Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:In late 2014, the City of Columbus, Franklin County and Local Matters came together around a belief that all residents in Columbus and Franklin County should have access to nutritious, affordable food. Local Matters was invited to join the leadership team to provide expertise on local and national food initiatives and ensure robust neighborhood and community engagement in the planning process. The planning process began with residents in several neighborhoods, including Linden, Near East Side, Near South Side, Northland, Clintonville, Weinland Park, Franklinton and the Hilltop. Through multiple facilitated conversations in each neighborhood, residents helped identify current food assets and gaps in order to identify unique needs and goals for the different neighborhoods. Outside of Clintonville, all of the neighborhoods originally identified as being low-income and/or limited access to healthful food resources. These meetings each included 15-40 residents, as well as representatives from businesses and non-profits. Following these meetings, Local Matters produced neighborhood specific reports that included gaps, opportunities, and prioritization of goals for increased food access, education and production. In addition to engaging residents and stakeholders at the neighborhood level, a Working Committee was created that included public and private stakeholders from across Franklin County. The Working Committee consisted of 24 community partners with expertise in varying sectors of the local food system including the restaurant association, the food bank, the county farm bureau, the solid waste authority, United Way of Central Ohio, OSU, growers, producers, environmental groups, local businesses, and other community organizations across Central Ohio. More than 1000 residents and stakeholders participated in the development of the plan through community-level food planning meetings, stakeholder interviews, surveys and public feedback sessions. We are now moving into the implementation phase, which is being led by the Local Food Advisory Board. The board consists of influential community mobilizers and food system experts who can provide intellectual, physical, social, and/or monetary capital to achieve results and increase awareness of food related issues in our community. The Local Food Advisory Board consists of 12 members who were directly appointed by Columbus City Council and Franklin County Board of Commissioners. They are meeting quarterly to: prioritize Local Food Action Plan actions for implementation; report progress to City and County elected officials; and evaluate food system-related proposals made to City/County Ultimately, the implementation process will reach children, adults, and families all across Franklin County. Columbus City Schools recently invested in processing equipment that will enable it to serve sliced apples to over 55,000 students in the district. The district plans to move on to other vegetables, like carrots and cucumbers, in the future. They are also beginning to serve food produced and/or processed in Ohio once a month. Even a seemingly small change like slicing apples locally instead of having a factory slice, package and deliver them -- makes kids much more likely to eat them. This is just one example of how thousands of current and future students of Columbus City Schools will benefit from the planning process. Changes/Problems:There were no major changes during the reporting period. The leadership during the planning process maintained a high degree of trust and engagement among different stakeholders, and the collaboration between non-profit, the public sector, and other community stakeholders has been very productive. As intended, the process helped build relationships and alignment around shared vision and goals. The planning process also helped provide clarity of leadership roles for different organizations working to transform the food system. As mentioned in the interim report, due to the governmental nature and underwriting of the plan, Local Matters will not be directly charged with overall implementation of the plan. Local Matters will take leadership and responsibility for specific components of the plan related to healthy food education and access to educational resources. For example, one of the action items is to grow capacity and enhance viability of civic agriculture to allow more residents to grow food for themselves and their neighbors. Local Matters recently received support from the Ohio State University and the Kellogg Foundation to do just that. We plan to engage low-income families in urban farming activity at Weinland Park to build skills and support the health and financial security of families in the neighborhood. Local Matters will also play a role in actions to improve access to and education about healthy food, affordable food and local food, including: B-9: Support the development of a comprehensive network of educational resources and infrastructure, that connects residents with healthy, affordable and local food; B-10: Engage those most impacted by health disparities, including low-income, African American, Hispanic, New American and other underrepresented communities, in developing and implementing culturally appropriate food assistance, education, nutrition, gardening and cooking programs; B-11: Incorporate onsite nutrition education and counseling, shopping strategies and healthy food purchasing incentives at food retail; B-12: Support the expansion of nutrition and food system education in Pre-K-12 curricula. