Our community food system plays a vital role during times of crisis, and the COVID pandemic is no exception. An established and active local food policy council can play a central role in supporting your community during this unprecedented time. Food policy councils across the country are mobilizing COVID response efforts and I suspect that many innovative ideas and inspiring stories are currently unfolding.
Food Policy Councils FPCs serve many functions, but one of the most valuable is to create a space for a wide variety of food system stakeholders to communicate, plan, and organize.
One of the central tenants of successful community organizing is to build relationships and community capital before you need it so that when the time comes to mobilize around a cause, the foundation for sustained support already exists. CFPC established weekly COVID response conference calls during which nonprofits, community leaders, and municipal and county officials provide updates on response efforts, highlight current needs, and brainstorm potential solutions to emerging challenges.
These calls allow CFPC leadership to connect existing organizations and highlight potential opportunities for collaboration. For example, the committee was able to connect Richland One School District with Healthy Learners to help transport meals to children whose families are unable to pick them up at their designated site. CFPC also uses this time to discuss new grants, as well as other funding and programmatic opportunities.
Based on discussions during initial COVID response calls, CFPC created a document detailing the services offered by food access nonprofits in the midlands as well as the volunteer needs of those same organizations.
