Farm to Fork: Coordinated Collaboration between Local Health Departments and Food Policy Councils for Community Engagement to Improve Health Outcomes

Introduction:

Food, nutrition and agriculture policy are failing to support healthy communities as evidenced by high levels of chronic, diet-related disease combined with high levels of food insecurity. In response, community members from a diverse range of sectors and backgrounds are forming and joining food policy councils to improve their local food systems.

Approach:

The California Office of Farm to Fork, an interagency collaboration between the CA Department Public Health, the CA Department of Food and Agriculture, and the CA Department of Education, is employing a strategy to improve health outcomes in communities by building the capacity of local health departments to effectively engage community through collaboration and goal alignment with food policy councils. The Public Health Institute’s (PHI) nutrition and food systems programs, the Healthy Farms Healthy People Coalition, Roots of Change, and the Community Food and Justice Coalition, are providing training and technical assistance to local health departments across California to further health department goals through alignment with food policy councils.

Results:

This session will highlight successes and challenges of multi-sector collaboration, goal alignment, improved health outcomes and food system policy reform for health departments, food policy councils, and community-based organizations. 

Discussion:

The presentation will detail PHI’s experience in California as a model for other states and will outline how health departments can strategically engage with food policy councils and other community groups to improve health outcomes and drive food system policy reform in communities across the country.