1
City of Asheville Food Policy Goals and
Action Plan
A collaborative planning process valuing community input and
cross-sector leadership to address complex food system issues.
October 2017
Report prepared by Kiera Bulan, ABFPC Coordinator
2
Table of Contents:
Context of Work 3
The City’s Role in the Food System 4
Food Policy Councils- overview 5
Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council 6
Development of 2017 Food Policy Goals and Action Plan 9
2013 Food Action Plan Review 12
Community Survey Highlights 13
Recommendations & Next Steps 15
2017 Food Policy Goals and Action Plan 16
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Context of Work
Asheville and Buncombe County are often included in national “best of” lists. The growing local
food movement and burgeoning, innovative dining and beer scene in the region has even led
Asheville to be branded as “Foodtopia” by many.
However, this region also has the unwelcome distinction of making it onto the “top ten” list of
most food insecure communities in the nation. A 2013 report by the Food Research and Action
Center ranks the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area as the ninth hungriest city in the nation,
with more than 1 in 5 (21.8%) of residents experiencing “food hardship.” That same report
ranked North Carolina as the tenth hungriest state in the nation. This is a call to action for city
government, local non-profits, and our community at large to come together to address the
root causes of this inequity through policy, advocacy, and innovative programming.
Fortunately, Asheville and Buncombe County are home to a tremendous wealth of businesses,
individuals and organizations who care very deeply about our food and farms. The “support
system” for a thriving, community-based food system exists here. It is our responsibility to
prioritize cross-sector planning and collaboration which connect the dots between policy,
programming, neighborhood, family, and community initiatives and builds a strong and resilient
food system. The City of Asheville is already at the forefront of establishing supportive
partnerships that have laid the foundation for this important work. Through the adoption of the
2013 Food Action Plan and the careful inclusion of food in the city’s sustainability plan,
Asheville is poised to be a regional model for municipal-lead food systems improvement.
In 2016 the City of Asheville entered into a contract with Asheville Buncombe Food Policy
Council to review and revise the 2013 Food Action Plan through a community input process.
This report provides an overview of this work and will present findings from our community
engagement, 2013 plan review and recommended revisions.
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The City’s Role in the Food S ystem
A municipality is a key entity in the “support system” that enables a community-based food
system to grow and thrive. The city participates as a partner at the table of program and policy
development with a unique role in setting regulations, ordinances, and department priorities
that empower residents to grow their own food, purchase from local growers and retailers,
establish food-businesses, and expand markets in their home communities. Policy makers at
the local, regional, state, and federal levels make key decisions on resource allocation, funding
subsidies to support grassroots initiatives, and innovative support structures that open doors
for community innovation and ownership.
Common Areas of Focus for Urban Food Policy Programs
i
Access and Equity
e.g., healthy retail initiatives, food desert mapping, senior food assistance
programs
Economic Development
e.g., small business marketing assistance/financing, food hubs, food
employment training programs
Environmental Sustainability
e.g., sustainable food sourcing, food system environmental footprinting,
climate change planning
Food Education
e.g., urban homesteading classes, healthy cooking demonstrations, school
gardens
Local and Regional Food
e.g., farm-to-table programs, institutional purchasing programs/ legislation
Mobile Vending
e.g., enabling mobile food carts, licensing fee reductions
Nutrition and Public Health
e.g., electronic benefit transfer (EBT) at farmers markets, menu labeling, early
childhood nutrition programs
Policy Advocacy
e.g., Farm Bill advocacy, municipal food charters
Urban Agriculture
e.g., zoning code revisions, community garden programs
Waste Management
e.g., food composting programs, curbside food waste collection
5
Food Policy Councils
Food Policy Councils work across sectors to promote resilient food systems through coalition
work in advocacy and policy development.
By bringing together key community, municipal, and private industry stakeholders, Food Policy
Councils create space to develop innovative system support to improve and enhance
community health, food access, natural resources, economic development and production
agriculture. Striving for community control and meaningful input in food policy development,
Food Policy Councils bring together diverse voices and program actors across the food system
to develop a unified vision for whole system improvement to benefit all the community’s
citizens.
Many people in different sectors work to
address issues that intersect with food.
Usually not one group exists to tell the story of
the food system as a whole. That’s what food
councils can do.
Councils provide a shared way of thinking
about the whole food system by including
voices from many different sectors.
Food councils put the pieces together and tell
the story of the whole food system.
ii
Food Policy Councils in NC
6
The ABFPC was formed in 2011 out of a recognition by local advocates and policymakers that
food insecurity is an urgent problem in Asheville and Buncombe County that has profound
effects on the health and wellbeing of city and county residents.
At that time, a survey by Tyson Foods, Inc. listed North Carolina as the second most food
insecure state in the nation, and another survey named Asheville as the nation’s 6th most food
insecure metropolitan area.
ABFPC functions as an umbrella organization seeking to bring together non-profit organizations,
government entities, individual citizens, and food industry leaders to identify and prioritize food
policy and advocacy issues.
❖ The mission is to identify, propose and advocate for policies, financial appropriations,
and innovative solutions to improve and protect our local food system in order to
advance economic development, social justice, environmental sustainability, and
community resiliency.
❖ The vision is that all residents of Buncombe County have access to and the option to
cultivate and prepare nutritious food within a resilient and sovereign foodshed that
sustainably harvests and conserves farmland, forests, and water resources, sustains our
population, collaborates with neighboring counties, and ensures a thriving agriculture-
related economy.
7
ABFPC works with community business, non-profit and municipal stakeholders to
determine focus areas and prioritize food policy action items and agendas
Clusters operate autonomously to determine priority projects and to incorporate ideas
from the community to identify and prioritize areas of focus. The General Council works
with cluster input to determine work plans and to strategize overall policy and advocacy
efforts in collaboration with the City of Asheville and Buncombe County.
General
Council
Access
Cluster
Farmer
Support
Cluster
Resiliency
Working
Group
Policy
Mobilization
Working
Group
Metrics
Working
Group
Water
Cluster
Cluster engagement
City and
county
staff
Food
industry
leaders
Individual
citizens
▪ Present Use Value
▪ Farmland Preservation
▪ Determining work plan
▪ Double up Food Bucks
▪ Urban Agriculture Alliance
▪ CHIP participation
▪ Agriculture water
rate/subsidy
research
▪ Strategizing FPAP at city and
county levels
▪ City Council Candidates Forum
▪ Conducting Results
Based Accountability
Training
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ABFPC timeline
• Major Accomplishments:
o Food Master Plan
o 2013 Food Policy Action Plan
o Double Up Food Bucks
o Collaboration/relationship with City of Asheville Office of Sustainability
o Governing documents – formalizing operating structure of grassroots advocacy work
o 2016-2017 review and revision of City of Asheville’s food action plan
o Recommendation for 2017 Food Policy Goals and Action Plan including goals, objectives and suggested action items
9
Development of 2017 Food Policy Goals
and Action Plan
In 2016, The City of Asheville contracted with Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council to
review the 2013 Food Policy Plan and facilitate a community input process to recommend a
revised plan. Through a year-long process, the ABFPC and community stakeholders identified
key food system focus areas with goals and objectives and suggested action steps. Below is a
summary of activities conducted and key findings.
Overview of 2017 Food Policy Action Plan (FPAP) draft development process
❖ October & November 2016:
✓ Review of 2013 Food Action Plan
✓ Outreach to city staff, food policy clusters, and general council for feedback on 2013
Food Action Plan
✓ Review of COA staff reports on status of plan initiatives and progress on individual items
✓ Evaluate plan to determine which items were completed, in-process or no longer
relevant (see table 1)
❖ November 2016:
✓ Condense 14 points of 2013 Food Action Plan into draft focus areas
✓ Incorporate findings from 2013 Food Action Plan review and community conversations
to develop community survey
❖ December 2016-February 2017:
✓ Survey administration through community platforms and city communications platforms
❖ February 2017:
✓ Survey response analysis (see pages 12-13 for snapshot of highlights)
✓ Organizing survey comments
✓ Prioritization and revision of focus areas based on survey input
✓ Theme development for focus areas, initial drafting of goals, objectives, and action steps
❖ February – March 2017:
✓ Facilitated ABFPC Cluster review and input process
✓ Solicitation of input from Community Food Strategies on relevant regional and national
models for policy and action step initiatives that address identified focus areas and
objectives
❖ March-April 2017:
✓ Organization and incorporation of cluster additions, edits, theme areas
✓ Revision of goals, objectives, and actions steps to incorporate cluster and community
input to date
✓ Individual communication and conversation with identified community stakeholders for
further revision, review and comment
✓ Circulation of revised draft FPAP to Local Food Council of North Carolina and identified
community stakeholders (organizations, individuals, business owners) for plan input and
comments
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❖ May 2017:
✓ Incorporation of feedback from Local Food Council of North Carolina and community
stakeholders
✓ Streamlining of objectives and document formatting
❖ June-July 2017:
✓ Conducted 5 focus area-specific input and feedback sessions with invited, relevant city
staff
✓ Incorporated staff feedback into draft revisions
✓ ABFPC General Council final revisions
❖ August 2017:
✓ Presentation to Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment
(SACEE), incorporation of feedback and revisions
❖ September 2017
✓ Presentation of draft FPAP to City Manager
➢ Current work: Presentation to Planning and Economic Development Committee with
recommendations for city resolution in support of ABFPC’s Food Policy Goals and Action Plan.
Seeking city commitment to collaborate in the ongoing process to convene city, county, and
community stakeholders to develop work plans, evaluation protocols, and identify resources
required to prioritize and implement action items.
Implementation and Evaluation planning
Proposed Implementation overview:
• 11/14/17-
o ABFPC Meeting of the Whole- Annual meeting to introduce Food Policy Action Plan to
the general public and solicit input on community action step prioritization and cluster
work planning for 2018.
• Fall 2017
o ABFPC Coordinator and Office of Sustainability collaborate to determine work plan for
implementation of priority city objectives in FY 2017-2018, finalize 2018 contract
• Winter/Spring 2018
o Determine process for community asset mapping and gap analysis
o ABFPC convenes focus groups for city and county officials to collaborate on
identification and strategy for key initiatives
• Spring 2018
o ABFPC Coordinator and Office of Sustainability with input from relevant city
departments and ABFPC clusters determine priority objectives to propose to City
Manager for FY 2018-2019
o Conduct contract work to convene stakeholders and analyze community resources
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Evaluation Protocols Development:
• November 2017
o Results Based Accountability (RBA) training in partnership with Terri March of
Community Health Improvement Process (MAHEC) and Ameena Batada, Professor of
Health and Wellness, UNC Asheville. This training will recruit community members
interested in forming a cluster dedicated to developing an evaluation plan and process
for the Food Policy Action Plan utilizing RBA methodology.
• The resulting “metrics cluster” will include the ABFPC Coordinator, Terri March, Ameena Batada
and interested community members who have completed the RBA training. This cluster will
finalize an evaluation plan and the ABFPC Coordinator will work in partnership with the Office of
Sustainability and the cluster for ongoing evaluation and metrics tracking.
Outline of Food Policy Action Plan Structure
Structure of Food Policy Action Plan:
7 Focus areas:
1. Food Access & Distribution
2. Farms, Food Production, and Processing
3. Community Food Education
4. Resource Stewardship (water, compost, energy)
5. State Food Policy and Legislation
6. Emergency Preparedness
7. City Initiatives
Within each focus area are:
➢ Goals
➢ Objectives
➢ Action Steps
o Action steps include designation as a “city lead” or “city partnership” item and are
assigned an estimated timeframe of short (1-3 years), medium, (2-5 years),
long/undetermined (5+ years and/or requiring additional research to determine
timeframe), or ongoing. “City partnership” items are suggested actions that will be led
by county, community leadership, and/or ABFPC. It is important for these items to be
considered in tandem with “city lead” action items as initiatives are often overlapping
and measurements of success in overall food systems development will be based on
bigger picture results of multiple activities.
