New Haven Food Policy Council
Click here to download the New Haven Food Policy Council
Policy Primer on School Food
The New Haven Food Policy Council, in conjunction with the Community and Economic
Development Clinic of Yale Law School, developed and presented a Policy Primer on School Food at the Greater New Haven Childhood Obesity Summit held May 22, 2008.
Click here to access the New Haven Food Policy Council's official website
hosted by the City of New Haven
Wouldn't it be ideal for all residents of New Haven to have access to healthy, local and affordable food that is grown, processed and distributed in a manner that promotes community and environmental well-being? Wouldn't it make good sense to link up experts in public health, nutrition and public school curriculum development to create a comprehensive plan to promote healthy eating habits to the city's youth and families? Wouldn't it be wonderful if New Haven public schools served apples from local orchards every fall? Wouldn't the local economy benefit from a food system that relies on food grown and produced locally?
Overview: What is a Food Policy Council?
A food policy council works to strengthen the local food
system by connecting different sectors of the food system.
It encourages networking between these sectors and develops
methods for greater collaboration on projects and programs
related to food issues. Currently, local food banks and
pantries focus on hunger, state agencies such as WIC and
school lunch programs work to ensure nutritionally at-risk
community members have access to food, boards of health
focus on nutrition and food safety, farmers focus on growing
and raising food, and economic development offices focus
on the local economy, including food-related businesses.
However, there is nothing that links all of these sectors
of the food system – connecting the production, consumption
of food and its effects on our local economy and health
of our citizens. Creating a food and agricultural policy
council is one way for a local community to make a long-term
commitment to working on food system issues.
Food policy councils are made up of a diverse group of people
representing different sectors of the community food system.
Membership often includes grocers, restaurant owners, chefs,
anti-hunger advocates, farmers, wholesalers and distributors,
food processors, government employees, environmentalists,
school system representatives, non-profit employees, community
and religious leaders, scholars and concerned citizens.
In the City of New Haven, although numerous organizations
and individuals are working on issues related to the food
system, there is no locus of activity to connect these efforts
and encourage collaborative, far-reaching problem solving.
Timeline of the New Haven Food Policy Council
On Monday, June 6, 2005, the Board of Aldermen of the City of New Haven voted unanimously to pass an ordinance establishing the New Haven Food Policy Council.
On Saturday, June 18, 2005, the Food Policy Council Working Group celebrated this with a reception at Sweet Relief following the Arts and Ideas "Food and the City" panel. (For details on the panel, please see http://www.artidea.org/index.cgi/417.)
Nominations for the council were requested shortly thereafter. In June 2006, the nominees began the confirmation process, beginning with the Mayor's approval. In December 2006, the majority of council members were appointed, after a lengthy process involving a hearing and final approval by the Board of Aldermen. The Food Policy Council has been meeting since January 2007 and members represent public, private, and non-profit organizations throughout the community.
