MISSION
The Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC) is a collective impact initiative, working to make Southern California a Good Food region for everyone—where food is healthy, affordable, fair and sustainable.
Through policy creation and cooperative relationships, our goals are to reduce hunger, improve public health, increase equity in our communities, create good jobs, stimulate local economic activity, and foster environmental stewardship. In particular, the LAFPC aims to connect environmental sustainability and local agriculture with efforts to expand access to healthy food in historically disenfranchised communities.
The Los Angeles Food Policy Council, a project of Community Partners, was created in January 2011 by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to advance the mission of building a Good Food system for all of Los Angeles. We bring together leaders and experts from across sectors, geographies, and socio-economic communities to strengthen connections throughout the food system, and to facilitate and coordinate systemic change.
LAFPC leverages its unique structure and placement as an independent multi-stakeholder initiative to advance innovative food policies. The 40-member Food Policy Council and its staff serve as the “backbone” organization for the initiative. Additionally, 1,000 individual stakeholders and over 300 organizations from the public, private, nonprofit and academic sectors extend the reach of LAFPC in the greater Los Angeles community.
Catalyze, Coordinate, Connect
LAFPC operates as a network to build connections, catalyze opportunities, and coordinate activities toward building a sustainable and equitable regional food system for all Angelenos.
Our Role:
- Identify and develop best practices through research and policy analysis;
- Provide a forum for discussing food-related problems and opportunities;
- Engage key stakeholders through working groups and other civic engagement strategies;
- Serve as an information resource;
- Provide recommendations to policy makers and key food system stakeholders;
- Provide support for the ongoing work of its members and partners;
- Facilitate collaboration in the development of more coherent, systemic change;
- Incubate projects and programs, which are strategically identified through our stakeholder process as needed;
- Build individual and collective food systems’ leadership capacity.
OUR STRUCTURE
Leadership Board
The Los Angeles Food Policy Council is guided by a 40-member Leadership Board. Comprised of a diversity of seasoned experts representing every sector of the food system, the Leadership Board determines the priorities of the LAFPC, provides leadership in our network and works collaboratively to create systemic change.
Working Groups
The Los Angeles Food Policy Council facilitates six to eight Working Groups which act as participatory policy collaboratives. The Working Groups meet at least every other month to discuss current issues and develop new projects, events and policy recommendations. Each Working Group elects a chair to facilitate the process, and Leadership Board members also participate in the Working Groups.
To learn more about the LAFPC Working Groups, please click here.
Network
The LA Food Policy Council hosts “Network” meetings on a quarterly basis to convene change makers for networking, leadership development and movement building. Combining dynamic presentations, collaborative activities and networking, the Network connects the larger community of advocates, entrepreneurs, community members, and policy makers to help coordinate the activities and policy initiatives of LA’s Good Food movement.