Planning Skills & Expertise Valued by Food Policy Councils (FPCs): A Case Study Analysis of Four American FPCs working with Urban & Regional Planners.

摘要

As communities have grown increasingly concerned about food deserts, child obesity rates, globally-produced food, and the loss of prime agricultural land --- to name a few, food policy councils (FPCs) are increasingly being formed as a way to solve these and many other food system problems. FPCs have traditionally worked with a range of public and private sector partners, and in recent years, have been working more closely with urban and regional planners at the city, county, and state level. Food system work is a nascent field of planning, with many in the field not yet convinced that planners have a significant role to play. In-depth case studies of four FPCs --- the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition, the Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition, the Santa Fe Food Policy Council, and the Regional Food Policy Council of the Puget Sound Regional Council --- are offered as a way to highlight how planners serve FPCs. The case study findings show that planners utilize general skills for their work with FPCs and that general planner skills, rather than specific skills, are what FPCs seek out and value. Considerations for planners are offered with the aim of making it easier for planners to approach and engage with FPCs.