policy Council
The Knoxville Food Policy Council has helped build support for a dedicated School Nutrition Education Supervisor position with Knox County Schools, developed a food monitoring system, improved access to full-service grocery via public transit, and worked with the city government to incorporate food impact assessments into planning and zoning decisions.
New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council
The New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council supported enactment of state farm to school policies that have gained the state’s family farmers access to new markets – to the benefit of family agriculture.
Cleveland-Cuyahoga Food Policy Council
The Cleveland-Cuyahoga Food Policy Council sponsored a “Regional Food Congress” to foster better communication between organizations (government agencies and businesses, both urban and rural), established and beginning farmers, and food processors, consumers and businesses.
Seattle-King County Food Policy Council
The Seattle-King County Food Policy Council helped set up state infrastructure for farm to school programs, and provided infrastructure to get EBT in farmers markets. The group also worked with the City Council to draft and pass a Local Food Action Initiative, a resolution that created a framework for city departments to assess their impact on the food system. The Departments of Planning, Neighborhoods, Transportation, and the Seattle Public Utilities are all now working on addressing regulatory issues that affect access to food and food waste. The council also works closely with the city to set up a weekly food waste pick-up and composting program and reduce permitting fees for farmers markets and gardens on public lands.
Toronto Food Policy Council
The Toronto Food Policy Council designed Canada’s first Food Access Grants Program, which directed funding for kitchen purchases in 180 schools and social agencies. The council also helped to develop a service listing local emergency food programs for people in need, which became the FoodLink Hotline. The Food Policy Council also founded the Rooftop Garden Resource Group to launch green roof research and promote a green roof industry in Canada, and helped initiate the City Hall Green Roof project in 1999.
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