FOOD SYSTEMS PLANNING

The food system is composed of a vast set of complicated relationships among growers, processors, distributors, retailers, researchers, advocates, and policy makers. It is both global and local at the same time. Because we all eat, we are inextricably linked to the food system, whether or not we are actively engaged in knowing where our food comes from and where our food waste goes. Unlike days long ago, when people relied on the knowledge of how to produce their own food, today it is almost impossible to know everything about where our food comes from.

Now, increasingly recognized as a component of urban planning and design, food systems planning is a comprehensive future-oriented approach to maintaining and improving the global to local network that nourishes us. The urgency of population growth, redistribution and its environment impact is directly linked to food supply. Food systems planning includes traditional planning areas like infrastructure, the physical environment, economic development and environmental impact as well as emerging areas like community food security and public health. Much of it is driven from the bottom-up or the greater public interest. Indeed, civic engagement has been a hallmark of recent policy advocacy for change in the food system. Through food systems awareness and planning, elected officials and all levels of government are beginning to realize their role in the food system. The interconnectedness of the food system makes it difficult to separate out any one thing, from scale to geography, or culture to government.

 Hear Lynn speak on Food Systems at the American Planning Association

 
We offer Planning and Consulting Services related to community food systems planning and strategy development: