Capacity Building
Growing Local Food Councils So We Can All Live and Eat Healthy
The Capacity Committee’s goal is to increase resources available to local food councils in support of their community-driven work and to increase staffing and financial resources of the North Carolina Local Food Council (NCLFC).
The Capacity Committee is focused on both increasing the available resources to local councils across the state, and increasing the capacity of the NCLFC so it can be successful in its work.
Resource List
For local councils, we have developed a comprehensive resource list that includes information about statewide agencies and organizations, businesses, funders, and other entities that have either informational resources or relevant programs, or financial resources available to help local councils in their work.
Many resources are available to help local food councils achieve their goals both locally and statewide. A work in progress, the committee continues to add to the listing as new information and opportunities become available. The resources and organizations listed were the basis of a resource fair at the 2018 statewide gathering of local food councils hosted by Community Food Strategies. The Capacity Committee will continue to identify the needs of the local councils and help fill those gaps when appropriate.
Farmer + Fisher Engagement
This committee is also working on establishing a model for how to “virtually” engage farmer and fisher advisors (or other advisors) to inform council work. Many local councils have expressed this desire but have found it difficult to engage producers in a meaningful way because of seasonal time constraints, etc.
The NCLFC is establishing a statewide farmer advisory committee as a model for engagement and will share this as a resource tool as we evaluate the successes (and potential drawbacks) of this virtual advisory committee. We are looking forward to having farmer voices at the table.
Staff Support
We acquired two years of funding to date from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation which has facilitated the hiring of half-time staff in support of the council’s work. This has allowed us to make progress towards our strategic objectives by moving forward with our communications plan and policy committee work.
Membership
In addition to helping to fund the NCLFC, the capacity committee addresses NCLFC membership and associated internal membership policy (for example, new member organizations, terms, requirements, orientation, representation from the local councils on the NCLFC, etc).
If your organization is interested in becoming a member, please contact nclocalfoodcouncil@gmail.com.