Local Food Policy Councils as Community Development Strategy

Source: www.cmap.illinois.gov <p>One might say that the local foods movement or “locavorism” is all the rage. We’ve done several posts here on the CED Blog about local food systems as they relate to community economic development. I posted a while ago about the local foods movement as community economic development. Sybil Tate wrote a post about efforts in Cabarrus County to promote local food. And Maureen Berner discussed the new Western North Carolina Food Policy Council as a way to develop “synergy and connections” regionally around sustainable local food systems. This post explores local food policy councils in a bit more detail and points to resources on the topic. These forums for discussion and collaboration may be the single most important step that can be taken by local governments (or other sponsoring entities) to really make progress in developing a sustainable local (or regional) food system.</p> <p></p> <p>Locavorism describes the movement to develop sustainable local food systems. It is the idea that communities and regions become more self-sustaining in terms of food, with residents getting more and more of the food they consume from local sources. An article accompanying the 2013 “Locavore Index of States” reminds us of the “why?” of the locavore movement:</p> Local food travels much less distance to market than typical fresh or processed grocery store foods, therefore using less fuel and generating fewer greenhouse gases. Because of the shorter distribution chains for local foods, less food is wasted in distribution, warehousing and merchandising. Local food is fresher and healthier, spending less time [...]