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TABLE 1
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Community Survey Highlights:
❖ 145 survey respondents completed the survey
❖ 24 unique organizations and affiliations reported
❖ Provided 151 additional comments and suggestions on focus areas, program ideas, policy recommendations
❖ Ranked priorities between focus areas
❖ Identified and ranked barriers and solutions to overcome barriers from a list of possibilities
❖ Comments, questions, and suggestions informed the revision of focus areas to be more inclusive and descriptive
❖ ABFPC utilized ranking of focus areas, barriers and opportunities along with comments to draft goals, objectives and action
items in first round draft provided to food systems stakeholders for expansion, re-prioritization and clarification.
Food Access and Distribution was identified as top priority focus area
14
15
Recommendations:
➢ City Council -pass a resolution in support of the Food Policy Goals and Action Plan
included in this report
➢ City of Asheville commits to participation in the process of collaboration with ABFPC,
Buncombe County, and community stakeholders to analyze and articulate existing
assets, understand gaps in infrastructure, policy, and programming and collaborate on
cross-sector solutions to enhance our community food system.
Next steps:
➢ ABFPC will act as a convener to bring the city, county and community actors together to
establish initiative leadership and collaboration, develop clear metrics and evaluation
protocols, and prioritize initiatives to mobilize the Food Policy Action Plan
➢ Finalize and advance work planning to pursue 2018 initiatives – suggestions for possible
short-term mobilization:
o Develop and install educational signage that informs residents about sustainable
and organic food production, pollinator, compost and other food production
activities and best practices; utilize signs in city owned garden properties, school
gardens, and community garden sites
o Conduct city facility program inventory to better understand existing food
related initiatives resulting in staff from Parks and Recreation, and Sustainability
creation of coordinated food education campaign
o Utilize bus rider survey results and relevant current research to inform inclusion
of food access issues in the Transit Masterplan
➢ Work with Comprehensive planning process to determine appropriate inclusion of Food
Policy Action Plan focus areas, goals, objectives and/or action items.
➢ Develop 2018 work plan and scope of work to finalize contract with ABFPC (via Bountiful
Cities as a fiscal agent) for FY 2018-2019
Attachments:
(1) Food Policy Goals and Action Plan
i
M. Hatfield “City Food Policy and Programs: Lessons Harvested from an Emerging Field” City of Portland, Oregon
Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, pp 8
ii
Image and language courtesy of Community Food Strategies: https://communityfoodstrategies.com/
Food Policy Goals and Action Plan 2017
Action Steps COA Role* Time-frame**
City of Asheville recognizes working definition of Food Desert as developed by ABFPC
L S
City of Asheville creates incentives to encourage access initiatives such as pop-up and mobile markets to bring fresh food
to food deserts
L M
Support Double Up Food Bucks* program initiatives to increase program participation and funding
P O
Research local tax incentives that increase availability of fresh food in corner stores
P L/U
Increase staff training, investment, and communications to support success and sustainability of edibles on city owned
and managed land
L S
Increase infrastructural support for community gardens and edible plantings on public lands
L O
Work with ABFPC and community gardeners to overcome barriers that inhibit garden success
P S
Increase total dollars available to community groups through City of Asheville's Strategic Partnership Funds
L S
Prioritize project proposals that address 2017 Food Policy Action Plan objectives
L S
Encourage food security/access projects to apply for Strategic Partnership Funding
P O
Utilize bus rider survey results and relevant current research to inform inclusion of food access issues in the Transit
Masterplan
L S
Explore options to increase free/reduced bus service options to food sites
L L/U
Utilize city communications platform(s) to promote Living Wage Certified businesses in the City of Asheville
L S
Expand living wage certification initiatives
P M
* COA Role = City of Asheville's Role in completing action steps - (L= Lead, P=Partner)
City of Asheville supports and develops food
access initiatives that serve Asheville "food
deserts*"
Objective A
City of Asheville's parks, public lands and
greenways are a regional model for public
edibles
Focus Area 1:
Food Access and Distribution
Goal: Increase access to nutritionally adequate food for all City residents with priority given to serving people experiencing food insecurity.
