Vision
Establish Cleveland and Cuyahoga County as a model for food security through regional food system development, ensuring that every resident has access to fresh, healthy, affordable food.
Mission
Promote a just, equitable, healthy, and sustainable food system in the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and Northeast Ohio.
Goals
Advance a food security and food system development agenda at the City and County level so residents have better access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food;
Create a forum that brings people together from all aspects of the food system to generate new relationships and cross learning;
Remove barriers to new market opportunities for local food businesses to facilitate economic development and entrepreneurship;
Initiate research-based decision making that assesses the local and regional food system to guide policies and programs
Priorities
The FPC is currently focused on two areas of the food system where we believe we can have the greatest impact: Affordable Food Access and Reducing Wasted Food. By increasing access to nutritious foods and reducing the amount of it that ends up in landfills, the FPC can help improve health outcomes, grow the regional food economy, and reduce environmental impacts.
Affordable Food Access
Expanding household financial strength
Improved coordination of incentive programs
Increasing farmer viability
Reducing Wasted Food
Changing cultural norms about wasted food
Better linkages between food needs and excess food
Grow leadership accountability to reduce wasted food
History
The Cleveland Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition (CCCFPC) was born in 2007. It began as part of Steps to a Healthier Cleveland (Steps), a program of the Cleveland Department of Public Health (CDPH). More than seventy-five people from twenty-six organizations attended meetings and helped develop the concept, work plan, and agenda of the CCCFPC. The initial seventy-five participants were from diverse backgrounds including hunger advocacy, environmental protection, public health, urban and rural farmers, economic development, community organizing, sustainability, academia, and local government. This cross-section of our local food system brought the knowledge and experience necessary to develop a comprehensive approach for improvement.
The initial development process was so well received by area organizations, that Steps awarded grant dollars to the Cuyahoga County Branch of Ohio State Extension (OSUE) and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) to assist in Coalition staffing and resource development.
Original Conveners of the organization:
Morgan Taggart (OSUE)
Matt Russell (CWRU)
Brad Masi (New Agrarian Center)
Jennifer Scofield (CDPH)
As the Steps program neared completion at the year end of 2009, the George Gund Foundation and the Cleveland Foundation awarded grant funding to the Coalition for staff, interns and other resources. OSUE and CWRU continue to convene the Coalition together.
In the relatively short time that the CCCFPC has been in existence, it has brought forth positive changes to the local and regional food systems through policy:
· Secured zoning changes to protect community gardens, urban farms, and the raising of chickens and bees
· Allowance of mobile food trucks within city limits and agriculture as principal use on all vacant residentially zoned lots
· The development of the original Produce Perks nutrition incentive program model+
The Coalition has undergone many different configurations throughout the years. Currently, the Coalition consists of a steering committee that includes stakeholders from academia, community development, government, non-profits, agriculture and private business. In addition to the regular steering committee meetings, a convening is held biannually that invites all interested members from the community to participate and influence future CCCFPC work.