Workshops by Track
During four workshop sessions, participants will have the opportunity to learn new skills and hear about best practices from across the country.
View Workshops by Session Times
Workshop Tracks:
Advocacy | Assessment & Planning | Collaboration | Equity | Farm to Cafeteria
Food Policy Councils | Healthy Food Access | Public Health | Rural issues
Advocacy
Healthy Food Financing Policies
Yael Lehmann, The Food Trust
Patricia Smith, The Reinvestment Fund
Rebecca Flournoy, PolicyLink
New polices at the Federal, state and local level are currently being developed to bring more healthy food retailers to underserved areas. This session will look at how these policies have been developed and give attendees tools and strategies to get involved in advocacy efforts in their communities.
Friday, May 20 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Local Urban and Community-Based Agriculture Policies
Ifeoma Ezepue, Cleveland Department of Economic Development
JoAnne Berkenkamp, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
What are the possibilities at the local level for policies to promote urban and community-based agriculture? What steps have local governments already taken? How can you encourage your local government to take similar steps? This panel of advocates and government officials will explore these questions and facilitate a discussion on urban agriculture policies.
Friday, May 20 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Economic Development as Framing Strategy for Advocacy: Dispatches from Michigan
Deirdra Stockmann, Food System Economic Partnership
Fran Talsma, Pioneering Healthy Communities, State Alliance of Michigan – YMCA
Sharon Sheldon, Washtenaw County Public Health Department
Amanda Edmonds, Growing Hope
This workshop uses dynamic presentations, activities and discussion to build participants’ capacity to use economic development as a strategy for food policy advocacy at the state, regional and local levels. We present models and lessons-learned from throughout Michigan and provide tools and resources for action
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
The Farm Bill: Forecasting, Focusing Priorities, and Moving Forward
Kathy Mulvey, Policy Director, CFSC
Megan Lott, Associate Policy Director, CFSC
Presenters will begin with an analysis of the political and economic context around the upcoming Farm Bill. Participants will then examine how federal policies play out at the state and local levels, sharing examples from their communities. We will conclude with a discussion of CFSC’s proposed Farm Bill priorities and advocacy strategy.
Saturday, May 21 8:45 am – 10:15 am
A Food Sovereignty Framework for Food Policy: the Canadian Experience
Cathleen Keen, People’s Food Policy Project, Food Secure Canada
Amanda Sheedy, Coordinator, People’s Food Policy Project, Food Secure Canada
This session will discuss the relationship between local food sovereignty initiatives and food sovereignty policy through analysis of the experience of the People’s Food Policy Project in Canada and its experience in mobilizing more than 3,500 people across the country to engage in a Federal policy project.
Saturday, May 21 8:45 am – 10:15 am
Assessment & Planning
Comprehensive Planning and Zoning to Build Healthy Food Systems
Samina Raja; University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
John Fell; Office of Strategic Planning, City of Buffalo, NY
Gretchen Kunkel; KC Healthy Kids,
The workshop will highlight the role of comprehensive planning and zoning in building healthy food systems. Speakers will draw on the experience from ongoing efforts in the City of Buffalo, NY and Kansas City, MO, as well as from best practices on planning and zoning to build healthy food systems from around the country. The session will include brief presentations and small group discussions.
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Making the Grade: Using Report Cards to Assess Food Systems
Susan Roberts, Iowa Food Systems Council
Angie Tagtow, Iowa Food Systems Council
Gail Feenstra, Agricultural Sustainability Institute
Susan Ellsworth, UC Davis
Comprehensive food system assessments connect food system sectors to food security, health, environment, economics, and social justice. Assembling food system indicators into a Report Card provides ongoing evaluation and benchmarks for policy, program and research recommendations. This discussion will compare a state-wide approach in Iowa to a local process in San Diego County.
Friday, May 20 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Planning for the Future of Food: Developing Strategic Actions Plans
Kathleen West, Multnomah County Office of Sustainability
Samina Raja, Food for Growth: A Community Food System Plan for Buffalo’s West-Side
Alethea Harper, Transforming the Oakland Food System: A Plan for Action
Katie Lynd, Multnomah Food Action Plan: Grow and Thrive 2025
Kathryn Colasanti, Michigan Good Food Charter
This workshop will explore strategic food system planning at the state, county, city and neighborhood levels. Experts will discuss community-engagement, lessons learned, and best practices for developing and implementing a food system action plan. Participants are encouraged to bring real world examples to this workshop for group discussion and problem-solving.
