The 1st session of the City Exchange Project focuses on municipal policy and how it affects food systems in different communities across the United States.

1. City Exchange Project
Municipal Policy Implementation and Community
Food Systems: Barriers, Innovations, and
Solutions

2. What is the City Exchange Project?
• The City Exchange Project idea sprung from a need to be able to
discuss issues and topics on food systems with other organizations
across the US.
• Many times, the only way inter-city dialogue is created between
staff/leaders of different community organizations is through
conference networking.
• The City Exchange Project seeks to electronically convene leaders from
across the country and engage them in relevant and useful
conversations on pressing and pertinent food systems issues from the
comfort of your own office.
Click above for CRFS website

3. Guiding Questions
• How has municipal policy implementation, or lack thereof,
helped or hindered the development and maintenance of
community food systems where you work?
• What challenges have you encountered in this work and what
solutions and innovations have been used to navigate and/or
change adverse policies?
• What kind of collaboration between city officials/departments
and community organizations exists where you work? How has
this helped shape the community food landscape there?
• What specific challenges or obstacles do you need support or
ideas on?

4. Los Angeles Participants
• Rachel Surls - Sustainable Food Systems Advisor, Univ. of
California Cooperative Extension, Los Angeles County
• Esther Park – Community Outreach Coordinator, Los Angeles
Food Policy Council
Rachel Surls Esther Park

5. UC-Cooperative Extension
Urban Ag Policy Work
• Interviewed urban farmers
around California about a
number of issues, including
policy-related barriers.
• Created an online resource
portal which includes policy
best practices.
• Developed guide to new CA
state law AB551, which
allows counties and cities to
establish “Urban Agriculture
Incentive Zones”
• Plan to develop policy briefs

6. Healthy Neighborhood
Market Network
Goal: Build capacity of neighborhood
markets to be successful healthy food
retailers in under-served communities.
Organizing Neighborhood Market Sector
• Generate pipeline of market makeover projects
• Ensuring sustainability of food retail projects
Capacity Building
• Business and Leadership Development Trainings
• Resource Referrals & Partnerships
• Peer Networking

7. Healthy Food Retail / Food Equity
Market Makeovers
Project Based Consulting
• Food Retail Expertise
• Financing Opportunities
• Community Outreach &
Neighborhood Partnerships
Systems Level Strategies
Healthy Food Retail / Food Equity Working
Group
• Practitioners share knowledge, skills, tools
• Advance Systems Solutions: Procurement,
Distribution, Cooperative Purchasing, etc.
• Advance Policy Solutions

8. Madison Participants
• Robert Pierce – Manager/Farmer – South Side Farmer’s
Market, Growing Power-Madison
• Carrie Edgar - Department Head & Community Food Systems
Educator for Dane County Cooperative Extension.
Robert Pierce
Photo by Jaclyn Nussbaum
Carrie Edgar

9. Resilience Research Center – Badger Rock School
• Through his leadership
role in Growing Power-
Madison, Robert
partners with staff at the
Resilience Research
Center in South Madison
to teach a new
generation of students at
Badger Rock Middle
School about urban
agriculture production
methods and
sustainability practices in
action.

10. Program for Entrepreneurial and
Agricultural Training
• Through the Program for
Entrepreneurial and
Agricultural Training (PEAT),
Robert and Growing Power-
Milwaukee staff educate
South Madison students on
different production and
marketing techniques and the
students are then allowed to
grow and sell their own
produce at the South Side
Farmers Market.

11. Carrie Edgar
• Carrie Edgar is the Department Head &
Community Food Systems Educator for
Dane County UW-Extension. Her work
focuses on food systems and community
capacity building. Her experience
includes community development,
grower education, food & farm
entrepreneurship, food policy, and school
& community garden development.
• Carrie serves as staff of the Dane
County Food Council and is a member
of the Madison Food Policy Council.
Carrie started the Dane County Food
Coalition to bring together food system
organizations to develop a shared vision
and work more collaboratively.

12. Madison Food Policy Council
• As a member of the
Madison Food Policy
Council, Carrie Edgar
helps shape decisions
on how the City of
Madison addresses food
systems related issues
within the community
spanning from
community gardens to
the emerging Madison
Public Market Division
concept to healthy food
retail in under-served
communities.
Click photo above for Madison Food
Policy Council Goals and Objectives

13. Dane County Food Council
• DCFC is a committee of the Dane County
Board comprised of citizens and County Board
Supervisors. Carrie created DCFC to encourage
active collaboration to explore issues and develop
recommendations to create an economically,
socially, and environmentally sustainable local
food system for the Dane County region.
• There are 4 main action-based goals of DCFC
• Develop food and agriculture policy
recommendations for Dane County
• Advocate for food and agricultural policy that
supports our vision for the Dane County food
system
• Promote public education and outreach on food
and agriculture issues
• Collaborate with the Dane County Food Coalition,
Madison Food Policy Council, Healthy Food For
All Plan and other community groups in addressing
food system and agriculture issues
Click above for DCFC
Action Plan

14. Chicago Participant
• Daniel Block – Director, Fredrick Blum Neighborhood
Assistance Center

15. Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council
• As secretary of the CFPAC,
Daniel and other board
members facilitate the
development of responsible
policies that improve access
for Chicago residents to
culturally appropriate,
nutritionally sound, and
affordable food that is
grown through
environmentally sustainable
practices.

