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Case Study: Food Policy Councils Sow Seeds For Better Health
Oregon’s Portland/Multnomah Food Policy Council (FPC) was developed in 2002
by a joint action of the city of Portland and Multnomah County. Housed in
Portland’s Office of Sustainable Development, the FPC provides research and
recommendations to the city on institutional food practices, citizen food
awareness, hunger and food access, urban land use policies, business and economic
issues and environmental impacts on the food system.
In November 2004, urban planning students from Portland State University
(PSU) took inventory of all city-owned land that could be used for community
gardens and other urban-agriculture initiatives. Based on their findings, the
FPC formed technical advisory committees to explore how to integrate urban
agriculture into city-owned properties. The FPC also formed a committee to ensure
that food policy is considered and incorporated, where appropriate, into Oregon’s
short and long-range plans at all levels.
The FPC also conducted in 2004 a community food assessment and market basket
survey in the Lents neighborhood that indicated the need for better food security.
In response, the FPC acquired grant funding to facilitate the creation of home
gardens, cooking classes for children, adolescents and adults, and a children’s
summer camp. This pilot food assessment project was so successful that the FPC
is now determining how to use it as a model for other neighborhoods
throughout Portland.
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