Backup_ATCFPB_20200612Consumption_Food Goals & Strategies_submitted to SC — original pdf

Backup

Please fill out this template for your group topic’s proposed goal and strategies. Completion deadline: May 29 Proposed goal (Example: Achieve X by 2030): Please make the goal as specific as possible, and worded in active voice. It must also be measurable and achievable by 2030. Keep it to 1-2 sentences. By 2030, ensure 100% of Austinites, with a focus on the food insecure, can access a pro-climate, pro-health food system built for equity and resilience. A pro-climate, pro-health food system is community-driven, prioritizes regenerative agriculture, supports dietary and health agency, prefers plant-based over animal-based foods, and minimizes food waste. Community-driven means located in, initiated, led, and evaluated by low-income communities and communities of color, with explicit mechanisms for soliciting community input, developing within-community leaders, and sharing outcomes within and outside the community. Goal translated into GHG impact: (Example: X metric tons CO2e by 2030) TBD with Cavan’s assistance Advisory Group: Consumption Topic Area: Food How will this goal be measured or quantified? The goal needs to be quantifiable, but doesn’t have to be carbon-quantifiable. Metrics for goal and each strategy: Goal measure(s): ● Rate of food insecurity in Austin ● TBD measures of availability and access ● Organic food waste in landfill ● Consumption measures of plant-based foods Strategy 1 measure(s): Strategy 2 measure(s): Strategy 3 measure(s): Strategy 4 measure(s): ● Dollar amount of institutional purchasing of pro-health, pro-climate foods ● Dollar amount and allocation of funding, reported by community and race/ethnicity of fund recipients ● Number of food solutions funded ● Availability and accessibility of pro-climate, pro-health food (measure TBD) ● Proportion of pro-climate, pro-health food choices available at food retail outlets ● Number of programs/tools developed and implemented ● Number of people accessing programs/tools Strategy 5 measure(s): ● Amount of organic food waste as measured by waste management organizations Proposed strategies to meet goal: Please list 3-5 actionable strategies that are achievable by 2025. These need to be as concise as possible, and worded in active voice. 1-3 sentences max per strategy. Strategy 1: Apply a purchasing framework, support supply-chain infrastructure, and build a regional food system network to bolster institutional and corporate food procurement of pro-climate, pro-health options. Strategy 2: Increase the availability and accessibility of pro-climate and pro-health foods through community-driven food solutions by providing and equitably allocating funding sufficient to reach the goal of full access for all. Strategy 3: Implement community-driven programs to incentivize and promote more affordable and culturally relevant pro-health, pro-climate choices in prepared and retail food options, with a focus on minimizing displacement. Strategy 4: Develop a variety of community-driven programs and tools to equitably engage and empower the full spectrum of Austin’s communities to make affordable and culturally relevant pro-health, pro-climate food choices. Strategy 5: Conduct a food waste reduction “root cause analysis” and reduce barriers to increase participation by all customer types (single-family home, multifamily, commercial) in food waste reduction strategies that prioritize highest and best use according to the EPA hierarchy of food waste reduction in order to achieve a 50% improvement from baseline. Equity Tool score for strategies: Use the Equity Tool to score your strategies. The goal is to aim for as many positive impacts as possible and have zero negative impacts. Combined across all strategies: 16 How will the strategies in place help advance racial equity? Are there steps in place to avoid and/or mitigate unintended consequences? Overall, how does your goal help advance racial equity? (1-4 sentences) The impacts of climate change are disproportionately felt by low-income communities and communities of color, as are high rates of chronic disease. By creating a food system that emphasizes equitable access, enhances community agency, empowers individual action, and requires institutional/organizational responsibility, health inequities may be reduced while empowering communities and decreasing GHG emissions associated with the food system.. How do these strategies help advance racial equity? (1-4 sentences) The strategies are intended to leverage the power of communities to make decisions and implement actions to improve local food systems in ways that support health and decrease GHG emissions. By centering recommendations on community-driven action, the intention is to harness and enhance the unique attributes of each community to power their own solutions, engaging and leveraging within-community assets (both human and organizational) to drive change. Barriers to pro-health, pro-climate food choices and the development of systems to enable and encourage those choices are initiated in the context of community, centered on equity and tailored to each place and each community as needed. Our intention is to provide a framework that reflects diverse needs within the local food system, builds from community rather than imposing on community, and promotes equity across race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status..  Do these strategies provide any additional co- or multi-benefits? If so, please list and/or explain. Strategy 1: With its focus on institutional purchasing, Strategy 1 has the advantage of leveraging the power of large players to benefit the entire food system. In addition, this approach places responsibility with the system itself, rather than with individuals. Increasing the availability of pro-climate, pro-health foods may increase consumption, benefiting both the climate as well as population health. In addition, shifting to pro-climate, pro-health foods, with the emphasis on plant-based dietary patterns, reduces water consumption, land use, and pollution. Strategy 2: By preferentially funding food solutions in low-income communities and communities of color, Strategy 2 not only improves access to pro-climate, pro-health food in areas of low access, it does so by supporting historically underfunded businesses in under-resourced communities. By supporting community-driven solutions, this strategy may also offer employment in high-need areas. Strategy 3: Increasing the availability, affordability and cultural relevance of pro-climate, pro-health food via food retail and prepared food offerings may offer increased employment opportunities, support social cohesion, and increase cultural preservation. Food is a cornerstone of any culture or community, and promoting community-driven and tailored solutions to increase pro-health, pro-climate food availability can support new and existing businesses to better reflect the communities they serve. Strategy 4: This strategy may raise awareness of and provide methods for 1). Reducing food waste, which can increase the purchasing power of every food dollar and 2.) Increasing consumption of plant-based foods, which may reduce the risk of chronic disease and has the potential to lower food costs. Strategy 5: Besides reducing GHG emissions from anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, reducing food waste can redirect food to better use, such as feeding more people or animals. In addition, reducing food waste increases the purchasing power of every dollar spent on food.