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project team hosted several interns throughout the planning process who focused on research, data analysis, communications, coordinating, and community engagement. The interns, who were mostly Master's students in Public Health, Urban Planning, and Public Management, gained hands-on experience with the project team and a variety of stakeholders. Participants on the project team all learned from others around the table, since there were professionals from a variety of sectors, including food system policy, waste management, farming, public health, food access and education, and economic development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Before the Local Food Action Plan was finalized and released to the public, a draft was circulated at eight community meetings with a request for feedback. The project team also conducted surveys to engage the public and solicit feedback. In November 2016, the Local Food Action Plan gained official ongoing support from the City of Columbus and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners. Columbus City Council approved legislative providing city funding for the plan at its November 24th meeting. The Franklin County Board of Commissioners formalized their support at a November 25th meeting. The Executive Summary and full version of the report is now available online on the City of Columbus website (https://www.columbus.gov/publichealth/programs/Local-Food-Action-Plan/). The Local Matters' website also has a link the Executive Summary and the Local Food Action website. The Executive Summary was disseminated to over 1,000 residents and stakeholders who participated in the development of the plan. The team also coordinated a media strategy to roll out the plan to the public. The following links include blogs from partners involved in planning and different stories about the approval of the final plan: https://commissioners.franklincountyohio.gov/news/2016/franklin-county,-columbus-adopt-local-food-act (November 21, 2016) http://wcbe.org/post/columbus-approves-plan-get-healthy-food-residents (November 22, 2016) http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/11/21/1121-food-plan.html (November 22, 2016) http://www.financefund.org/blog/archives/2016/11/unique-partnership-launches-local-food-action-plan (November 23, 2016) http://www.columbusunderground.com/local-food-action-plan-passes-for-central-ohio-gf1 (November 23, 2016) https://www.columbus.gov/Templates/Detail.aspx?id=74960 (November 24, 2016) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In November 2016, the Columbus-Franklin County Local Food Action Plan was adopted. It is the most comprehensive food plan in the country for three reasons: It is the only plan that leverages the expertise of a city public health development, a county economic development team, and a nonprofit organization focused on food education and access. It is the only plan that began with a neighborhood process to identify current assets and gaps in order to address unique neighborhood needs. It goes further than any other plan in outlining implementation steps and points of collaboration, and incorporates food planning into other city and county planning processes. The plan is intended to inform public policy, inspire program development, foster community collaborations, guide local funding strategies and establish a foundation for successful philanthropic strategies. It provides a framework of four overall goals that unify residents, schools, community organizations, businesses, and local government in supporting a strong local food system. The four goals include: Enhancing coordination and communication among existing food resources and agencies; Improving access to and education about healthy, affordable and local food; Increasing the role of food in economic development; and Preventing food-related waste. Each goal includes recommended action steps with the greatest potential for impact on food-related issues facing Columbus and Franklin County. Altogether, there are twenty-seven concrete action recommendations. The plan also seeks to address the consequences of significant social issues such as poverty, underemployment and unemployment that lead to inequalities in access to food. It emphasizes economic development opportunities in the local food system as a tool for community revitalization. The plan was also developed with a recognition of the urban-rural connection that underscores our interdependence with surrounding counties. Successful implementation of the plan will involve the collaboration of communities, stakeholders, food businesses, nonprofits and public agencies in the City of Columbus, Franklin County and the region. A City-County Joint Local Food Team along with an advisory board, which includes Local Matters, is helping to guide implementation of the plan. The team and board will issue annual progress reports and updates on the plan.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Columbus - Franklin County Food Action Plan
Full Report: https://www.columbus.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2147491908
Executive Summary - https://www.columbus.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2147491613
