Food Policy Resources

While the opportunity for sharing commercial kitchen space is growing, shared-use kitchens in the United States suffer from regulatory ambiguity that limits their potential. This report explores the struggles of shared use kitchens in navigating the tricky waters of local departments of health, conflicting state and county policy, and inadequate licensing options, and the national policy landscape for shared-use kitchens to help identify best practices and policies to support the emerging industry.

Created by Ashley Colpaart, Wendy Grahn and Devon Seymour

Pittsburgh Public Schools were early adopters of the Community Eligibility Provision, which ensures that all children in the school district receive free breakfast and lunch each day. This memorandum covers strategies to improve the nutritional quality of school meals, on ways to increase participation in school meal programs and access to food during the school day as well as after school, and on ways to incorporate healthy foods into the school curriculum and change school culture to encourage kids to eat healthy foods.

Created by Erika Dunyak, Daniel Edelstein, Henry Thomas, and Ona Balkus

This report distills current research to reveal the human, environmental, and social impacts of the production of high-protein foods other than meat to arm hospitals and other institutions with key information to design the healthiest plate. The findings and associated Purchasing Considerations guide the complex decision-making process encountered when applying an environmental nutrition approach to food purchases, specifically when reducing and replacing meat on the plate.

While a growing body of scholarship identifies urban agriculture’s broad suite of benefits and drivers, it remains unclear how motivations to engage in urban agriculture (UA) interrelate or how they differ across cities and types of organizations. This paper draws on survey responses collected from more than 250 UA organizations and businesses from 84 cities across the United States and Canada.  Based on synthesis of the results of this survey, the paper describes six motivational frames that appear to guide organizations and businesses in their UA practice: Entrepreneurial, Sustainable Development, Educational, Eco-Centric, DIY Secessionist, and Radical. Identifying how practitioners stack functions and frame their work is a first step in helping to differentiate the diverse and often contradictory efforts transforming urban food environments. This paper demonstrates that a wide range of objectives drive UA and that political orientations and discourses differ by geography, organizational type and size, and funding regime. These six paradigms provide a basic framework for understanding UA that can guide more in-depth studies of the gap between intentions and outcomes, while helping link historically and geographically specific insights to wider social and political economic processes.

Food councils examine the local food system and provide recommendations to improve that system. Food councils have proven to be an effective entity for reviewing and recommending state and local food policies. One of the first steps a food council should take is to draft and enact bylaws. Bylaws are written rules that govern the internal operations of an organization and define the organization’s purpose, membership requirements, and the management of its operations including how meetings should be conducted and how offices are to be assigned.

This report sought to identify, document and analyze successful community-based innovations in the U.S. food system. The research targeted projects grounded in community and utilize innovative strategies to produce or provide healthy, fair, affordable and sustainably grown food. Individually and in combination, these community-based projects are transforming the way food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed and
consumed in the United States.

Many federal policies, laws, and regulations guide and structure our food system. However, these laws are fragmented and sometimes inconsistent, hindering food system improvements. To promote a healthy, economically viable, equitable, and resilient food system, the United States needs a coordinated federal approach to food and agricultural law and policy. This report provides a roadmap for the process to develop a national food strategy.

Created by Emily Broad Leib, Laurie J. Beyranevand, and Emma Clippinger

This article, written by a group of experienced organizers, outlines a hard-won set of six principles to address longstanding problems of inequity and injustice in the United States. The principles, drawn from decades of research, organizing, and experience in a wide range of fields, facilitate successful cross-sector collaboration for social change in a way that explicitly lifts up equity and justice for all and creates measurable change.

This factsheet lays out the different types of tools--policy, contracts, and permits--that state and local governments can use to adopt food service guidelines and ensure healthier foods to their facilities. Food service guidelines provide standards for nutrition, facility efficiency, environmental support, community development, food safety, and behavioral design for use in food service concession and vending operations.

It has been over six years since the unanimous passage of Detroit's Food Security Policy and the establishment of Detroit Food Policy Council. A food secure Detroit ensures that residents have the energy and vitality to pursue their lives and contribute to their community. This document is the first step in taking a look back to see how far we have come, assessing how the food security policy reflects the priorities of residents, and charting a collaborative path forward. To accomplish this, DFPC's Research and Policy Committee and staff assembled a team to connect with the community to assess their thoughts, concerns, and reactions to Detroit's Food Security Policy. This process was an opportunity to connect with longtime advocates and new faces while learning about the progress, barriers and priorities around food security in the city of Detroit.

