The following was identified by the Chatham Food Council Task Force. It was grounded in the council’s critical functions:
- Sharing information
- Advocating for specific issues
- Moving a policy agenda forward
The group realized that they can rely on existing resources. For example, rather than trying to build a grassroots base for a blog, they could disseminate information through the communication channels of their member organizations.
| Administrative Support Needs | Possible Solutions |
| – Coordinate distributed communications – Maintain internal info (contacts, etc.) – Meet public reporting / transparency needs – Oversee interns (collecting data, etc.) – Fiscal management – Avoid relying on a volunteer |
In-kind County / Municipal staff |
| Meeting/Event Needs | Possible Solutions |
| – Meeting space & equipment – Food – pay local food producers for it – Travel (to attend regional or state meetings) – Booth display – banner / info materials |
In-kind County / Municipal / Community College facilities In-kind County / Municipal motor pool Cash |
| Council Development Needs | Possible Solutions |
| – On-going facilitation (year 1) – Governance training (year 1) – Periodic facilitation (after year 1) – New member orientation (after year 1) – Webinars / trainings – Field trips / site visits – Self-assessment / technical assistance |
In-kind County/Municipal/Community College staff In-kind network members Cost-share with other food councils Leverage state agency resources Cash |
| Technology Needs | Possible Solutions |
| – Domain name – Web hosting – Website design / creation – simple – Maintenance / technical support – Facebook page creation & maintenance – Twitter account creation & maintenance – E-newsletter software account – E-newsletter template design / creation – Annual report template |
In-kind County/Municipal/Community College IT staff In-kind County / Municipal accounts Freeware (Google Docs, WordPress) Scholarships / Discounts Cash |
| Communications Needs | Possible Solutions |
| – Logo design – Content management / updates – Social media updates – Articles for members to disseminate – Annual report – Translating services |
Leverage existing networks for dissemination In-kind County/Municipal/Community College staff In-kind network members Cost-share with other food councils Leverage state agency resources |
| Printing Needs | Possible Solutions |
| – Annual report – Packets for commissioner presentations – Posters/flyers/agendas/etc. |
In-kind County budget In-kind network member budgets |
| Professional Service Needs | Possible Solutions |
| – Assessment / Research – Legal (by-laws / policy work) – Accounting / Finances – Grant-writing – Facilitation – Communications – Design – Technology |
In-kind County/Municipal/Community College staff In-kind network members Cost-share with other food councils Leverage state agency resources Leverage university system (interns) Cash |
| Other Considerations – Asking for funds seems risky – Shared buy-in from towns – How do we grow into this? (ex WordPress updates until we can do a newsletter) – These are for a three-year window |
Ways to Get Money – Line items in budgets – Community foundations – Crowdsourcing – Donations – 501c3 partner – Fundraising events – Grants – Network dues |