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improving the quality of available food Potential to affect national and state level policy debates Potential to connect multiple sectors that wouldn't otherwise work together Potential to bring local food policy into mainstream politics Potential to boost local economies and combat poverty All of these key potentials lead to one central idea -that Food Policy Councils have the potential to democratize the food system. The failings of our current food system are largely suffered in neighborhoods and constituencies with little political or economic voice. Food Policy Councils can amplify the voices of underserved communities that have traditionally had limited access to power. The Detroit Food Policy Council for example, made addressing the underlying racial and economic disparities in food access, retail ownership, food sector jobs and control over food- producing resources a cornerstone of their policy platform -explicitly attacking structural racism inherent in the food system and creating space for greater economic democracy and food justice. Similarly, the power of food systems to boost local economies is overlooked. In one study, Ken Meter estimated a single region in Northwest Wisconsin lost $1.13 billion a year in potential wealth through the food economy. l0 In assessing the food economy of the Chesapeake Bay region, Meter found that a 15% increase in local food purchases would bring in three times more dollars to farming communities than Federal subsidies currently bring to the region. A WorldWatch Study estimated that if the greater Seattle area were to source just 20% of its food locally, it would inject an extra billion dollars per year into the city's economy.ll To many, those "food dollars" represent an opportunity to capture more wealth in the community. As the power of Food Policy Councils at the local, county, and state levels builds, councils may be able to form a national coalition to take on larger national and structural issues. Discussion and Recommendations Perhaps the most interesting result of this study is that there is no one recipe for a successful council. Across the country, policies and activities that have been successful in, for example, New Mexico, may not have been tried in New York. Councils cannot necessarily apply a specific formula from another locality. Food Policy Councils do best when they build off the momentum of groups in their own communities, when they address issues for which the need for change has already been locally identified, and when they come up with locally-based policies and programs. The strength of food policy councils lies in their ability to be locally relevant. This strength also presents a key challenge: while the Food Policy Council form is promising, the specific functions of the council are not necessarily clearly defined, and change from case to case. Unless a specific strategic plan, evaluation model, decision making model and a strong understanding of the local food system are in place, councils may have a promising form, and still not function well. While success stories are as diverse as the communities that create them, the challenges facing councils have been much the same over a broad geographic and time scale. Challenges with funding and staff time, over-commitment, dependence on a strong personality or political figure, and to a lesser degree, having a single issue focus, have been recurring themes continent-wide. There are several key recommendations that ntay help councils confront some of these challenges. When establishing a Food Policy Council, it has been helpful to: Food Policy Councils: Lessons Learned p ~h P~6 F'~~ce ~~~t number 3