| Food System Planning: A Guide For County And Municipal Planners, Extension Educators, And Community Organizations |
|
Jennifer Abel and Joan Thomson College of Agricultural Sciences Cooperative Extension Penn State University What Are Food System Issues? The countryside is dotted with picturesque farm buildings and fields. They're so plentiful that we hardly notice them-until we drive by and see a row of identical new houses standing in their place. Few of us realize the extent of this development and change, but more than four million acres of farmland have disappeared in Pennsylvania since the 1950s, in large part due to sprawl. Also, despite the fact that U.S. supermarket shelves are well stocked, chronic hunger is on the rise. Food banks in south-central Pennsylvania reflect a nationwide trend: they are having to reduce the size of portions to supply more families with food. Both of these food system issues are concerns of local and county governments. Stronger community food systems can help to keep family farmers in business, ensure that all community members have equal access to quality food, create food sector jobs, and keep food dollars in the community. Engaging local governments in food system planning helps them take a comprehensive approach to ensuring a community's quality of life. This guide is based on a research project conducted to assess the involvement of county and municipal Pennsylvania planners in food system activities. These activities include farmland preservation, setting aside public land for community gardens, facilitating access to food outlets, siting supermarkets in underserved areas, and studying the impact of the food system on the local economy. Why Should the Food System concern Planners? Planners are the people who help guide the development of a community. They work with other government agencies and local citizens to decide what land can be used for what purpose. Planners are expected to take a comprehensive view of a community's development. They are concerned with creating quality settlements in which people live and work. Planners traditionally have not included the food system in their responsibilities. Yet planners should be concerned with food system issues because:
Food, like air, water, and shelter, is essential to life. As people who are concerned with making places serve people's needs, planners can affect how well people's food needs are being met. Food is linked to many aspects of community life: transportation, employment, and land use, for example. When creating land use plans that represent local interests, planners can identify and incorporate local priorities relating to food issues. Study Results Professional planners from nine southeastern Pennsylvania counties and nine in the southwestern part of the state were included in a study (conducted by PSU). In all, 33 planners were interviewed-16 from the southeast and 17 from the southwest; 16 were county planners and 17 were municipal planners (Abel, 2000). Planners were asked to rate their agency's overall involvement in food system activities. Among the 33 planners, 70% rated their involvement as minimal, 18% as moderate, and 12% as significant. They also were asked to indicate whether or not their agencies had been involved in 11 specific food system activities. Among the activities, "farmland preservation" ranked the highest, with 70% of the planners reporting agency involvement. Less then 30% of the planners indicated agency involvement in seven of the 11 activities. They were least involved in "studying the impact of the food system on the environment." Planners also were asked to list the most important or pressing issues with which their agencies were dealing at the present time; comment on whether or not those issues have a food and agriculture component; and describe how food and agriculture relate to the key issues. The first question generated a long list of issues with a number of topics identified by several planners. Slightly less than half (45.5%) of the 33 respondents said that managing growth and sprawl and preserving open space were major issues with which they were dealing. Transportation and traffic congestion was a close second; 14 planners (42%) listed this issue. Providing infrastructure, stormwater/sewer management, and urban revitalization each were mentioned by about one-quarter of the respondents. Among these planners, 70% thought the issues had a food and agriculture component. Of this group, 74% said that their key issues were connected to food and agriculture through the need to preserve farmland. The planners said that preserving farmland was a part of the overall need to prevent sprawl, restrict development to existing built-up areas, preserve the rural character of communities, and protect environmentally sensitive areas. Other statements planners made about the relationship between food/agriculture and their key issues included the following:
This study documents that food and agriculture are related to the critical issues with which planners are dealing in their communities. Although food is a vital part of any community, in only two out of the 11 food system activities, were more than half of the planning agencies involved. Food system issues must be incorporated into planning for the future of a community. Integrating Food System Issues Into Planners' Daily Responsibilities Planners themselves have proposed strategies that would involve them in food system issues (Pothukuchi and Kaufman, 2000):
Working With Community Organizations Working with community organizations interested in food system issues is one of the best ways planners can learn about food issues in their communities. In southwestern Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) has worked with county planning agencies to identify the best site for a regional year-round farmers' market. PASA staff worked with personnel from county planning agencies to assess the merits of several potential sites. Across Pennsylvania, organizations are working on projects to preserve farmland, reduce hunger, promote urban agriculture, and encourage economic development through food-related enterprises. Planners wanting to find out more about citizens' groups working on food system issues locally can contact their county extension office (listed in the telephone book blue pages, usually under "county government"). Current Food System Work by Planners In addition to finding the best sites for farmers' markets, planners interviewed in the study indicated several other current activities related to the food system. A county agency in southeastern Pennsylvania has pioneered an innovative farmland preservation strategy called the Agricultural Zoning Incentive Program. Through the program, the county agrees to pay the legal fees for municipalities that choose to amend their zoning to protect farmland. In a southeastern Pennsylvania city, the planning agency works with neighborhood groups to help them secure control of land for community gardens. In a southwestern Pennsylvania city, planners conducted a market analysis of a concentrated food wholesaling district to determine whether it should retain its current use or convert to retail/entertainment establishments. In a southwestern Pennsylvania county, the planning agency helped a food bank acquire county-owned land for its new facility. In another southwestern Pennsylvania county, the planning agency is working on an agritourism initiative: attracting city residents to tours at the county's "model farms." Needs Assessment Another way for planners to get involved in food system issues is to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the local food system. Planners in three states already have conducted such studies. In Madison, WI, Knoxville, TN, and Los Angeles, CA, students at university planning schools conducted comprehensive assessments of their local food systems. In Madison, for example, students described all aspects of their food system, including production, distribution, marketing, disposal of food, economic aspects of the food system, impact of the food systems on low income residents, and government involvement in food security. Planners are well poised to engage in studies and assessments of local food systems, given that they have easy access to demographic and land-use statistics. Working with community organizations could help ensure that the results of such studies are put to use to develop action plans to deal with identified problems. Planners indicated that much of their work on food system issues is in response to requests from organizations, such as the PASA initiative or the food bank. Given food's connection to many of the issues with which planners are already dealing, planners easily can be proactive and incorporate food system activities into existing endeavors. Extension Educators Extension educators can help form and support citizen coalitions aimed at studying and strengthening the local food system. These coalitions can approach planners with requests to focus attention on specific community food issues such as improving the profitability of local farmers, assuring supermarket access for low-income populations, permitting neighborhood groups to use vacant lots for community gardens, or protecting a specific area of agricultural or forest land. Community Groups Community groups that want to involve planners in strengthening the local food system will need to involve the general public. Citizen pressure likely will need to come from more than a single interest group, in order to encourage planners to get involved. Community groups have used and continue to employ creative methods to foster public discourse. Targeting the Media Most people get their information about the food system though the media. Encouraging local newspapers and radio and television stations to report on food system issues is a good way to get these issues on a community's agenda. In the study of Pennsylvania planners, respondents indicated that if food system issues were covered more extensively in the media, a planning agency would be more likely to consider such issues when planning for the future of a community. Resources For more information and the complete publications, contact: Joan S. Thomson, Ph.D., CFCS Jennifer Abel Virginia Cooperative Extension,
Arlington County |
 |
 |
Designed and Built by CCE Web Development Team |