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• Engage members across different sectors of the food system and from different socio-economic backgrounds and
<br />draw from a diverse, but organized base
<br />• Establish priorities and agree on some kind of a strategic plan from the outset
<br />• Establish clear structures for decision-making, communication and evaluation from the beginning
<br />• Examine structural trade offs between being within or independent of government, how the council is funded, and
<br />what issues the council chooses to prioritize
<br />• Include elements ofself-education (for members) and the public
<br />• Diversify political and internal leadership support
<br />• Evaluate and monitor the effects of the councils' policies and/or activities
<br />Similarly, some councils recommend:
<br />• Being "positive energy" organizations, becoming as doers and problem solvers, and working for the creation of
<br />positive alternatives instead of exclusively fighting against the current system
<br />• Maintaininggoodrelntionships with local (and state) government. Whether a council is independent ofgovernment
<br />or housed within a government agency, buy-in from local officials is key.
<br />• Starting small-Food Policy Councils are still young and building credibility. Many have identified `quick wins"
<br />and are striving to establish a good track record before taking on larger structural issues. Mark Winne notes that
<br />councils"tend to look at things that we can influence, like getting a law or regulation passed or more funding -that's
<br />the reality that practicality tends to circumscribe the work of Food Policy Councils while bigger issues take longer
<br />and become research items"
<br />Balancing programs and services with larger policy changes. Creating successful programs can address immediate
<br />needs while indirectly changing the policy context of a food system. This can help build credibility needed to
<br />address larger structural issues later on.
<br />As councils spring up around the country, establishing clear metrics for evaluation, including the impact of councils on public
<br />health, job creation, and economic development, will be increasingly important. In the course of this study, these questions
<br />were raised, but not answered. If we assume that evaluation proves that Food Polity Councils play a valuable role, then it
<br />will become much easier for governments and foundations to underwrite the expansion of these councils into many more
<br />communities, to establish state wide coordinating bodies and, ultimately, to lobby for national coordination and funding. The
<br />Community Food Security Coalition has begun to provide resources and network councils and the Drake Agricultural Law
<br />Center has provided key institutional support. We imagine that as the number of councils around North America grows, this
<br />work will be increasingly important and can have a strong impact on the overall success of Food Policy Councils.
<br />What people refer to as "the food movement" is actually a collection of social movements: food justice, fair food, fair trade,
<br />organic food, slow food, food security, public health, food sovereignty, family farms... and local folks just trying to make
<br />things better. The list is extensive because the problems with our food systems are extensive, systemic and acute. While
<br />these groups have much in common, it would be naive to think they coordinate their actions. Food Policy Councils are
<br />just one expression of this "movement of movements:' Nevertheless, FPCs have a unique quality within this wide array
<br />of activists, advocates and practitioners: they create democratic spaces for convergence in diversity. The power of informed,
<br />democratic convergence-especially when linked to the specific places where people live, work and eat-has an additional,
<br />emergent quality: it can change the way we-and others-think. This is social learning, the basis for social change. Food
<br />Policy Councils hold great potential as action centers for the social learning needed to build democracy into the food
<br />system. By helping communities exercise agency over the parts of the food system that people do have the power to change,
<br />and by building political will for deeper, systemic change, Food Policy Councils are "making the road as we travel" towards
<br />better local food systems.
<br />This study is the result of many voices, some new, some experienced, all committed to fair, healthy food systems for all. We
<br />thank all of those who participated. By sharing these voices-and in adding our own-we hope that we can contribute to
<br />both the national food debate and to the growing body of knowledge informing food system change. The experiences of
<br />Food Policy Councils are wide-ranging and growing quickly. Despite our best efforts to be inclusive of people, experiences,
<br />ideas and opinions, we are sure we missed more than we caught. We present this work, not as a definitive statement on
<br />Food Policy Councils, but as an invitation for reflection and research among those concerned with food policy. Food Policy
<br />Councils have much to contribute, and we all have much to learn. We hope this report provides an opportunity to do both.
<br />Food Policy Councils: Lessons Learned tt ~h
<br />P~~ ~a~ce ~~~t number 3
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