Saturday, May 21 8:45 am – 10:15 am
Accessing and Using Food Data to Support Collaborative Policy Decisions
Christopher Fulcher, Center for Applied Research and Environmental System – University of Missouri
Lyn Kathlene, Center for Systems Integration
Roxanne Medina-Fulcher, Community Initiatives
Wendy Peters Moschetti, WPM Consulting, LLC
This hands-on workshop enables users to overlay, visualize and interact with hundreds of national- and state-level GIS data layers using a Web-based system. Diverse users can access information about their food system, integrate local data, share assessment tools, and use the system to advance collaborative decision-making and inform policy actions.
Saturday, May 21 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Collaboration
Collaboration Multiplier: Engaging in Interdisciplinary Partnerships to Advance Food Policy
Linda Shak, Prevention Institute
Juliet Sims, Prevention Institute
Prevention Institute’s Collaboration Multiplier tool helps advance food policy by fostering meaningful cross-sectoral collaboration. This session guides participants through the Collaboration Multiplier process in order to help diverse sectors better understand one another’s perspective, identify strengths and gaps in their partnership, and determine new partners to engage in collaborative efforts.
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Corralling the Bureaucracy: How to Work Toward Integrated Citywide Food Policy
Allison Schwartz, City of Seattle, Department of Transportation
Becca Fong, City of Seattle, Department of Parks and Recreation
Rich MacDonald, City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods
Members of the City of Seattle Interdepartmental Food System Team will share experiences and advice for opening up communication and policy channels. After a panel presentation, the audience will break into a small group activity, followed by discussion and Q&A. This workshop is aimed at government staff and policymakers.
Saturday, May 21 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Developing Partnerships with Philanthropy to Support Food Policy Councils
Morgan Taggart, Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition (OSU Extension)
John Mitterholzer, The George Gund Foundation
Joe Cimperman, Cleveland City Council
Financial resources are essential to the effectiveness and sustainability of food policy councils. This session, led by The George Gund Foundation and Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition, will explore through active discussion the challenges of funding food policy, how to develop strong partnerships with philanthropy, and how resources affect a council’s impact.
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Urban Food Policy Strategies
Holly Freishtat, Baltimore Office of Sustainability
Edith Murnane, City of Boston Mayor’s Office
Paula Jones, San Francisco Department of Health, Food System Program
Alexa Delwiche, Los Angeles Food Policy Council
Food Policy Directors are beginning to be appointed by US mayors to help coordinate policy and planning across healthy food access, community and urban farms, market development and regulations. This panel of four food policy directors will share lessons and strategies from different geographies and institutional contexts.
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Working with Public Officials to Make the Economic Case
Ken Meter, Crossroads Resource Center
Janie Burns, Meadowlark Farm
Building strong relationships with state, local, and federal officials creates economic recovery, and effective food policy. Learn new strategies for engaging public officials, increasing participation, and making use of federal programs, and work in small groups to devise new ways to implement these approaches in your community.
Friday, May 20 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Equity
Building Diverse Local Food Policy Leadership
Makani Themba Nixon, Praxis Project
Kolu Zigbi, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation
In this follow-up to the Opening Plenary “Leading the Movement for Food Justice: Analysis, Organizing and Power for Policy Change,” the presenters and participants will discuss ways in which local food policymakers and advocates can engage communities of color and low income communities in the policy process. Come prepared with your questions and thoughts, as this workshop will be largely comprised of group discussion.
Friday, May 20 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Community Partnerships to Build Urban Food Security and Sustainable Communities
Mia Dell, Assistant Director & Policy Advisor, United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Pat Purcell, UFCW Local 1500, NYC
Chris Michalakis, UFCW Local 876, Detroit
Joy Borkholder, UFCW Local 21, Seattle
Targeting social justice and food activists who do not realize the potential strength of their partnership, panel members will each share their experience in seeking a long-term remedy to the food access crisis in their cities. Participants will ask questions about challenges, techniques and partnerships.
Saturday, May 21 8:45 am – 10:15 am
Leveraging Institutional Dollars for a Just and Healthy Food System
Joann Lo, Food Chain Workers Alliance
Ryan Zinn, Fair World Project of the Organic Consumers Association
James Subudhi, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Each year, institutions, from governments and universities to hospitals and schools, spend billions purchasing food. This workshop will explore how food security advocates, community residents, and government officials can leverage institutional purchasing power to create a just, sustainable, and healthy food economy, at local and global levels, for all people.
