Growing Food Connections

Research, Education and Planning & Policy

These three major activities work hand-in-hand to address the concerns of struggling farmers and vulnerable consumers by building capacity of local governments and their partners to create, implement and sustain food system policies and plans that both promote food security and foster a healthy agricultural sector.

FEATURED

June 6, 2024

Planning for Equitable Urban Agriculture: Future Directions for a New Ethic in City Building

"Planning for Equitable Urban Agriculture: Future Directions for a New Ethic in City Building": A book in honor of Food Systems Planning scholar, teacher, and advocate- Jerome Kaufman; (Jerry) Kaufman (1933-2013). The book explores the potential and pitfalls of planning for urban agriculture, provides case studies from cities across the United States, and documents the state-of-art in municipal planning practice, research, and teaching tied to planning for urban agriculture. Cities featured in the book include Albany (GA), Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland, NYC, Seattle, and others.

April 19, 2022

Event | Food Equity by Design | April 27, 2022

Dr. Samina Raja will deliver a virtual lecture at the 17th reSHAPING ROCHESTER series. This year the series focuses on what it means for a city to be "ideal," and asks if/how a community could become ideal. Dr. Raja will focus her remarks on the ideal of food equity in cities.

March 5, 2019

Nominate a Regional Plan that Addresses Food Systems by March 15

Is your community engaging in regional-level planning that impacts food systems in the United States? If so, your plan could be featured in the Growing Food Connections policy database!

October 18, 2018

Food systems planning experts say it’s time to reflect on local governments’ efforts

BUFFALO, N.Y. — On Wednesday, the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, the world’s only peer-reviewed journal focused specifically on food and farming-related community development, released a special issue on local government engagement in food systems planning.

Baltimore City, Maryland

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Mayor of Baltimore, with two school students in a community garden. Image Source: Baltimore Food Policy Initiative. Printer Version (pdf) Baltimore City, Maryland: [...more]

Local Government Food Policy Database

The Growing Food Connections Policy Database is a searchable collection of local public policies that explicitly support community food systems. This database provides policymakers, government staff, and others interested in food policy with concrete examples of local public policies that have been adopted to address a range of food systems issues.