16. Detroit Participants
• Kibibi Blount-Dorn - Program Manager, Detroit Food Policy
Council
• Myra Lee – Charter Member, Detroit Center for Community
Advancement; Masters of Public Policy Candidate, University of
Michigan
Kibibi Blount-Dorn Myra Lee

17. Kibibi Blount-Dorn
• Kibibi Blount-Dorn is currently the Coordinator for the Detroit
Food Policy Council. She has a B.S. in Urban and Regional
Planning from Michigan State University, and a Masters of
Urban Planning from Wayne State University.
• She is a lifelong Detroit resident, and has been a community
development advocate and community gardener since she was a
teenager. She has previously worked with Detroit Summer,
Garden Resource Program Collaborative, Center for Urban
Studies at Wayne State University, Highland Park Development
Corporation, Eastern Market Corporation, and the Detroit Black
Community Food Security Network.

18. Detroit Food Policy Council
• The creation of the Detroit Food Policy Council (DFPC) stemmed
from a directive included in the Detroit Food Security Policy (DFSP)
that the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network drafted.
• Detroit City Council members adopted and approved all the
recommendations in the DFSP in 2008-2009 and the Detroit Food
Policy Council had its first meeting in late 2009.
• One of the largest issues that DFPC and other community-based orgs
and coalitions are working on is equitable access to city-owned land
(about 60,000 parcels)
Click above for more info on DFPC Click above for 2012 DFPC Public
Land Sales Report

19. Myra Lee
• Myra Lee is a young social justice leader who has been
involved with the Detroit food movement for five years. As
a charter member of the Detroit Center for Community
Advancement, she is committed to the advancing effective
social policy to address systemic issues of poverty, racial
inequality and the gap between the private and public sector
in leadership, investment and development in Detroit.
• Her current work is focused on revising and enforcing the
Detroit Food Security Policy by establishing a community-based
neighborhood food security strategy for each City
Council District; assisting in the development of a city-wide
Community Benefits Agreement Ordinance and
participating in a collaborative effort in drafting a proposal
to the Detroit Land Bank Authority to plan, implement and
enforce a Community Land Trust Policy in order to ensure
a guaranteed process to administer legitimate land rights
and ownership for Detroit residents by the City of Detroit.
• She received her BS Degree in Horticulture with a
specialization in Environmental Economics and Policy at
Michigan State University; and is currently pursuing a MPP
Degree at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

20. Detroit Center for Community Advancement
• DCCA is the brainchild of a diverse
coalition of Detroit community activists.
It seeks to engage a diverse pool of
young Detroiters to combat the most
pressing issues facing young Detroiters.
• DCCA analyzes and strategizes on policy
approaches that increase opportunities
for Detroiters.
• One of the big issues that DCCA, and
Myra, is involved with is the
development of a Community Land
Trust Policy via the Detroit Land Bank
Authority. This policy will ensure a
guaranteed and equitable process for
Detroit residents who wish to acquire
land.

21. Cedar Rapids Participants
• Karl Cassell – Executive Director, Horizons: A Family Service Alliance
• Katie Jones – Health Education Specialist, Linn Co. Public Health
• Sonia Kendrick – Executive Director/Founding Farmer, Feed Iowa
First
Karl Cassell Katie Jones Sonia Kendrick

22. Karl Cassell
• After graduating from Iowa State University
in 1999, Karl moved to the East Coast,
where he met his wife, LaNisha.
• While living in Baltimore, Maryland, Karl
served as an active member of the Baltimore
Council on Foreign Affairs.
• Karl made his return to Cedar Rapids in
2004, when he became Executive Director
of Jane Boyd Community House; where he
remained for almost five years. Karl
managed a $1M budget and participated in a
$4M capital campaign.
• In 2006, he was selected for recognition as a
young and emerging leader for “40 Under
40” by the Corridor Business Journal (CBJ).
• Prior to Horizons, Karl served as Executive
Director of the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights
Commission for four years.

23. Horizons – A Family Service Alliance
• Since June 2013, Karl Cassell has
been President & CEO of Horizons,
A Family Service Alliance. Horizons
runs the largest local Meals on
Wheels program, serving over
400,000 meals annually.
• Horizons also provides services in
the areas of Mental/Behavior Health
Counseling, Consumer Credit
Counseling, and Family Support
Programs. The organization is
currently determining its role around
sustainability in health and nutrition
for disadvantaged communities;
understanding that food
consumption for its clients and the
community can contribute to
fulfilling the mandate as a Blue Zone
Community.