Created by Stephen Arellano and Amy Kuras

In response to changing trends and needs in the food system, the Montgomery (Maryland) County Council passed and the County Executive signed Bill 19-16, which requires the County Executive to develop a plan to address food security and update it annually. This is not only a first for the County, but it is also one of the few initiatives of its type in the country. Combined with the ongoing work of the Montgomery County Food Council to develop a holistic Food Action Plan for the County, this Plan is part of a comprehensive approach to continuously improving the County’s food system.

This publication focuses on regional food systems as a means for enhancing economic opportunity. It explores new insights into the potential for regional food systems to promote economic growth for both rural and urban communities through the creation of new or the enhancement of existing jobs and businesses. It also highlights how appropriately targeted policies and support can harness regional food system investments to advance the economic and financial security of low- and moderate-income households and communities.

Created by Andrew Dumont, Daniel Davis, Jacob Wascalus, Teresa Cheeks Wilson, James Barham, and Debra Tropp

Due to the diversity and growth of the FPC movement, implications of these differences in governance structure are not well understood. While some studies cite important benefits of formal government support, others have found that independence from government agencies allows FPCs greater ideological freedom. This study analyzes 24 case studies, which combines 2015 survey data with analysis of the missions, visions, goals, activities, and membership/partner information as found on FPC websites. Bivariate analyses using the same survey data, but with a larger sample of 173 FPCs, complement and provide context for the case studies.

Created by Laura DiGiulio

This resource identifies regulatory and other legal issues that affect season extension activities (SEAs) and discusses local policy options to support their use in Kansas. Recognizing that each community will need to evaluate how best to support SEAs based on the unique local and legal context of their community, the information provided in this resource is meant as a general guide. Community members and policymakers should evaluate the policy areas discussed below and determine what is appropriate for their specific local context. 

The Food Access Planning Guide provides tools, resources, proven policy strategies, and recommended planning and zoning language for comprehensive plans, so planners and healthy food advocates can collaborate to design communities that promote access to healthy, safe, affordable food.

Created by Eric Weiss and Nadja Berneche

This guide is meant to help community members work with local governments to advance plans and policies to support agriculture and food production, and provide access to healthy food to all community members. It incorporates lessons learned from three years of community food system research and practice by a diverse team who worked on Growing Food Connections, a five-year integrated project to enhance community food security while fostering sustainable agriculture and food production. It shares principles and practices, and provides the most comprehensive collection of local policies available to help farmers and other community members work with public and private partners to advance food system planning, policy, and public investment.

Created by Julia Freedgood, Jessica Fydenkevez

This toolkit provides assistance for those seeking to ensure that healthier food and beverage options are offered in public buildings and locations through their vending machines, cafeterias, concession stands, and snack or coffee shops, as well as in a feeding programs run by those entities, such as juvenile justice facilities or senior centers. The toolkit provides resources for advocates to build a campaign; recruit other advocates; and engage, communicate to, and mobilize diverse audiences. It includes resources on lobbying; media training; example flyers; posters and other advertisements; meeting with legislators; and success stories. 

This toolkit provides information for those seeking to ensure that all kids and families have access to healthy, affordable drink options instead of sugary drinks with appealing marketing and lack of nutrition. It includes information on taxing by sugar content. The toolkit provides resources for advocates to build a campaign; recruit other advocates; and engage, communicate to, and mobilize diverse audiences. It includes resources on lobbying; media training; example flyers; posters and other advertisements; meeting with legislators; and success stories. 

Families are eating out more than ever these days, given our busy schedules and the growing affordability of restaurant meals. Eating out, which used to be a rare treat, has become a daily necessity. In fact, Americans are now spending more of their food budgets on foods prepared outside the home than for foods at home. That means children consume about a quarter of their calories from eating out, and about 42% of children ages two to nine eat fast food on a given day. Given their growing role in families’ diets, restaurants should do their part to support families and help make sure all of us—especially children—have healthy options. The information throughout this site will help you talk to restaurant owners, community leaders, and decision makers in your town to make sure we take the right steps to serve kids better.™

The City of Madison, Wisconsin is now accepting applications for edible landscape plantings on city-owned land. It is now possible to plant fruit and nut trees and other edible, perennial species in parks and on other City-owned land. Citizens are invited to create and care for these edible landscapes for the good of the whole community.