This plan provides the City of Austin and Travis County with a framework to comprehensively improve the health and well-being of residents in upcoming years. In order to develop the plan, Austin Department of Public Health conducted a Community Health Assessment, which consisted of focus groups, community interviews, and key informant meetings, to develop a comprehensive plan to address the health-related experiences and challenges faced by residents in the two counties. Utilizing the social determinants of health framework, the plan addresses four priority areas: access to and affordability of health care; chronic disease; sexual health; and stress, mental health, and well-being. Further, the plan identified various challenges related to food, such as lack of access to healthy and culturally appropriate food, food marketing, and lack of healthy food retailers. These challenges were primarily addressed in the chronic disease priority area, in which specific action items include: the development of nutrition classes for residents; the implementation of workshops and other educational strategies in schools, community centers, and after-school programs; the creation of a healthy marketing campaign by local organizations; the conversion of city space to increase green areas and other recreational facilities; supporting ongoing efforts to increase transportation access to healthy retail sites; and ongoing data collection to more fully understand the assets and adaptations utilized by residents to obtain healthy and culturally appropriate food.
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Sustainable Santa Fe 25-Year Plan, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Sustainable Santa Fe is a 25-year plan that uses the Triple Bottom Line framework to build a carbon-neutral and sustainable community. The three components of the framework are: environmental resilience, economic vitality, and quality of life/social equity. Under the elements quality of life and social equity, ‘food systems’ is outlined as its own objective to support and strengthen the connection between and within local food systems by working with system actors and consumers to enhance sustainable practices, support the local food economy, and ensure food security. The food system objective has specific targets of: achieving annual increases in the City of Santa Fe’s procurement of New Mexico grown produce, increasing community access to food retail outlets, and expanding opportunities for local food producers to sell and distribute food locally.
City of St Louis Sustainability Plan 2013, St. Louis, Missouri
The City of St. Louis Sustainability Plan’s primary objective is to “use the City’s limited resources in efficient and innovative ways, and foster revitalization to promote a vibrant, attractive, prosperous and healthy community for present and future generations.” The plan uses a three-pronged definition of sustainability (with economic, social and environmental drivers) to develop seven goals, 50 objectives, 317 strategies, assessments and potential funding tools. A notable objective for food and agriculture under the topic of urban character, vitality and ecology is building a community-based urban agriculture industry through updated zoning codes, broadening the definition of urban farming to include unconventional practices, and developing policies that permit leasing of vacant lots for community gardens. The plan also seeks to engage and empower youth through the development of green jobs in the food sector and increased access to affordable, healthy food. To ensure equal access to amenities, opportunities, safety and health throughout the city, the plan proposes incentives to new markets to locate in areas “identified as food deserts,” tax incentives to provide fresh produce, and establishment of a shuttle bus that links residents with fresh, local, and healthy food. In the broader scope of health, well-being and safety, a key objective of the plan is increased access to healthy, local food and nutritional information. This objective includes strategies such as eliminating food deserts, connecting food growers with consumers, begin healthy food choice education at the elementary level, improve availability of farmers markets and local foods, provide education on nutrition, and deliver healthy food to those in need.
Eat Well! El Paso, El Paso, Texas
Eat Well! El Paso is a program with the goal of improving “the local food environment by expanding healthy food options for children and their families.” The program also advocates for, and educates, on the health impacts of eating good food. The program also hosts a ‘restaurant initiative,’ which encourages and subsequently recognizes restaurants that modify their menus to provide healthier food and beverage options to children. Only a year after the program’s implementation, 25 locally-owned restaurants participated in the restaurant initiative; by 2017, this number had increased to a total of 33 restaurants. The program has since expanded to encourage and recognize modified adult menus, food trucks, and chain restaurants. Eat Well! El Paso also offers nutrition training during food handler classes.
Food Waste Prevention and Recovery Resolution, El Paso, Texas
The Food Waste Prevention and Recovery Resolution builds off of past plans within the city of El Paso, including Plan El Paso, the city’s strategic plan, to implement waste reduction programs within the city. In particular, the resolution plans to work with mass food producers to minimize waste and implement waste reduction programs, fulfilling the strategic plan’s recommendation to ensure “adequate solid waste disposal capacity,” and provide long-term, cost effective, sustainable regional solid waste solutions. The resolution also declares 2017 as the “Year of Food Waste Prevention and Recovery in El Paso,” and calls for the creation of a Food Policy Council, as well as a food waste reduction strategy by 2018.
