COMMUNITY & REGIONAL
FOOD SYSTEMS
ACTION TOOLKIT
Lindsey Day Farnsworth
ldfarnsworth@wisc.edu
Samuel Pratsch
samuel.pratsch@ces.uwex.edu
April 21, 2015
TOOLKIT OVERVIEW
 What’s the purpose?
This toolkit is a compilation of action-oriented resources to help
practitioners and their community partners and local governments plan,
implement, and/or evaluate a variety of community food system
activities and explore how they are connected.
 What’s the intended audience?
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Extension county educators and state specialists
Community-based organizations
Funders
Local governments
LINKING THEORY & ACTION
The way we approach food systems
activities shapes the health,
environmental, social, and economic
outcomes of our food system.
UW-Madison Community & Regional Food
Systems Project Framework
Enabling Environment:
Agriculture and Food Policy, Economics,
Public Health System, Natural Environment,
Community & Culture
Source: UW-Madison Community and Regional Food Systems Project V.5 working draft, www.community-food.org
Activities & Context
Enabling Environment:
Agriculture and Food Policy, Economics,
Public Health System, Natural Environment,
Community & Culture
Values
Land
access &
Suitability
Agricultural
Production
Resource &
Waste
Recovery
Distribution &
Aggregation
Food System
Supply Chain
Consumption
Preparation:
Consumer &
Institutional
Food
Processing
Marketing
Community Food System Framework
Values
Justice &
Fairness
Vibrant
farms &
gardens
Thriving
Local
Economies
Strong
communitie
s
Sustainable
ecosystems
Healthy
People
Cooperation
Activities & Context
Justice &
Fairness
Sustainable
ecosystems
Enabling Environment:
Agriculture and Food Policy, Economics,
Public Health System, Natural
Environment, Community & Culture
Land
Agricultural
access & Production
Suitability
Resource
& Waste
Recovery
Consumption
Food
System
Supply
Chain
Preparation:
Consumer &
Institutional
Distribution &
Aggregation
Food
Processing
Marketing
Whole Measures for Community Food Systems
Healthy People
Justice & Fairness
• Provides food for all
• Reveals & uproots injustice
• institutions support food justice
Strong Communities
• Community-driven & builds equity
• Builds trust and reciprocity
• Civic leadership & political
empowerment
Vibrant Farms & Gardens
• Supports local, sustainable &
economically viable family farms
• Protects farmers & farmworkers
• Respects farm animals
• Provides healthy food for all
• Ensures health & wellbeing of all
Connects people & land
Sustainable Ecosystems
• Sustains a healthy environment
• Promotes an ecological ethic
• Enhances biodiversity
Sustainable Local Economies
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Build local wealth
Builds long-term economic vitality
Develops infrastructure that
supports community & enviro health
Systems thinking & collaboration
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Emphasis on root causes
Interdisciplinary strategies
Coordinated, multi-level approaches
TOOLKIT CONTENT OVERVIEW
How is this different than other food system resources?
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Action-oriented
Linked to/rooted in the CRFS framework
Connection to Program Development and Evaluation
Not just another another food systems resource page:
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UW-Extension CFS Team website
Cornell University
University of Minnesota Extension
E-Extension Community, Local & Regional Food System CoP
Johns Hopkins University
 Food Policy Resources
Food System Curriculum
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
AND EVALUATION
Plan
Learn
Act
EXAMPLE OF PLANNING USE OF TOOLKIT
 Plan and develop a new food-related program or project using the
Whole Measures values to define intended outcomes
Outcomes
Short
Policy and
decision makers
increase
knowledge and
awareness of how
community
infrastructure
impacts health
Medium
Policy and
decision makers
finance and
incentivize the
creation of
community
infrastructure
Long
Community
infrastructure that
supports access
to and availability
of healthy food
and physical
activity
opportunities
A thriving community
food system that provides
safe food and a built
environment that enables
all people to attain
complete physical,
emotional, social,
economic, and spiritual
well-being and positive
growth
EXAMPLE OF ACTION USE OF TOOLKIT
Identify resources and strategies to support new or existing projects
SEARCHING FOR A RESOURCE
SEARCHING FOR THE RESOURCE TOOLKIT
Seeking resources and strategies to support new or existing projects?
SAMPLE TOOLKIT CONTENT
Justice & Fairness
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N a t i o n a l E q u i t y At l a s
PolicyLink
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E q u i t y & E m p owe r m e n t l e n s
Multnomah County, Oregon
Strong Communities
Healthy People
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Ac c e s s to H e a l t hy Fo o d S u r v ey
U n i v e r s i t y o f Wa s h i n g to n C e n te r f o r P u b l i c
Health & Nutrition
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H e a l t hy Fo o d Ac c e s s M a p p i n g To o l
Po l i c y L i n k & H e a l t hy Fo o d A c c e s s Po r t a l
Sustainable Ecosystems
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Fe d e r a l G r a n t s P r o g r a m G u i d e fo r
S u s t a i n a b l e Fa r m s & C o m m u n i t i e s
M i c h a e l F i e l d s & U S DA
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G u i d e to S m a l l B a t c h C o m p o s t i n g
U r b a n G a r d e n C e n te r
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Organizational Capacity & Structure
U n i v e r s i t y o f M i n n e s o t a E x te n s i o n
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Sustainable Business Develop. Guide
M N I n s t i t u t e fo r S u s t a i n a b l e A g & S A R E
Vibrant Farms & Gardens
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National Sustainable Agriculture
Information Ser vice
AT T R A
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B u i l d a L ow - c o s t C o o l e r / P a c k S h e d
Fa i r S h a r e & T h e Fa r l ey C e n te r fo r Pe a c e
& Justice
Sustainable Local Economies
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G u i d e to Fo o d I n n o v a t i o n D i s t r i c t s
MSU & NW MI Council of Governments
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C o s t - B e n e f i t A n a l y s i s To o l
AFRI CRFS Project
Systems thinking & collaborati on
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In development
EXAMPLE OF LEARNING USE OF TOOLKIT
REPORTING USES OF CRFS TOOLKIT
 Demonstrate the impact of your community food system work by using
Whole Measures to align the evaluation of your programs with the
Cooperative Extensions Recording Results Systems
NEXT STEPS AND TIMELINE
 April 2015
 Revise concept of toolkit based on feedback
 May 2015 – July 2015
 Finalize website design function and graphics
 Finalize content
 Integration of concept, website, and content
 August 2015 – September 2015
 Pilot the toolkit
 November
 Launch
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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Are there gaps in resources or information?
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How do you envision using this resource?
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Is anything confusing about the toolkit?
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What do you need to be able to use this resource?
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One-on-one training
Modifications to website content
Workshops
Other?
Would you be interested in piloting the toolkit?
QUESTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS?
Please contact us!
Lindsey Day Farnsworth
ldfarnsworth@wisc.edu
Samuel Pratsch
samuel.pratsch@ces.uwex.edu