Guiding Frameworks Creating systems change is a group effort.

We are here to support local food coalitions and regional food ecosystem efforts across the state of North Carolina, and in order to do so we must successfully work together as a team first. To this end, we have adopted specific methodologies to help us be more focused in our work and to guide us towards creating best practices. Our team culture, project structure, and approach starts with our values and incorporates the following principles or frameworks.

Learn more about how we use these methods and why these frameworks could work for your coalition.

Frameworks We Use

Stay tuned Community Food Strategies is in the process of updating our Guiding Frameworks.

Racial Equity

Although many communities suffer from food system disparities, data shows that communities of color suffer disproportionately. In order to uplift and empower everyone, change must start with the individuals most acutely impacted by food insecurity and other food-related outcomes.

Community Food Strategies and our project partner, Committee on Racial Equity in the Food System, believe that looking at food disparity through the lens of racial disparities is the first step in creating a more equitable food system for all.

Food councils interested in focusing on Racial Equity in their work should be aware that -
When addressing the root causes of food system disparities, it is essential to first address the history of systemic racism on our communities and society as a whole
Creating shared, inclusive language to address racial equity within our policies and practices helps to ensure better outcomes for everyone
Increasing capacity in communities most impacted by food insecurities and inequities creates greater impact across the board

Ties to our values of community-led work, being responsive to community needs and creating impact through systems change

Solidarity Economy

We understand the intersectionality that food has across our economic, social, and political systems – all of which must be engaged for transformation.

Solidarity economy is a framework and global movement that offers grounding in shared values and practices that address the structural roots of injustices, put people and planet above profit, and are explicitly feminist, anti-racitst, anti-capitalist, and environmentally sustainable.

Solidarity Economy shifts consciousness, builds power, and creates economic alternatives.

Food coalitions interested in the values and practices of Solidarity Economy for their work should be aware that -
In order to build a radically different food system, we must practice a radically different culture: caring for each other in good times and in hard times, through disagreement and through conflict. We set healthy boundaries and we don’t let harm slide.

We must reject the myth of scarcity and embrace the possibility of abundance.

We commit to addressing the harm created by systemic oppression, including the ways we and our communities are both harmed by and benefit from dominance, privilege, and oppression.

If we want to build a stronger movement, we must figure out how to come together in groups and make all manner of decisions through a process that shares power and decision making between all stakeholders.

Ties to our values of relationships, collaboration, and equity

Cornerstones Of How We Approach Our Work

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