Food Planning

Question 1

Food Deserts

Answer 1

areas that lack access to healthy food. The USDA mainitains a Food Access Research Atlas that shows these variations and helps ID food deserts.

Question 2

Community Gardens

Answer 2

Planners have multiple options for programmatically supporting food systems. For example, community gardens are shared open space where individuals garden together to grow fresh, health, and affordable fruits and vegetables. These gardens allow for the production of affordable and healthy foods but also serve as civic spaces that promote social, cultural and intergenerational interactions. Cities can support community gardens by helping to evaluate the potential of a garden site, assisting in land acquisition, assisting with soil testing and remediation, leading a garden design process, manageing plot assignments, and monitoring sites.

Question 3

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Answer 3

a 20 year old movement to connect farmers to consumers. Farmers sell share of their harvest to consumers at the beginning of the growing season. Shareholders receive a weekly allotment of fresh produce from the farm, which can vary based on the productivity of the farm.

Question 4

Farm To School

Answer 4

programs brining fresh food from local farms to school cafeterias. The school or school district partners with area farmers to purchase food directly, which is then distributed and served at local schools. These programs can also include meat and seafood, in addition to produce.

Question 5

A Food Policy Council (FPC)

Answer 5

a group of individuals that advises local and state government on matters related to food policy. Food policy councils perform a variety of interrelated tasks, such as facilitating community food assessments, raising awareness of food issues with the public and local governments, developing food policies, advising community planning processes, promoting CSAs, Farm to School, and other programs, and organizing education events.

Question 6

Agricultural Land Trust

Answer 6

Identifies agricultural lands that should be preserved, and works with farm owners to participate in the trust via a conservation easement- an agreement between a landowner and a land trust (or conservation group or government agency) regarding the future uses of a private property.

Question 7

Healthy Corner Store Initiatives

Answer 7

Have emerged in a number of communities. This program provides financial assistance to small corner grocery stores to increase the offering of healthy foods in underserved neighborhoods, as well as educating store owners and residents of the need for healthy food options.