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Come support the addition of a Health Element to the Oakland General Plan on July 7! Click here to learn more.
Membership Applications
2010 APPLICATION FOR OFPC MEMBERSHIP IS NOW AVAILABLE.
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JOIN THE OFPC AS A YOUTH MEMBER!
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Learn more about becoming a member of the OFPC. Click here.
Learn more about the OFPC all-council and workgroup meeting schedule. Click here.
Background
The OFPC promotes an equitable and sustainable food system in Oakland, California. Learn more about food policy councils and why Oakland needs one.
What is a food policy council? A food policy council is an organization that studies the food system in its local area, then makes recommendations...read more.
What is a food system? The term "food system" is used to describe all the activities involved in producing, processing, transporting, storing, selling, and eating food...read more.
Why does Oakland need a food policy council? Oakland needs a food policy council to bring together the many stakeholders in Oakland's food system, then help build...read more.
What do we know about Oakland's food system? The Oakland food system does not currently serve all of Oakland's neighborhoods equally well...read more.
What's New?
From the OFPC
Check our our newly-minted Policy Priorities for 2010!
In the News
- The USDA launched a fantastic new tool: the U.S. Food Environment Atlas, which provides maps and statistics on food environment indicators. Read more...
- First Lady Michelle Obama just launched her "Let's Move" campaign, aimed at ending childhood obesity. Read more...
On the Blog
- Food Policy Councils: Leasons Learned referred to in Eric Holt-Giménez's Huffington Post article
- Meet the Mandela Foods Cooperative
- A Produce Market Comes to Temescal
- Food Deserts & Growing Hunger in the US: The USDA's response
Model Food Systems Policy Tools for Local Communities
The National Policy & Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN) announces new model food systems policy tools for local communities. NPLAN provides leaders in the childhood obesity prevention field with focused legal research, model policies, fact sheets, toolkits, training and technical assistance to explain legal issues related to public health. http://nplanonline.org/
The model policies offer an overview of applicable state and local laws and give tips and alternatives for communities to implement and tailor them to local needs. All the model policies are available online for free. More information on our resources page.
Food Policy Councils: Lessons Learned
Just weeks after the USDA announced that one in seven 
Americans would go hungry at some point in 2009, a new report from Food First and the Community Food Security Coalition highlights a useful tool that city, state and local governments can use to fight hunger, diet-related diseases and other symptoms of a failing food system. Food Policy Councils: Lessons Learned is based on an in-depth survey of 48 Food Policy Councils established in North America over the past 30 years, and comes up with some surprising, hopeful stories.
- Download the full report (lo-res, 2.9 MB)
- Download the full report (hi-res, 6.5 MB)
- Download the executive summary
Cultivating the Commons
A new report released on October 30 identifies 1,200 acres of vacant 
and underutilized public land in Oakland, California, that could potentially be used for food production. If only half of this land were cultivated using intensive ecological farming methods, the authors conclude that these “commons” could contribute at least five percent of the city’s recommended vegetable needs to the local food system, a significant step towards Oakland’s goal sourcing a third of its food locally. The report, entitled “Cultivating the Commons: An Assessment of the Potential for Urban Agriculture on Oakland’s Public Land”, also emphasizes urban agriculture’s potential contributions to Oakland’s sustainability goals. In addition to producing fresh and nutritious food, urban farming creates green jobs, and provides and other environmental services, green space, and educational opportunities. Visit urbanfood.org for more information on the project.
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food!
The USDA initiative, "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" is aimed at connecting consumers with local farmers and creating greater economic opportunities for small farms. This initiative, along with the opening of the White House Farmers Market, marks a shift toward greater federal support of local food systems. Learn more about the initiative, watch First Lady Michelle Obama's speech on the significance of fresh food and find a farmer's market in your area.
Building the Oakland Food Policy Council
The Oakland Food Policy Council was introduced to the community on March 23, 2009 at our first official event. Follow the links below to learn more about our first event, and our most recent food-system wide recruitment meeting.
Our Funders
The work of the OFPC is made possible by funding and in-kind donations from:
- The City of Oakland
- Food First
- The San Francisco Foundation
- Friedman Family Foundation
- The HOPE Collaborative
- The Alameda County Public Health Department
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