Food Policy Resources

In the midst of a global pandemic, our Lowell community asked how they could help. Mill City Grows' volunteer program was relaunched, volunteers picked up shovels, and school gardens were rejuvenated!

Image credit: Maggie Nowak; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

Pueblo Food Project has spent the last year making hunger relief a priority. Through the pandemic, like most communities, we were hit hard. Our Coordinator, Monique, put an emphasis on local food and hunger relief. PFP bought local food from Pueblo farms, ranchers, and every food business that we could connect with, which has helped stimulate the local economy and has given our community much-needed fresh and good food. The event pictured was a drive-through neighborhood bash, which is a staple in our community (though different this year.) This year we were invited to contribute meals to families. That day we were able to provide over 300 families with meals. Some received turkeys, others received locally made tamales, and everyone received cookies from a local bakery and a bag of potatoes. Over the past year we have been able to feed a couple thousand families and individuals in our community.

Image credit: Megan Moore; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

My 2020 food system looks like a community growing together. I spent the fall of 2020 as a Community Education Intern at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project in New York's Hudson Valley. While lending a hand to the farm crew harvesting carrots, I came across an intertwined pair that managed to grow together. To me, it looks as though they are hugging. In the current climate, a sense of togetherness can be rare, but it is something I found volunteering at an urban farm. Not pictured here is a group of volunteers who took time on a cold fall afternoon to minimize food waste and help support a local not-for-profit. In these carrots, I can see a cooperative food system growing together, intertwined with justice and joy.

Image credit: Olivia May; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

Volunteers sorting and packing emergency food bags for Johns Hopkins employees in need.

Image credit: Christine Grillo; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest. 

As the pandemic grew, so did Sofia and Marco's relationship with each other. They also realized that the food we grew from our family garden could help others who needed food. They would gather cherry tomatoes throughout the growing season and help bag them up to then drop them off at our little free food pantry in our community for others to enjoy.

Image credit: Samantha Goyret; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

We are a small, private school in north central Iowa. We have never taken part in any farm-to-school activities in the past. This year, we received a grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship made possible through the CARES Act. This allowed us to buy local, farm fresh products. It makes perfect sense when about 90% of Iowa's land is devoted to agriculture! Carrots, potatoes, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and yogurt were some of the produce served this year. As you can see in the photo, it made a beautiful plate of food.

Image credit: Julie Udelhofen; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

In 2020, school meals look a little different. School cafeterias are constrained by packaging requirements, staffing shortages, delivery procedures, and safety measures. At Tracey Magnet School, an elementary school in Norwalk, Connecticut, all students are eligible to receive free school meals every day. Our cafeteria staff works hard to make sure nothing gets in the way of that.

Image credit: Meghan Hadley; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

A photo of a neighbor's compost pile in Mount Airy, PA. I was coming out of a meditation when I saw this. In my meditation, I was focusing on the early winter landscape and the bareness of it. Then, when I finished meditating, I looked to my left and saw this bounty. The contrast was beautiful to see. Seeds, food, and land are still resilient in all of this.

Image credit: Dagmar Holl; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

In this photograph, a beekeeper is demonstrating the process of splitting a bee hive into two. This involved a discussion about prior safety and precautions, when and how to split a hive, the nature of bee colonies, locating the queen bee, and following up in the next few weeks to ensure that the colony is healthy and on path to produce honey! COVID-19 made the provision of agricultural extension services more crucial than ever, as well as more challenging to deliver the services. This photograph is from the Archuleta county in Colorado, where beekeeping demonstrations were done for the local community as something that could be practiced in one's yard to even a larger scale operation. The use of visual media in the form of photographs and videos has been of immense help in the dissemination of many such programs.

Image credit: Pratyoosh Kashyap; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

Local foods and art were literally "uplifted" in the form of this stunning hand-painted sign done by farmer & artist CaRi ConaRi and her companion, Tom Robinson, pictured here. Summer of 2020 marked the Farm Stand's grand opening on-site at the Rio GrandeFarm Park, located right at the entrance of Alamosa. The burst of color, seen from the highway, is a welcoming beacon to travelers and locals alike. Open three days a week, the Farm Stand provides additional opportunities for farmers to sell produce and for members of the community to access fresh food outside of the Farmer's Market. The organic goods aren't only for cash-paying customers; farmers were reimbursed through a Farm-to-Pantry grant for delivering their leftover crops to organizations serving low-income individuals. Run by community volunteers and the farmers themselves, the Farm Stand was an interface between the buyer and the grower; it offered a mutual transaction with connection, love, and spirit at a time when the community needed it most.