24. Katie Jones
• Katie Jones is a Health Education Specialist at Linn County Public
Health in Cedar Rapids. In her position, she is involved with many
different coalitions, such as the Linn County Food Systems Council,
and manages the county’s Community Transformation Grant, which
includes activities to improve the food system.
• She received her Master of Public Health in Community and
Behavioral Health from the University of Iowa College of Public
Health in May 2012.
Click above for Linn Co Food Systems
Assessment Snapshot

25. Linn Co Public Health and
Linn Co Food Systems Council
• Public Health - Linn County Public Health (LCPH) serves as the local
health department. LCPH’s mission is “To prevent disease and injuries,
promote healthy living, protect the environment and ensure public
health preparedness.” Linn County is the second most populous county
in Iowa. LCPH is located in Cedar Rapids, which is the second most
populous city in Iowa.
• Food Systems Council - The Linn County Food Systems Council was
created by the Linn County Board of Supervisors in March 2012.
Recently, the Council completed a comprehensive food system
assessment with assistance through Linn County’s Community
Transformation Grant.
• Cedar Rapids Blue Zones Project - This project has different
Community Policy subcommittees, which work on achieving certain
city-level policy and environment goals related to healthy eating, like
supporting urban agriculture.

26. Sonia Kendrick
• Sonia Kendrick is the founding
farmer, a combat veteran,
agronomist, and working
towards a masters degree in
sustainable food systems but
mainly just an informed and
concerned mother of two
amazing children.
• “Whomever controls our food
controls us and our democratic
right to rule ourselves is rooted
in our ability to feed ourselves.”
Sonia Kendrick

27. Feed Iowa First
• Mission: To confront food insecurity today and
tomorrow by growing food and farmers.
• Feed Iowa First has 12 farms in Linn Co. Iowa. We grow on underutilized
land around churches and business. We also grow on 16 acres of donated
farmland. We do not have total yield numbers yet but it is well over 20,000 lbs
of vegetables. We currently only have one beginning farmer but we have
worked this season with seven other beginning farmers. All of the produce
that we grow is donated to food pantries and shelters as well as meals on
wheels. We do not charge for the food that we donate.
• Our current project is building a walipini fish farm next to a low income
school. We are planning to take the waste from the school and feed it to black
soldier flies then feed the black soldier flies to the fish and have the fish
connected to a hydroponic system that will allow us to grow lettuce for the
school to have a salad bar.
• Our goal is to get 500 acres of underutilized land turned into vegetable
production that would provide the almost 26,000 food insecure in our county
with the bare minimum of vegetables a day. We believe that the next
generation of farmers are in the city and need to be brought out of the city as
a social effort in order to ensure that we are fed into the future. We are also
advocates for teaching all children how to feed themselves – A skill that
should be as fundamental as writing their names.

28. Milwaukee Participants
• Marcia Caton-Campbell – Executive Director, Center for Resilient
Cities
• Emily Bernstein – Information and Research Data Associate, School
Food Focus
Marcia Caton-Campbell Emily Bernstein

29. Marcia Caton-Campbell
• Marcia Caton Campbell, MCRP, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Center
for Resilient Cities. In February 2011, Marcia published Urban Agriculture:
Growing Healthy, Sustainable Communities, Planning Advisory Service Report No.
563, coauthored with Kimberly Hodgson and Martin Bailkey (Chicago, IL:
American Planning Association).
• She has previously served on the boards of directors of Growing Power, the
Community Food Security Coalition, the Milwaukee Environmental
Consortium, the Madison Area Community Land Trust, and the Friends of
Troy Gardens (now Community GroundWorks at Troy Gardens in Madison,
WI). Marcia is also the Center for Resilient Cities organizational representative
to the Milwaukee Food Council.
• Prior to joining the Center for Resilient Cities in 2006, Marcia was a faculty
member in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and affiliate
faculty at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of
Wisconsin—Madison. There, her research and teaching focused on consensus
building and community-based planning with diverse publics and on increasing
inner-city residents’ access to healthy, nutritious, affordable, and culturally
appropriate food through community food systems planning.

30. Center for Resilient Cities
• A 501c3 not-for-profit organization founded in 1996
with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, the Center for
Resilient Cities builds robust and thriving urban
communities that are healthy, just, economically viable
and environmentally sound.
• The CRC has been and currently is involved with
many community-based food system projects. Their
role as experts in a variety of fields offers support,
guidance, and technical assistance, which assists in the
creation of communities that are good for people and
good for the environment.
• CRC is involved with the Milwaukee Food Council
and is working on analyzing, recommending, and
building on some of the food systems findings from
the City of Milwaukee’s “ReFresh Milwaukee” report. Click above for
ReFresh Milwaukee
Food Systems Report

31. Emily Bernstein
• Emily collects, manages, and analyzes the
procurement data for the Upper Midwest
Regional Learning Lab and the National
Procurement Initiative. She is passionate about
food justice and how it intersects with health,
equity, and the environment.
• Prior to joining FOCUS, Emily worked in
farming systems, ecology, and alternative crops
research at North Carolina State University and
the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as
on farms and with community food system non-profits.
• She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-
Madison with a MS in Agronomy and a BS in
International Agriculture and Natural
Resources/Horticulture. Emily is based in
Milwaukee.
• Emily is working with the Center for Resilient
Cities on an audit tool to analyze policy effects on
food systems