Access to Healthy Food
Updated September 2007
Food Policy Councils
Several states and cities have created food policy councils to examine the operation of a state or local food system and provide ideas or recommendations for improvement. Councils typically include farmers involved in direct marketing, consumers, anti-hunger advocates and food bank managers, labor representatives, members of the faith community, food processors, food wholesalers and distributors, food retailers and grocers, chefs and restaurant owners, officials from farm organizations, community gardeners and academics involved in food policy and law. In some cases, councils include officials from state and local government agencies including agriculture, economic development, inspections, education, health, human services and transportation. In general, food policy councils address concerns such as hunger, nutrition, access, community development and urban agriculture opportunities, as well as grower-related issues including direct marketing opportunities.
On June 15th and 16th, 2006, NCSL staff and legislators and legislative staff traveled to Hartford to sit-in on a joint meeting of the Connecticut Food Policy Council and the Hartford Food Policy Commission to learn more about the work these councils perform and what issues they have confronted. Please click here to view presentations and resources from this meeting.
Iowa Food Policy Council
Through an Executive Order in 2000, Iowa created a food policy council in order to:
- "Ensure access to nutritious food for all Iowans
- Manage Iowa's resources sustainably
- Promote diversity in Iowa's foods, culture, and people
- Support prosperous, independent farm and food businesses in Iowa."
To learn more about the Iowa Food Policy Council, please go to http://www.iowafoodpolicy.org/
Connecticut Food Policy Council
In 1997, the Connecticut state legislature created the Connecticut Food Policy Council (Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 22-456) to promote the development of a food policy for the state and to coordinate state agencies that affect food security. Some of the accomplishments of the council include:
- Simplifying the application process for food assistance programs by developing a single form to link eligibility for Food Stamps, WIC, Reduced Price School Lunch Program and Husky across departments.
- Collaborating with the Working Lands Alliance and the Save the Land Conference to purchase the development rights to 12 farms in 2000, totaling 1350 acres.
- Addressing an issue that was preventing Connecticut food wholesalers from bidding on University contracts — a "sole source" policy that gave all of the University’s food supply business to one vendor. Eliminating this requirement helps locally-owned businesses compete for University food supply contracts.
- Working with the department of agriculture and department of social services to expand the Food Stamp program to include coupons for use by senior citizens at Farm Markets.
To learn more about the Connecticut Food Policy Council, please go to http://www.foodpc.state.ct.us/
The NCSL Healthy Community Design Project regularly collects resources of interest to legislators, policymakers and those interested in nutrition access-related issues. We provide the links below for informational purposes only, and they do not necessarily reflect NCSL positions.
Food Security Learning Center
This web site provides an overview of food policy councils, describes some policy initiatives that can be implemented by such councils, examples of state and local councils, and additional resources and key contacts.
Community Food Security Coalition
This website presents a variety of resources on food policy councils, including a list of all North American food policy councils, a summary of councils created by state governments, and issue contacts on various policy areas.
State and Local Food Policy Councils
The Drake University Agricultural Law Center spearheads this web site that serves as a clearinghouse of information on the development of food policy councils and features education and outreach materials, reports, and publications. |