**Timeframe (S=Short- 1-3 yrs, M=Medium- 2-5 yrs, L/U=Long/undetermined- 5+ yrs or requires research to determine timeline, O=ongoing)
Improve public transportation options to
grocers, tailgate markets, food pantries, and
other food access points
Objective D
Objective B
City of Asheville and area employers address
financial barriers that inhibit food access
Objective E
Objective C
Increase the amount of Strategic Partnership
Funds supporting food security initiatives
Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council abfoodpolicy.org
Food Policy Goals and Action Plan 2017
Action Steps COA Role* Time-frame**
Parks and Recreation protects and expands annual and perennial edible plantings through partnership, maintenance, and
communication
L S
Food and farm business entrepreneurs collaborate with city sustainability and real estate staff to create land-use process
for city land parcels
L O
Pursue designation of Urban Agricultural Incentive Zone* to encourage urban agriculture production
P L/U
Increase participation in educational events that build organic and sustainable food production skills
P O
City of Asheville introduces innovative revenue streams for residents and visitors to contribute funds to farmland
preservation in surrounding food producing areas
L L/U
City of Asheville Sustainability Office works with Buncombe County Sustainability Office to identify and collaborate on
shared food initiatives in City's Food Policy Action Plan and County's Sustainability Plan
L L/U
Encourage Asheville businesses and organizations to commit to NC 10% campaign*
L S
Develop partnership to research and pursue public/private food enterprise center*
P L/U
Work in partnership with Buncombe County and regional organizations to produce a regional analysis of barriers and
opportunities to maximize farmland protection and local food initiatives
P M
Engage with community food assessment and comprehensive mapping project to create a visual reference for food
distribution, growing, and education sites
P M
* COA Role = City of Asheville's Role in completing action steps - (L= Lead, P=Partner)
Increase organic and sustainable food
production on City and County land
Objective A
Focus Area 2:
Farms, Food Production, and Processing
Goal: Through rural land preservation, business support initiatives, and producer education, more local food is available to residents, and regional
food producers are economically viable.
**Timeframe (S=Short- 1-3 yrs, M=Medium- 2-5 yrs, L/U=Long/undetermined- 5+ yrs or requires research to determine timeline, O=ongoing)
Develop initiative(s) to support farmland
preservation in Asheville's foodshed*
Objective B
Recommend food and farmland policy
decisions based on a deeper understanding
of regional farming and food systems
Objective D
Objective C
Support financial viability of farms, market
gardens, and food businesses serving local
food markets
Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council abfoodpolicy.org
Food Policy Goals and Action Plan 2017
Action Steps COA Role* Time-frame**
Develop and install educational signage that informs residents about sustainable and organic food production, pollinator,
compost and other food production activities and best practices; utilize signs in city owned garden properties, school
gardens, and community garden sites
L S
Work through Neighborhood Coordinator with neighborhood associations to engage individual neighborhoods and
increase collaboration on food projects between neighborhoods
L S/M
Utilize City's communications and outreach platforms to highlight food education activities and increase participation
L S/M
Work with Community Health Improvement Process (CHIP)* to conduct community food education inventory of existing
food programs utilizing city parks, recreation centers, and schools
L/P M
Develop incentives that expand educational opportunities to increase sustainable and organic food production and use in
Asheville's food deserts
P S
Staff from Parks and Recreation, and Sustainability create coordinated food education campaign
L S
Parks and Recreation partners with organizations to develop food education for youth and adults on city land
L M
Utilize city's communications platforms to highlight school food education activities
L S
Asheville and Buncombe County School Districts bring together food producers and stakeholder organizations to advance
the farm to school and school-based food education initiatives
P L/U
Explore opportunities to support local food production for school consumption
