Hi, all --
I recently received a query about the Illinois Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council's operations. (See attached.) Since I haven't seen any public announcement about the Council for some time, I wonder if it is still in operation -- still meeting, etc. Specifically,
1. EXIST? Can anyone let me know the exact status of the Council? When was the last Council meeting? When was the last Executive Committee meeting?
2. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS? If the Council is still meeting, where are meeting announcements, minutes, etc., being posted?
The official State of Illinois boards and commissions site lists the website as
www.foodfarmsjobs.org, but that site does not appear to have recent information.
3. CONVENE AND TRAIN LOCAL FOOD COUNCILS? If the Council is still in existence, per Raychel's query does the Council actively "convene or train" other local food policy groups in the state? Being a founder of the Council, I can state that this was one of the Council's intended functions, but I think that Raychel is looking for data on current activities.
Thanks for anyone's help.
-- Debbie
Debbie Hillman
Evanston, Illinois
D. Hillman Strategies: Food Policy for Voters
...one day the woman who thinks will speak to us again, and everywhere there will be peace.
-- Paula Gunn Allen, Where I come From is Like This
Subject: Does the Illinois Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council Organize/Train More Local FPCS?
Hi Debbie,
I work with the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future's Food Policy Networks project. Thank you for answering my coworker's request for information last December (I put your response at the bottom of this message to refresh your memory).
As we have been refining the goal of this specific project, I was wondering if you could tell me if the Illinois Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council - besides serving as a council of stakeholders to change state food policy - also serves as a convener or trainer of more local food policy groups in the state.
We are trying to track which groups are performing such convening functions (see below for some examples). If you do play such a role with some of your local councils, would you be able to write a brief description like below so we can add it to our list?
We are not focusing solely on "state FPCs" but groups that network between more local FPCs across their state or region.
Thank you,
Raychel
Raychel Santo
Program Coordinator, Food Communities and Public Health
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
Bloomberg School of Public Health