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences for the City of Columbus-Franklin County Food Action Plan include all residents, stakeholders, institutions, businesses and public entities in the county and city. If this plan is implemented as intended, it will affect everyone - from galvanizing economic development to creating more positive health outcomes. In order to receive appropriate feedback, engagement efforts were intentionally focused and multi-faceted. Local Matters held 2-3, three-hour facilitated sessions in each of the Columbus neighborhoods that were originally identified as being low-income and/or limited access to healthful food resources. Through these meetings we worked with groups from 15-40 community residents, businesses and not-for-profits to identify and explore neighborhood-specific goals for improving access to healthy food and nutrition education. Neighborhoods included Clintonville, Linden, Near East Side, Near South Side, Northland, Weinland Park and the West Side of Columbus (Franklinton and Hilltop). Following these meetings, Local Matters produced neighborhood specific reports that included gaps, opportunities, and prioritization of goals for increased food access, education and production. In addition to visioning and receiving feedback at the neighborhood level, a Working Committee (WC) was created, comprised of public and private stakeholders from across the city and county. The WC consists of 24 community partners with expertise in varying sectors of the local food system including the restaurant association, the food bank, the waste removal company, growers, producers, environmental groups, and local businesses. Changes/Problems:There have been no major changes in approach since inception. The city/county/non-profit collaboration has been extremely productive and efficient. One interesting learning experience has been navigating the political process and setting this plan up for success. Due to the governmental nature and underwriting of the plan, Local Matters will not be directly charged with overall implementation of the plan but will be responsible for specific components that most aptly fit our scope of program delivery. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project team was fortunate to host several interns during the planning process, including members who focused on communications, data analysis, meeting planning and community engagement. Most of the interns were masters students in public health or urban planning and they gained a lot of hands-on experience from their experience with the project team and numerous stakeholders. On the project team, which is comprised of professionals from public health, economic development and not-for-profit food system work, we each learned from each other's field. For example, Local Matters learned more about survey development and intricate work plans, and the economic development team learned about the economics of food projects from Local Matters. The health department helped shed light on health disparities. It has been a particularly rewarding experience because the team welcomes dissent and open discussion. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As previously mentioned, a draft of the Local Food Action Plan will be presented to the WC in July 2016. Following presentation of the draft plan to the WC and an opportunity to receive their feedback over the 5th three-hour meeting, the draft plan will be released for public comment through the Local Food Action Plan web site. Additionally, Local Matters, in conjunction with the City of Columbus will host eight community meetings to present the draft plan and request feedback beginning in August 2016. The project team will conduct surveys, and work with the Franklin County Local Food Council, to engage public response to the draft plan. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Feedback solicited during the public comment phase, from the neighborhood meetings and from the WC will be used to finalize the Local Food Action Plan. The final plan will be presented to Columbus City Council and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners for adoption in November of 2016. All documents and reports developed throughout the planning process are available for review at www.columbus.gov/Local-Food-Plan City and County staff, with ongoing guidance from stakeholders, will continue to begin implementation of the plan and look to secure funding in early 2017.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Local Food Action Plan Project Team, consisting of staff from Columbus Public Health, Franklin County Economic Development and Planning and Local Matters, was formed in December 2014. Establishing a local food system planning process jointly led by an economic development and planning department, a public health agency and a community-based not-for-profit food advocacy organization ensured that economic development, job creation, health, equity and social justice were intentionally and consistently considered in all phases. The planning process was designed to address improving healthy food access in areas with limited access, creating linkages between consumers and producers as a long-term, economic development and public health strategy and ensuring that locally-grown and sustainable food is prioritized and made available to all residents. A Working Committee (WC) was also created from 20 different public/private partners representing all aspcects of the food system. The WC was involved in every phase of the plan. The planning process consisted of three phases: Current Conditions and Visioning Policy and Program Recommendations Plan Development Current Conditions and Visioning - Phase I In addition to reviewing 24 food planning documents from across the country, the project team reviewed published data, including but not limited to US Census Data, USDA Agricultural Census and US Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify and describe social and economic conditions. The team gathered stakeholder input through extensive conversations with local food system experts and unique survey tools for each sector. Local Matters also facilitated the aforementioned neighborhood-level meetings