Food Policy Councils Make Healthier Places

Food Policy Councils are one way to improve the quality and availability of healthy food in your community or state. They advocate on your behalf for a healthier food system.

The consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables is an important part of a healthy diet. One way to increase access and improve quality of fruits and vegetables is through policy and environmental change.

Food Policy Councils are one way to achieve policy and environmental change at your state and/or community level.

Purpose of a Food Policy Council: to provide support and advise residents and governments on how to develop policies and programs to improve local food systems.

Goal of a Food Policy Council: to increase access to and the availability of affordable, healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

Members of Food Policy Councils can be a diverse group of individuals with expertise in various parts of our food system, such as agriculture, transportation, and health. The members of a council can be appointed by government, selected by other members of the Council, or can be volunteers. These council members have a shared interest in changing the food system to improve the health of their community.

Some actions Food Policy Councils can take to improve your food environment:

• Protect community and urban gardens by helping to change city zoning codes
• Support policies to create a Farm to School Program
• Improve access to food assistance programs and healthy foods for low-income populations

Who might participate in a Food Policy Council:

• Farmers and food producers
• Food processors
• Food retailers and distributers
• Faith-based communities
• Food banks
• Universities and Colleges
• Consumers
• Government: Agriculture, Education, Health, Human Services, Transportation, etc.
• Restaurants

How to learn more about your local and/or state Food Policy Council:

1. Learn if your state and/or community has a Food Policy Council and the contact information for this council.
2. Contact the Council leadership listed on the above site to learn about opportunities to attend council meetings or public food policy meetings.
3. Ask your Council contact about current policies being supported by the Council and how you might be able to provide additional support through community advocacy.

Food Policy Council Resources

North American Food Policy Council
The Community Food Security Coalition provides how-to guides, a sample budget, and a list of current food policy councils.

Food Policy Councils: Lessons Learned is a report on a variety of food policy councils, their structures, successes, and challenges [PDF - 2.90 MB].

What’s Cooking in Your Food System: A Guide to Community Food Assessment offers guidance and explanation for information gathered from community food assessments, and how they can be applied to the work of Food Policy Councils [PDF - 254 KB].

State Program Highlights: Food Policy Councils offer descriptions of specific Council activities in a variety of states funded for obesity prevention by CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity [PDF - 192 KB].