P M
Incentivize developers' use of City of Asheville's recommended plants list
L S
Utilize public platforms at Department of Development Services and other city offices to highlight recommended plants
list and to promote edible, pollinator-friendly, and native plantings
L S
Expand Open Tree Map* to link with recommended plants list and to provide information on edible plantings throughout
the city
P M
Identify and develop City of Asheville's leadership role in regional resilience planning
P M
Develop community learning opportunities to understand and engage with agroecosystem resilience
P S
* COA Role = City of Asheville's Role in completing action steps - (L= Lead, P=Partner)
Objective
E
**Timeframe (S=Short- 1-3 yrs, M=Medium- 2-5 yrs, L/U=Long/undetermined- 5+ yrs or requires research to determine timeline, O=ongoing)
Utilize recommended plants lists and public
resources to increase edible plantings
Coordinate and advance farm to school and
school-based food education initiatives in
Asheville and Buncombe County
City is a collaborative partner on food
education programs focused on sustainable
and organic food production
Objective D
Objective C
Objective B
Objective A
Integrate comprehensive food education
initiatives in Parks and Recreation
department
Focus Area 3:
Community Food Education
Goal: The City of Asheville prioritizes and supports resident education that increases food literacy and food productions skills.
Increase agroecosystem resilience* literacy
Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council abfoodpolicy.org
Food Policy Goals and Action Plan 2017
Action Steps COA Role * Time-frame**
Research and communicate comparable municipal compost initiatives to determine best practices for City of Asheville
pilot program
L M
Work with neighborhood leaders to develop community pilot composting initiatives to test options for full-scale city
program development
L L/U
Launch City of Asheville municipal compost program
L L/U
Participate in a leadership role in Regional Food Waste Summit* and follow up action steps
P S
Reduce water expenses for urban agriculture producers through urban agricultural water rate, subsidization, or grant cost-
offset program
L M
City of Asheville provides assistance with water infrastructure development for food production on city-owned land
L M
Research and implement cost-sharing program initiatives for cisterns and other rainwater harvesting at residential and
urban agricultural production sites
L M/L
Develop technical assistance and incentives that assist urban agriculture producers in connecting with energy saving
technology and practices
L M
Conduct assessment to better understand current urban agricultural energy use factors
P M
Action Steps COA Role * Time-frame**
SACEE stays informed about statewide food policy efforts through regular updates from ABFPC, the Farm Agency
Resource Management Support Group, and regional agriculture policy stakeholders
L O
ABFPC initiates a local task force and policy mobilization/action alert list-serv to lobby State legislature on food policy
initiatives
P S
Advocate for Healthy Corner Store Initiative, NC HB 387, full $1million appropriation
P S
Advocate for State of NC to maintain or increase current funding levels for SNAP/EBT and free & reduced lunch subsidies
P O
* COA Role = City of Asheville's Role in completing action steps - (L= Lead, P=Partner)
Focus Area 4:
Resource Stewardship
(water, compost, energy)
Goal: The City of Asheville takes a proactive approach to resource access and management by making resources necessary for urban agriculture
available and affordable, offering incentives to encourage innovative conservation practices, and prioritizing city-wide waste reduction.
Objective C
Objective B
Objective A
Focus Area 5:
State Food Policy and Legislation
Create an actionable plan for city food waste
recovery, composting, and redistribution
Asheville and Buncombe County residents
stay informed about and can effectively
mobilize to influence state and federal food
policies that impact our region
City of Asheville provides technical
assistance to support urban agriculture
practitioners in reducing energy use
Reliable, affordable water sources are
available for food production within
Asheville water district
Goal: The Asheville community has an organized voice and provides regional leadership in advocacy for programs and projects that support local and
regional food production, farmland preservation, and resource conservation.