during this time. During this process, the team evaluated the local food system as five distinct sectors: Consumers, Producers, Processors/Distributors, Commercial and Institutional Buyers, Waste Recovery. Policy and Program Recommendations - Phase II In addition to the extensive gathering of community input and neighborhood research, Local Matters conducted a comprehensive review of regional, state and national local food system plans and resources, identifying potential actions that could be applicable in our community. Additionally, the Project Team gathered local food strategies in major city and regional planning and public health reports. As a result, the project team identified more than 800 possible actions for consideration, which were narrowed to 146 potential actions that could be considered comprehensive, specific, and potentially relevant to Columbus and Franklin County. Through subsequent meetings, feedback and re-grouping, the draft plan recommends less than 40 impactful solutions for coordination, access, economic development and waste recovery. Using a multi-voting process and group discussion, WC members identified actions that warranted further research for possible inclusion in the plan and did not warrant further consideration. The Project Team gave WC members opportunities to provide additional actions not previously identified by the Project Team. The Project Team released an online survey to conduct a multi-voting process and solicit feedback on these new actions. The project team conducted extensive research on each of the actions identified as important by WC members and public comments. A summary of this research, including a description, potential partners and relevant models were compiled to create the DRAFT Policy and Program Recommendations Report. The WC reviewed and discussed this research following a presentation by the Project Team in March 2016. The document was then made available for public comment via online survey. The Franklin County Local Food Council (FCLFC) also provided extensive feedback over the course of 3 full council meetings. The Project Team used feedback from the WC, the FCLFC and public comments to revise the recommended actions and to develop implementation strategies, in the following areas: 1. Improve Communication and Coordination At the city and county-level, coordinated support is needed to improve how people access food, grow food, learn about it and prevent food waste. Currently, these issues are not addressed across public departments and they could benefit from a more concerted effort. There are many programs in our community that could increase collaboration for greater impact. The needs in this area run the gamut from transportation improvement to advances in institutional purchasing arrangements. Neighborhood and cross-county networks will continue to develop, and will find it easier to access the support they need because of this effort at the city and county level. 2. Increase Access and education There are many neighborhoods that are underserved, and lack access to affordable, healthful foods. The food plan research underscored unmet needs for people with limited mobility and limited financial resources, and a lack of transportation and distribution network as barriers to accessing healthy food. A variety of gaps in food education from pre-K to adult, were identified as priorities to be addressed. The needs of New Americans, and the importance of education where people live, learn and shop, were highlighted. Actions in this area also address expansion and improvement of existing programs to ensure quality food access and education. 3. Economic Development Actions addressing opportunities for increased economic development through food were developed with consideration for (1) connecting farmers to processors and distributors (2) increasing supply of healthy, locally-produced food to supermarkets, restaurants and direct to consumers, with verification that this work is meeting its metrics beyond marketing local food (3) addressing the varying needs of small and larger operations, in urban and rural settings. There is opportunity to connect institutions with more local produce and to support farmers and farmworkers in the process. 4. Waste prevention, recovery and recycling Homes and consumer-facing businesses, such as supermarkets and restaurants, account for over 80% of food waste. Food waste prevention is the most cost-effective way to address this issue, and in this area we focus on consumer education efforts. Additional efforts to work with grocers and restaurants should be considered as well to increase food recovery, which offers a lot of opportunity and needs support in donation policy and infrastructure, as well as value-added processing, to achieve the greatest impact. Finally, waste recycling can divert food from landfills, but it requires the most infrastructure. In this area, a focus on at-home and centralized composting is recommended. Plan Development - Phase III The project team used the actions identified in the policy and program recommendations phase to draft specific local actions and implementation strategies to be included in this plan. A draft of the Local Food Action Plan will be presented to the WC in July 2016. The goals and recommended actions in the plan represent those that have the greatest potential for positive impact on the local food system when the plan is adopted. New opportunities and changing conditions in our community will require plan users to consider new and innovative ideas that support the vision of the plan as important as those included in the plan.
Publications
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