Community Food Assessment
The goal of the Community Food Assessment Working Group is to raise food system awareness across the county, assemble information related to the local food system and facilitate Council policy recommendations.
2008-09 Group Chair:
We are currently looking for working group chair for the 2008-09 season. Do you want to use your crtical thinking skills and the ambition to set a regional agenda for the Community Food Assessement working group?
For more information, contact:
Matt Russell @ 216.368.1918 or email: mer23@case.edu
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The opportunities for economic development and community improvement are tremendous when viewed through the lense of the community’s food system. What are the job and business strengths of the food system? What economic opportunities does the food system offer? How can policies be put forth or enhanced, to enable community members to address food security issues themselves? How can the chronic lack of food in some areas be used as a catalyst for revitalization, hope and celebration in neighborhoods that currently are food insecure?
Many poor neighborhoods in Cleveland are Food Insecure. In fact the long supply chain to supply the region with food leaves all of northeast Ohio potentially food insecure. The region produces less than one percent of the food it consumes annually. Because of the region’s high quality soils located near the urban areas, and the diverse state of farm production in Northeast Ohio, the opportunity is great to build the local food economy while enhancing access to fresh produce for the underserved. Sustainably grown foods in Northeast Ohio could improve the rural economy, and improve urban quality of life. Food Security for all community members could be the catalyst for achieving a dynamic environmentally sound economy.
Children who are well nourished learn better, behave better and grow up to be better members of the community. Adults who can participate in meaningful work have higher self esteem, foster peace in their homes and help make their community better. Food Security can be the underpinning for enabling people to fulfill a basic need and potentially participate in the fastest growing sector of Ohio’s largest industry: local food.
The dialogue and data of a CFA, i.e., assembling a single resource that views existing services and systems through the lens of the community’s food security will enhance existing public policy and better inform efforts to enable people to meet their basic needs and improve the neighborhoods where they live. A Community Food Assessment can do that in Northeast Ohio, just as it has in many other places around the country. The CFA will review the food production, transportation, people’s access, cost, types of food, seasonal availability, availability changes in different neighborhoods, social economic impediments, opportunity for economic and community development, and the overall picture of community food system security in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.
Outcomes:
Community awareness about the dynamics of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County foodshed: the economic, environmental, health, and community impacts of food production, processing, distribution, and consumption in the county.
- Data collection and mapping information about the food system will identify related community assets and serve as a baseline overview of the food system in the region
- Community dialogues and forums will raise awareness and gather citizen opinions about their food system experiences and the challenges they face.
- An organized presentation that captures the region’s food economy and related systems in current time frame.
Policy recommendations for improving the food system in the county and region will be developed through the process of the Community Food Assessment and will be presented to the Food Policy Council:
- Public access (especially the underserved) to fresh produce grown in the region.
- Benchmarks will be established to guide policy implementation and serve to highlight the opportunities food security efforts have for Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and elsewhere in the Greater Cleveland region.
- Local neighborhood action plans created through Community Input Meetings and CFA advocacy.
WORKING GROUP MINUTES
Food Assessment Needs Cuyahoga