Objective A
**Timeframe (S=Short- 1-3 yrs, M=Medium- 2-5 yrs, L/U=Long/undetermined- 5+ yrs or requires research to determine timeline, O=ongoing)
Objective B
City Council's legislative agenda includes
support for state initiatives that increase
food access in Asheville's Food Deserts
Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council abfoodpolicy.org
Food Policy Goals and Action Plan 2017
Action Steps COA Role * Time-frame**
Add emergency food preparedness as a section in future "Plan on a Page" neighborhood planning processes L M
Develop forum for cross-sector discussion about food emergency management P M
City of Asheville's "Climate Resilience Assessment" plan includes cross-sector food emergency planning encompassing
neighborhood through regional scenarios
P L
* COA Role = City of Asheville's Role in completing action steps - (L= Lead, P=Partner)
Action Steps COA Role * Time-frame**
Create a resource guide to assist city departments in sourcing local food and planning for waste reduction and
composting at meetings and events
L S
City of Asheville signs on as NC 10% campaign* partner L S
Establish baseline levels for local food and beverage sourcing at US Cellular Center L S
Increase local food and beverage sourcing and sales at US Cellular Center L M
Develop city hall compost initiative L M
Research and implement compost initiatives at other city facilities L L/U
City of Asheville provides administrative/HR assistance and employee education about Community Supported Agriculture
(CSA)* to support CSA delivery and enrollment at City Hall and other city employment sites
L S
Health points are made available for CSA share or other qualified local food purchase L S
* COA Role = City of Asheville's Role in completing action steps - (L= Lead, P=Partner)
**Timeframe (S=Short- 1-3 yrs, M=Medium- 2-5 yrs, L/U=Long/undetermined- 5+ yrs or requires research to determine timeline, O=ongoing)
**Timeframe (S=Short- 1-3 yrs, M=Medium- 2-5 yrs, L/U=Long/undetermined- 5+ yrs or requires research to determine timeline, O=ongoing)
Goal: The City of Asheville is a national food policy leader that develops and implements innovative internal policies, programs, and initiatives that
embody our commitment to food justice, local food purchasing, and local economies.
Objective B
Objective A
Objective A
Focus Area 7:
City Initiatives
City employees increase their consumption
of local food
Improve waste and local/regional sourcing
for City of Asheville venues, events, and
meetings
City of Asheville, Buncombe and surrounding
counties, and community partners develop
regional emergency food storage and access
plan
Goal: Residents have access to a sufficient regional food supply in the event of a disruption to the existing food system.
Focus Area 6:
Emergency Preparedness
Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council abfoodpolicy.org
Food Policy Goals and Action Plan 2017 Glossary of terms
Term
Definition
Agroecosystem
Agroecosystems are human-dominated ecosystems managed to produce food and other
agricultural products. Like all ecosystems, agroecosystems can be described in terms of key
structural and functional properties that largely determine their health and productivity. The
structural properties—such as species diversity, vegetative architecture, and the food supply
web—describe the physical relationships between the organisms that inhabit the ecosystem.
Functional properties describe the dynamic processes that capture, move, and store energy
and materials in the ecosystem; regulate populations of organisms that inhabit it; and shape
the development of the system over time. Because the boundary of the agroecosystem is
defined by the user, energy flow and material cycling can be explored at a diversity of nested
scales—a field, a whole farm or ranch, or even an entire food system. In each case, the
physical components of the agroecosystem can be defined and measured; the interactions
between components investigated; and emergent properties like health, profitability,
sustainability, and resilience explored (adapted from Gliessman 2007)
Agroecosystem resilience
The ability of our agricultural ecosystem (agroecosystem*) to absorb disturbances while
retaining the same basic structure and ways of functioning, the capacity for self-organization,
and the capacity to adapt to stress and change.
Community Health
Improvement Process
(CHIP)
The Community Health Improvement Process (CHIP) brings together many diverse partners to
improve the health of our community. They align their efforts and support each other for
greater collective impact on the priorities identified through our Community Health
Assessment.
CHIP collaborators work together to identify priority issues, develop and implement strategies
for action, and establish accountability to ensure measurable health improvement, which is
outlined in the form of a Community Health Improvement Plan. CHIP looks outside of the
performance of an individual organization serving a specific segment of a community to the
way in which the activities of many organizations contribute to community health
improvement.
Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA)
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) consists of a community of individuals who pledge
support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the
community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the
risks and benefits of food production
Double Up Food Bucks
(DUFB)
The DUFB program allows customers purchasing local produce with SNAP/EBT to double their
dollars, up to $20 per day. These DUFB credits can then be used on any produce in the store at
any time up to a year from the initial purchase. The program was developed by Michigan's Fair
Food Network and is being piloted locally at the French Broad Food Coop and West Village
Market through an initaitive developed by the ABFPC's access cluster and Bountiful Cities.
Food Desert
The US Department of Agriculture definies food deserts in relation to census track location
and distance from a supermarket or grocery store. To qualify as a “low-access community,” at
least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract's population must reside more
than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance
is more than 10 miles).
Food Enterprise Center
This umbrella term encompasses the many possibilities that could address farmer and market
gardener's needs for value added processing, shared resources, and access to facilities that
can increase revenue streams.
Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council abfoodpolicy.org
Food Policy Goals and Action Plan 2017 Glossary of terms
Term
Definition
Foodshed
A foodshed is analogous to a watershed in that foodsheds outline the flow of food feeding a
particular population, whereas watersheds outline the flow of water draining to a particular
location. Through drawing from the conceptual ideas of the watershed, foodsheds are
perceived as hybrid social and natural constructs. For the purposes of the Food Policy Action
Plan we define our foodshed as the surrounding farm and food production land that does or
could provide fresh food for Asheville residents.
NC 10% Campaign
The NC 10%, an initiative of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) Campaign
encourages individuals, businesses, organizations, and institutions to understand the benefit
of strong and resilient local foods systems, know how to find local foods throughout the state,
and spend at least 10% of their existing food budget on NC-grown/raised/caught foods.” A
number of NC Counties (Cabarrus, Chatham, Guilford, Onslow, Orange, Rockingham, Tyrrell)
and some cities/towns (Goldsboro, Columbia, Knightdale) have signed on as initiative partners.
http://www.nc10percent.com/
Open Tree Map
The City of Asheville crowdsourced tree data in order to reduce the costs associated with an
inventory and engage citizens in urban forestry efforts. By creating a map the public could
update, the city, in partnership with Asheville GreenWorks, has engaged hundreds of
volunteers and collected data on thousands of trees.
Today, the map is primarily managed by Asheville GreenWorks but continues to be maintained
by the city’s Information Technology (IT) department. The nonprofit uses the map to fill out
the city’s inventory, and track plantings and maintenance. Asheville’s Department of Parks and
Recreation also adds data to the map on their new plantings. By collecting tree data in one
centralized location, the city is better prepared to create an urban forest management plan.
Regional Food Waste
Summit
The Regional Food Waste Summit will bring together industry leaders to initiate cross-sector
conversations and spark collaboration.
The long term goal is to establish a collaborative network in and around Buncombe County to
address food waste recovery issues including:
-Support for edible food waste collection and redistribution
-Increased landfill diversion tactics
-Innovative enterprise development
-Development of community and municipal level compost initiatives
Urban Agriculture Incentive
Zone (UAIZ)
A successful model for this initiative is currently underway at the city and county level in
California, "The Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act (AB551)." In 2014, California
implemented Assembly Bill 551, which allows landowners in metropolitan areas to receive tax
incentives for putting land in agriculture use. The initiative requires city and/or county
designation of an urban agriculture incentive zone and the development of parameters and
process to determine tax assessment values for agricultural property within the UAIZ. The
California legislation includes the following eligibility requirements:
-At least 0.1 acre in size and no larger than 3 acres (between 4,356 and 130,680 square feet)
-Completely dedicated toward commercial or noncommercial agricultural use
-Free of any dwellings and only have physical structures that support the agricultural use of
the site
-Have an initial term of at least five years
The program is similiar to Present Use Value (PUV) which is currently in use at the county level
in North Carolina.
Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council abfoodpolicy.org