Image credit: Liz Marron; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

Look at that veggie-enthused smile! COVID-19 has brought on numerous challenges in the realm of food and agriculture that at times seem too daunting to face. Nonetheless, food system actors continue to persist, innovate, and do what they do best: feed people. While working for the Good Food Collective as an AmeriCorps VISTA member, I quickly learned how to view gaps in the system as opportunities for collaboration that may ultimately result in a strengthened food system - as was the case with our Roots of Health Employee Foodshare Program. This program provided hospital employees with weekly shares of vegetables supplied by local farmers who were grappling with COVID-induced collapses in market channels. Fran, pictured above, dedicated her time as a volunteer for three months by assisting with veggie distribution days, which quickly became my favorite part of the week. I handed out fresh, local food to eager and thankful frontline healthcare workers while reading poetry, discussing aspirations, telling stories, and learning about life with this fiercely compassionate human whom I now consider a dear friend. Amid all the chaos and hardship associated with 2020, let this photo serve as a testament to the undeniable value of human connection and good food.

Image credit: Falon McGinty; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

For the majority of 2019, in addition to raising my three children, I worked at Eight Mile Creek Farm in Westerlo, NY. Eight Mile Creek Farm is owned and operated by Pam Shreiber. Pam raises grass-fed beef, chicken, and pigs, selling products at a farmers market downstate as well as providing protein options in her local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Eight Mile Creek Farm is also an organic vegetable farm. While working for Pam in her greenhouses and vegetable field, I learned and performed all tasks required to take vegetables from seed to table. My physical efforts were often done independently, offering space for self-reflection and personal growth. Braving all kinds of weather, I gained strength and appreciation for the farming lifestyle. I was blown away by Pam's dedication and unwavering strength. I myself enjoyed the bounty provided by the land and love of Eight Mile Creek Farm. After beginning my position with NYS DOH, coordinating the Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegetables Program, I was able to support Eight Mile Creek Farm and reap the benefits of my CSA membership in 2020. I will forever be grateful for this catalytic experience.

Image credit: Clare DiSanto; CLF Food Policy Networks Photo Contest, 2020.

By downloading this image, you agree to use the photo within the context that it was taken. You also agree to never use it for commercial purposes. The image always belongs to the original photographer and should be attributed to the photographer and Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks Photo Contest.

Community leaders and organizations around the country are experimenting with different food retail models to increase access to neighborhood stores. Urban areas have significant assets they can draw upon to fill the gaps in neighborhoods with poor access. This webinar, hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future featured a discussion with three leaders engaged in "remodeling" the neighborhood food environment.

Raqueeb Bey spoke about an effort to bring a retail cooperative to Pittsburgh, a historically black community with a history of food apartheid conditions. Harold Black discussed the Salvation Army's non-profit community market in Baltimore. Laura Belazis shared about DC Central Kitchen's healthy corner store program.

The Food Policy Networks project welcomed Arzum Ciloglu from the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs to discuss messaging and audience segmentation for food policy councils.

Presented by: Arzum Ciloglu.

The world of food retail is marked by consolidation that increasingly threatens independently owned stores and leaves rural areas lacking options. Rural communities are challenging the status quo by creating new ways of selling food. This webinar featured a discussion with representatives from Kansas State University's Rural Grocery Initiative, the Catawba Fresh Market in South Carolina, and Wholesome Harvest Food Co-op in Frostburg, Maryland about how rural communities are navigating the retail space.

Presented by: Isabelle Busenitz, Rial Carver, Gloria Kellerhals, and Jenni Georgeson.

The Center for a Livable Future has been tracking the status, activities, and priorities of food policy councils since 2013. During this webinar, staff from the Food Policy Networks team discuss key takeaways from the 2018 census and trends we've observed in food policy councils' structures and priorities over time.

Presented by: Karen Bassarab, Raychel Santo, and Anne Palmer.

The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future hosted a panel discussion with Chloe Marshall from the National Farm to School Network and Mollie Van Lieu from the United Fresh Produce Association on the process for reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.  This important act legislates school meal and child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and was last reauthorized in 2010 in the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act. View the recording to learn about the process for reauthorization, what is to come in the next few months, and how food policy councils can engage in the reauthorization process.

Supermarkets sit at a critical juncture and play an important role in determining how and what food we buy. During this Edible Inquiries discussion, Dr. Allison Karpyn and Darya Minovi discussed how supermarkets use placement, promotion, and price to induce impulse purchases of unhealthy foods and how similar strategies can be used to nudge healthier purchasing. What does the current research tell us about the effectiveness of shelf tagging, product placement in the store, and taste testing? And what are effective retail policies at the state and local level that communities can pursue to create a food retail environment that supports healthy eating?

Presenters: Allison Karpyn and Darya Minovi

The Food Policy Networks project at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future welcomed Elle Mari with the Urban Growers' Collaborative in San Diego, CA; Adam Kay, co-founder of Brightside Produce in St. Paul, MN; and Isabel Eljaiek with Tricycle Urban Ag and Culture in Richmond, VA for a conversation about innovative projects that connect local producers with small retailers.

The Food Policy Networks project at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future welcomed Gina Cornia, Executive Director, Utahns Against Hunger; Cherie Jamason, Director of Ending Hunger Initiatives, Food Bank of Northern Nevada; and Micheline Hynes, Nutrition Services Manager, Tarrant Area Food Bank for a conversation about the relationship between anti-hunger organizations and food policy council in leading policy changes in their communities and states.

Presented by: Gina Cornia, Micheline Hynes, Cherie Jamason.