Friday, May 20 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Local Food Policy & Health: State Policies Supporting SNAP in Farmers Markets
Stacy Miller, Farmers Market Coalition
Deborah Yasher, Agriculture and Land Based Training Association
Suzanne Briggs, Collaboration
Drew Love, Mass Farmers Markets
Karen Kinney, King County Water and Land Resources Division
Learn about successful grassroots efforts to advocate for state polices and agency programs that increase SNAP acceptance, including logistics, campaign strategies, and policy proposals. Participants will discuss challenges and how policy change can lead to greater accessibility. Market managers, policy based non-profits, community organizers, farmers, and organizations working with SNAP clients are encouraged to attend.
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Prioritizing Inclusion: Food Policy Councils’ Efforts to Reflect Community Diversity
Molly McCullagh, Tufts University
Gina Giazzoni, Food Organizing Collaborative
Karl Ingram, Mayor’s Food Policy Council, Philadelphia
This interactive workshop on privilege and exclusion includes research findings on FPCs’ attempts to increase diverse community engagement, a Philadelphia FPC representative’s view of recent formation of majority white FPC in a majority Black city and organizing efforts of Philadelphia food growers, workers and eaters to develop a People’s Food Policy.
Saturday, May 21 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Farm to Cafeteria
Farm to School Policy Advocacy: Identifying Strategies That Work
Stacey A. Sobell, Ecotrust
Tia Henderson, Upstream Public Health
Suzanne Briggs, Collaboration
Megan Lott, Associate Policy Director, CFSC
Ellen Gray, Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network (WSFFN)
This panel will highlight strategies for securing/maintaining funding for farm to school policy. Participants will hear strategies from the national and regional level, including use of evidence from a recent Health Impact Assessment of farm to school policy, and work to identify strategies they can use in their own efforts.
Saturday, May 21 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Procuring Local & Regional Foods for Schools: Experiences from the Field
Thomas Forster, School Food FOCUS
Ellen Gray, Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network
Shannon Stember, Portland Public Schools
Kerri Cechovic, Washington Environmental Council
Sandy Han, Harrison Institute for Public Law, Georgetown Law
Public Health-Seattle & King County and Portland Public Schools in Oregon will provide their experiences with procuring locally grown food for schools. In addition, School Food FOCUS will discuss its collaborative efforts with the Harrison Institute which is looking at the legal authority governing the use of a regional preference.
Friday, May 20 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Food Policy Councils
Food Policy Councils in the Native American Tribal Setting
Rita Williams, Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative
Vicky Karhu, Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative
This participatory workshop will explore positive change in local and regional food systems for all peoples by working with Native American tribal governments. The presenters will share their experiences in establishing the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Food and Fitness Policy Council. Participants will gain insight into the Native perspective and collaboration potential.
Friday, May 20 2:00 – 3:30 pm
From the Ground Up: Community-Based Food Policy Development and Implementation in Oakland, CA
Sabrina Wu, HOPE Collaborative
Alethea Harper, Oakland Food Policy Council
Virginia Hall, HOPE Collaborative
This interactive workshop features activities and tools for meaningful community engagement in food policy development and implementation and the formation of food policy councils. Participants will take part in sample, neighborhood-based community planning and training activities and walk away with a toolkit to implement community engagement strategies in their local communities.
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
The Tale of Two (Canadian) Cities: Toward Comprehensive Food Policy
Brent Mansfield; Vancouver Food Policy Council, Think&EatGreen@School Project
Wendy Mendes; City of Vancouver, University of British Columbia
Wayne Roberts; Freelance writer, Former Manager of the Toronto Food Policy Council
This session will tell the stories of food policy in two Canadian cities, Vancouver and Toronto. Presenters from both cities will speak about the move toward more comprehensive municipal food policy, including the development of municipal food strategies and the role of food policy councils.
Saturday, May 21 10:30 am – 12:00pm
Federal Support of State-level Food Policy Councils and Networks
Kate Reddy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Sonia Kim, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Mark Winne, Community Food Security Coalition
Engage in a workshop discussion and activities related to State-level Food Policy Councils, led by CDC and Mark Winne. Learn about State peer examples of creating and maintaining State-level FPCs, and efforts to build state-wide food policy collaboration with local and Native American food policy initiatives.
Saturday, May 21 8:45 am – 10:15 am
The Puget Sound’s Food Policy Councils: From City to State
Olivia Robinson, Puget Sound Regional Council
Phyllis Shulman, City of Seattle
Charlotte Garrido, Kitsap County
Branden Born, University of Washington
Brad Gaolach, Washington State University Extension
This panel discussion highlights differences and opportunities for food policy to address issues and integrate within varied geographic and political scales. Panel members will address food policy efforts from Washington State. Audience members should be interested in and prepared to discuss the types of policy work suited for different scales.
