Food Policy Advocacy & Organizing series

In this article:

Questions?

For more information or any questions about these offerings, please reach out to:

Jared Cates at jared@carolinafarmstewards.org
Brandy Bynum Dawson at bbdawson@ncruralcenter.org
Miles Kirksey at mkirksey@ncruralcenter.org

Thank you for helping design this year's policy and advocacy offerings!

Late last year, we asked about your food policy interests in a survey and were blown away by the level of response. Thanks to the 50 respondents to our 2021 Food Policy Interests Survey! Your input has helped to design this educational series on food policy, advocacy, and organizing for the food councils network this year.

Fifty-one respondents ranked these food policy issues as important to work on with other councils. Additional issues named were addressing structural racism in the food system and disaster relief measures.

Full survey results are here.

Over 2021, the team at Community Food Strategies will provide regular opportunities for food council members to engage in food policy interest areas and to enhance their strategic advocacy and organizing skills. This year’s offerings will be grounded in racial equity principles and frameworks and include:

Quarterly Food Policy Cohort Trainings designed to enhance attendees’ food policy advocacy and organizing skills,
Monthly Food Policy Friday Facebook Live sessions featuring conversations with organizations working on state and federal food policy issues and with food council members engaging locally, virtual monthly food policy issues convenings,
Monthly Collaborative Policy Calls to share resources and strategies on food policy issues that food councils are currently working on.

We invite food councils to share with your members and engage in the offerings most relevant to your work.

FOOD POLICY TRAININGS

2022 trainings will be listed in early January.

Limited capacity.

Registration is open on a first-come, first-serve basis and will be capped at 20 participants.

Food Policy Advocacy & Organizing Trainings - quarterly

In 2021, we hosted quarterly virtual trainings to support the NC food council network in food policy advocacy and organizing skills development. We developed the training topics based on the needs of the network identified in the survey.

Each virtual training will include:

Guest speakers and lessons on food policy advocacy and organizing skills related to the session theme
Suggested actions that attendees will take back to their communities related to the learning module
An accountability partner to check-in on progress at least twice over the eight weeks after the session
A follow-up meeting to debrief with the group on your activities and how your learning has supported your food policy work and engagement.

TRAINING TOPICS & DATES

Mar 30, 2-4pm: How to engage people in your issues
- May 26, 1pm follow-up call

Jun 30, 10-12pm: Effective network weaving and coalition development
- Meeting Recording
- Aug 25, 10am follow-up call

Sep 30, 10-12pm: How to engage with local boards, councils, and commissions
- Meeting Recording
- Nov 17, 1pm follow-up call

Oct 21, 10-12pm: Understanding local and regional planning processes
- Meeting Recording
- Dec 9, 1pm follow-up call

Participant requests/encouragements:

Sign up in pairs as a multi-racial team.
Register for multiple sessions.
Commit to participate in the follow-up calls.

Responses from the late 2020 Food Policy Interest survey that informed the training topics.

Facebook Live Sessions

Food Policy Fridays - 3rd Fridays

We also host monthly Food Policy Fridays on Facebook Live. These 30-minute conversations will feature an interview with organizations and food councils across North Carolina engaged in food policy. We’ll chat about issues they are currently following and how they are engaging in food policy advocacy and organizing.

Find & follow us on Facebook

Featured food councils, organizations, and speakers:

January – Just Foods Collaborative, Nash/Edgecombe counties

Marquis Crews, from NC Rural Forward, and Ron Townley, with Upper Coastal Plains Council of Government, join to talk about the recent efforts to create a set of regional food policies that counties and municipalities can use to improve their local food systems.

February – NC Association of County Commissioners

Ronnie Smith, 2021 NCACC President and County Commissioner from Martin County, joins to talk about his Food System Resiliency Task Force and the work he’s doing to bring his message to all 100 counties.

March – McDowell Local Food Advisory Council

Molly Sandfoss, Director of McDowell Cooperative Extension Services, and Emily Roberts with the McDowell Local Food Advisory Council join to talk about their work at the food council over COVID supporting local emergency food distribution efforts through partnering with the Foothills Food Hub.

April – Toxic Free NC

Phoebe Gooding with Toxic Free NC talks about their approach to increasing the regulation of harmful chemicals and pesticides.

May – A Better Chance, A Better Community (ABC2)

Dylan Dodson, Kelsey Boyd, and Chester Williams join to talk about ABC2’s youth-led food justice work in the Halifax County community.

June – Moms Rising

Jessica Burroughs with NC Moms Rising joins to share her work with the newly formed NC Local Food Advocacy Coalition.

July – Island Culturez

Michael Banner with Island Culturez, a community food council in Winston-Salem, talks about their work to fight food apartheid in their urban community.

August – Bread for the World

Rosa Saavedra with Bread for the World joins to talk about their work to alleviate the root causes of food insecurity around the globe.

September – NC Alliance for Health (NCAH)

Katie Herndon and Marianne Hedrick Weant join to talk about NCAH’s involvement in food systems work and their recent lobbying support for several food councils’ requests to the state for funding for materials and resources related to prepared food recovery activities.

October – Self-Help Credit Union

- David Beck, Self-Help’s Director of Policy, joins to talk about the role community lending institutions play in the food system and about their work on state and federal policy.

November – Fri, Nov 12 at 12pm

Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council

December – Fri, Dec 10 at 12

Charlotte Mecklenburg Food Policy Council

Collaborative Calls Schedule

Food Waste & Recovery

Jan 29, Apr 23, Jul 30, Oct 22

Institutional Local Food Procurement

Feb 26, May 28, Aug 27, Nov 19

Workers Rights’ / Living Wage

Mar 26, Jun 25, Sep 24, Dec 17

Collaborative Food Policy Calls - 4th Fridays

We will continue to host Food Policy Collaborative Calls on the 4th Friday of every month and repeat topics quarterly. These calls are meant to be a space to share information and resources on food policy issues that councils are working on in their local communities. Based on the survey results, we will host quarterly Collaborative Calls from 12 – 1pm on these topics:

Food Waste & Recovery
- Calls will continue in Q1 2021. Please email Jared Cates for more info.
Institutional Local Food Procurement
- Q2 Call Recording (Farm to Childcare)
- Q3 Call Recording (Farm to Healthcare)
- Nov 19 (NC 10% Campaign & Farm to Senior Centers) (Register for Zoom info)
Workers Rights’ / Living Wage
- Dec 17 (Register for Zoom info)