This document discusses community food councils and their development process. It provides examples of food councils in North Carolina at different stages of maturity. Food councils typically progress through seed, start-up, growth, expansion, and mature phases over 30-42 months. The seed phase involves considering if a food council is worthwhile. The start-up phase focuses on designing the council and cultivating support. Growth involves developing the council's structure and learning about issues. Expansion grows membership to work on priorities. Mature councils develop strategic plans and collaborate with others. The document shares examples of two councils' development histories.

1. Community Food Strategies
Strengthening Partnerships, Aligning Results
Abbey Piner
Center for Environmental Farming Systems
Jared Cates
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
Tyler Jenkins
Carolina Common Enterprise
Let’s Start a Food Council!....

2. What is a food council?

3. What is a food council?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooe8dURgHsA&fe
ature=youtu.be
Let’s show the first 1:38 of this LA food council video
and have folks write down the ‘key words’ they
hear/notice.
Have folks say those words out loud….
That frames the ‘what is a food council’ conversation….

4. What words jumped out at you?
Yes! All of that…

5. Around 40 NC Counties are involved in a discussion around
developing a food council.
Over 25% of NC counties have established food councils or
task force groups working on food council development.

6. Each of these councils looks a little different – show 4
quick examples on this slide.

7. Food Council Development

8.  Intentional Networks…and
Commitment to a grassroots development process
A successful method for developing strong
food councils is emerging in North Carolina.

9. A successful method for developing strong
food councils is emerging in North Carolina.
Seed
Start-Up
Growth
Expansion
Mature
Approximately 30 – 42 months from Seed to Mature

10. Seed
Start-Up
Growth
Expansion
Mature

11. Seed
Start-Up
Growth
Expansion
Mature

12. Seed
Start-Up
Growth
Expansion
Mature

13. Seed
Start-Up
Growth
Expansion
Mature

14. Consider which of these 3 phases best
articulates where you are in your own
experience/understanding of food councils. We
will divide into groups in a minute based on that
assessment.

15. Range of tolerance image goes here.
Notes section…describes use of this image

16. Goals for Activity
• Have a sense of what a food council in this
stage of development is working on
• Engage with the potential of intentional
networks
• Start to see the evolution/building process
from one phase of development to another

17. Activity!

18. There might be another slide here for post
activity de-brief, but is more seamless to be
done with ppt at this point, I think.

19. Thank you.

20. Community Food Strategies
Strengthening Partnerships, Aligning Results
Abbey Piner
Center for Environmental Farming Systems
Jared Cates
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
Tyler Jenkins
Carolina Common Enterprise
Thank you!

21. • Does it already exist?
• Is there any history?
• Task force volunteers?
• Government interest?
• Community interest?
• Facilitation support?
• Host a Public Forum
During the seed phase, a community considers
whether a food council might be worthwhile.
3-6 Months
Seed Start-Up Growth Expansion Mature

22. During start-up, a task force begins to design a
council while cultivating a supportive climate.
• Get educated
• Formulate a picture
• Collect feedback
 Enlist government
 Secure funding
 Recruit members
9-12 Months
Seed Start-Up Growth Expansion Mature

23. During the growth phase, new council members
develop their structure and learn about issues.
• Decide how to decide
• Affirm purpose
• Develop structure
 Create bylaws
 Build support systems
 Develop strategic plan
12-18 Months
Seed Start-Up Growth Expansion Mature

24. During the expansion phase, council membership
expands to work on priority issues.
• Involve more people
• Identify priorities
• Take action together
 Learn what works
 Find leverage points
 Build social capital
12-24 Months
Seed Start-Up Growth Expansion Mature

25. Once mature, the council develops strategic plans
and collaborates with other councils.
• Self-assess for impact
• Improve performance
 Update strategic plans
 Join other councils
Ongoing
Seed Start-Up Growth Expansion Mature

26. Outer Banks Local Foods Council
• Feb 2013: a public meeting was held to discuss local foods
• June 2013: a meeting was held with community members led by Community Food
Strategies to discuss the possibility of forming a food council
• Dec 2013: the Dare County Local Foods Task Force came together, hosted by the
Dare County Cooperative Extension, bringing together key stakeholders and
community members to generate ideas to improve the local food system.
• Jan – July 2014: the Task Force created a Charter for the proposed food council and
met with government officials for buy-in.
• July 2014: the Dare County County Commissioners passed a resolution supporting a
local food council for Dare County, the Outer Banks Local Foods Council.
• Currently Dare County Cooperative Extension is supporting the council through
administration and facilitation during it’s first 3-5 years of existence.
• Currently the group is working on some guidelines and rules for council members
and they are beginning the process of a food system assessment using some intern
help

27. Durham Farm and Food Network
• 2009-2012: Durham Food Prosperity Council was active in the community and helped to influence
the Urban Development Ordinance to allow for commercial production of food within Durham city
limits.
• 2012 – 2014: The Durham Network of Agriculture (DNA) was formed after the mayor of Durham met
Will Allen and learned about the work that Growing Power is doing in the Midwest. The group had
meeting space at the Durham Neighborhood Improvement Services office and was all citizen led.
• Summer 2014: a community meeting was held to gauge the interest in formally developing a food
council.
• July – Sept 2014: a planning group met to plan and host a public forum to invite input from the
community around food and agriculture and to invite members of the community to join a Task Force
to form the food council
• Oct 2014: public forum was attended by 90 people, members of the group agreed to join a Task Force
• Jan 2015 – Present: funds for third party facilitation were secured through grants. A facilitator has
been working with the Durham Farm and Food Network Task Force to help the group to figure out
the structure, membership and purpose of a food council and network in Durham County, as well as
to work on some preliminary food system assessment with the support of student interns. Plans are
in the works to host another public forum once the work of the Task Force is complete. The group
wants to report back to the community about their work and what they have learned.