Saturday, May 21 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Healthy Food Access
Healthy Food on Wheels, Rolling to a Neighborhood Near You
Lauren Dunning, RENEW Los Angeles County, Department of Public Health
Christine Fry, Public Health Law & Policy
Food trucks and carts are more popular than ever. Healthy mobile vending policies harness this public enthusiasm to increase convenient access to fresh, healthy foods. In-depth policy discussion will be paired with interactive learning opportunities to equip participants with tools to bring healthy mobile vending policies to their neighborhoods.
Saturday, May 21 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Healthy Corner Stores: Innovative Strategies and Implications for Policy
Erin MacDougall, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Tammy Morales, Urban Food Link
John Weidman, The Food Trust
Megan Rowan, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
Panelists from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Seattle/King County will share the unique challenges that arose in their work to create healthy corner stores and discuss strategies for overcoming common barriers to this work. Audience members will have ample opportunity to ask questions and participate in discussion.
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Zoning for Zucchini & Licensing for Lettuce: Healthy Neighborhood Retail
Heather Wooten, Public Health Law & Policy
Ian Mclaughlin, Public Health Law & Policy
Aliyah Ali, City of Minneapolis
Corner store advocates around the country are exploring how policy approaches could incentivize and sustain healthy changes in small stores. This interactive session will feature a discussion of best practices for three policy strategies and how they can be used to develop healthier corner stores: zoning, licensing, and taxes.
Friday, May 20 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Carrots & Sticks on the Menu: Healthy Restaurants through Policy
Christine Fry, Public Health Law & Policy
Gwendolyn Flynn, Community Health Councils
Leonard Trevino, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District
Families spend half of their food budgets on food from restaurants, which is less healthy than home-cooked food. This interactive session will cover three policy approaches to healthier restaurants: direct regulations, zoning, and incentives. It will feature legal and policy resources, as well as practitioners who implemented local restaurant policies.
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Public Health
Food Policy as Prevention: Public Health’s Emerging Role for Healthier Communities
Erin MacDougall, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Elisa Munoz, Greater Birmingham Community Food Partners
Alisa Haushalter, Metro Public Health Department
Sara Padilla, CFSC
In 2010, public health agencies were funded to address obesity through Communities Putting Prevention to Work enabling them to invest in local food systems and make policy, systems, and environmental changes. Three communities will describe their efforts and engage participants on how to make similar changes in their own communities.
Saturday, May 21 8:45 am – 10:15 am
How to Advocate for Healthy Eating within City Government
Noelle Dobson, Oregon Public Health Institute
Amy Gilroy, Oregon Public Health Institute
Provides a public health advocates perspective of promoting healthy eating policies within Portland city-government. OPHI will present their experiences with successful policy initiatives, provide tips and resources for writing grants to support healthy eating advocacy, and lead participants through a strategy map for their own local healthy-eating policy goals.
Friday, May 20 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Rural Issues
No Local Food without Local Farmland: Keeping Farmland Available for Farming
Mary Embleton, Cascade Harvest Coalition
Kathryn Gardow, Gardow Consulting
Kimberly Freeman, Pierce County Planning and Land Services
Without local farmland, we can’t have local farms or food. We will discuss farmland loss, restrictive regulations that discourage farming, lack of secure and affordable access to land for beginning farmers, and conservation laws. Participants will brainstorm solutions with support from the team on those that have and haven’t worked.
Friday, May 20 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Policy Tools for Saving the Small Town Grocery Store
Hannah Burton Laurison, Public Health Law & Policy
Sharon Thornberry, Oregon Food Bank
David E. Procter, Rural Grocery Sustainability Initiative, Kansas State University
Many small towns have lost their grocery store and along with it, jobs and tax revenue. Audience and presenters will share best practices and policy analysis. Together, we will examine how land use and economic development policies create both opportunities and barriers for sustainable rural stores.
Saturday, May 21 8:45 am – 10:15 am
Oregon’s Local, Regional and State Food & Agriculture Policy
Anita Yap, City of Damascus
Jim Johnson, Oregon Department of Agriculture
John Williams, Oregon Metro
Larry Thompson, Thompson Farms
Oregon’s statewide land use planning program is well known nationally for protecting farmland and creating compact, walkable urban areas. Hear from experts on the history, current issues and a look to the future on the integration of local food and agriculture policies from farmers, local and state policy makers.
Friday, May 20 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