Regional Food Systems Plan for Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, Northeast Vermont, Vermont
The Regional Food Systems Plan for Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, a region of Vermont that includes Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties, aims to reconnect and deepen relationships within the food system to be more ecologically sustainable (supportive of local farmers, food producers, and economies) and respectful of social society. The Regional Plan’s primary goal is to drive the development of new and more diverse agricultural activity and to develop a comprehensive strategy to stimulate the innovative food system sector of the three counties by providing strategic guidance to the area’s key businesses and non-profits, integrating agriculturally-focused approaches with existing land use and community development priorities, identifying economic growth opportunities for the major constituent groups in the agricultural sector in the region, providing coordination of existing and future technical assistance providers to maximize benefit to working lands enterprises, energizing and supporting regional public health and social equity initiatives, and providing an informed basis for coordination with ongoing regional planning efforts.
Cleveland Climate Action Plan (2018 Update), Cleveland, Ohio
This plan provides a comprehensive update on the climate action plan launched by the City of Cleveland in 2013. While many of the focus areas have remained the same over the course of the five years, this plan focuses on scaling up the strategies currently in place in order to increase access to those most in need. Attention was given into “equitably-driven sustainability and climate action,” through an community engagement process, which includes workshops, demographic diversity, and the joint identification of climate priorities by city officials and community residents. The priorities identified by city officials and community residents (i.e., social and racial equity; good jobs, green jobs; climate resilience; and business leadership) were addressed in each of the plan’s primary focus areas: energy efficiency and green building; clean energy; sustainable transportation; clean water and vibrant green space; and more local food, less waste. The latter point, which focuses on local food sourcing and waste reduction, is meant to achieve three specific goals (i.e., encouraging waste reduction and diversion in homes and businesses; reduce food waste and hunger; and enhance the local food system and resident access to high quality, affordable, healthy food) while increasing equity, access, economic viability, climate resiliency, and leadership.
Ordinance Promoting Economic Development and the Food Truck Industry, Boston, Massachusetts
This ordinance permits the operation of food trucks within the City of Boston, as well as established rules and regulations regarding food truck use. The ordinance includes specific instruction on obtaining permits to operate a food truck, permit renewal, and general rules about permissible locations for parking, necessary structures within the truck, use of space, and so on. Information regarding permit fees, prohibition regarding the transfer of permits, and other violations is also included. The ordinance also established a Mobile Food Trucks Commission consisting of various city departments in order to regulate and food trucks and establish or amend regulations. The Mobile Food Trucks Commission will also work with applicants to encourage the following: the use of sustainable practices, selling of healthy and affordable food, implementing programs for children and the homeless, and serving areas of the city with low food access during food truck routes.
Boston Summer Eats Program, Boston, Massachusetts
This program was designed to improve access to healthy and affordable food for children under the age of 18, particularly when school is not in session. This program is comprised of five meal sub-programs: Lunch on the Lawn, Books and Bites, Summer Eats at the Bolling Building, Summer Eats at Farmers Markets, and Summer Eats at Boston Housing Authority (BHA) locations. It currently operates at over 110 locations in the Boston area. At the various locations, program participants can also engage in a variety of activities related to literacy, arts and crafts, and physical activity. Families are also welcome to participant in activities, thus fostering the connections between communities and local organizations that may further aid families in improving their livelihoods and well-being. Farmers markets and vendors are also involved in engagement with children and families through the Boston Summer Eats Program. Through their work, the markets and vendors can directly offer participants with information about local food systems and other opportunities that families can engage in that offer low or no-cost meals. In 2017, over 1,000 families were served, and expansion is planned for broader reach throughout the Boston area.
Sustainable Cleveland Municipal Action Plan, Cleveland, Ohio
This plan outlines efforts to be taken by the City of Cleveland to increase the sustainability of its municipal operations in five primary areas: design, construction, and maintenance; energy; transportation; water; and materials management and purchasing. While each area has its specific goals and indicators, these efforts are overall meant to increase the viability of organizations and communities, improve organizational efficiency and decrease costs, enhance social services, and preserve natural resources. Additionally, the report points to changes that may be implemented to jointly increase municipal efficiency and sustainability of city services such as transportation, waste management, water consumption, and so on. In regards to food systems planning, the plan outlines a compost program for city buildings. This effort is in tandem with waste reduction and recycling programs at city buildings, allowing for a comprehensive sustainability strategy. The city plans to pilot the program before launching it city-wide, and later plans to partner with other organizations, such as food service, to increase the overall sustainability through the use of compostable containers. The city hopes the sustainable action plan will aid in the development of a sustainable economy, increase resiliency against climate change, and serve as a model for other cities.