Work Group Sign-Ups

[Stl Food Policy Council]

Dear Member of the St. Louis Food System,

 

On behalf of the St. Louis Food Policy Council I would like to welcome everyone back!  My name is Andrea Elmore and I will be serving as the Council's staff person for the next several months.  Since the Food Summit last March a number of individuals have been working hard to get the Council up and running.  Although this meant decreased public engagement for a period of time, we felt that it was worthwhile to become well prepared before reaching out for your participation. 
 
Here is what the Council has been up to since March: In May a meeting was held in order to identify the key players in the St. Louis food system and 30 individuals were nominated to serve on the St. Louis Food Policy Governing Council.  On September 15 the first meeting of the Governing Council was held, followed by meetings in October and January.  Since that time the Governing Council has developed a mission statement, created roles and responsibilities for Council members and elected a 5-person Executive Committee from members of the Governing Council.
 
Most recently the Governing Council has begun assembling work groups to perform the start-up tasks of the Council and head the initiatives that will positively impact our local food system.  These are open to the public and we are currently looking for interested individuals to serve on the following four groups:
 
1. Government Affairs: Will work to identify city, county and state food policies that affect our work; communicate how existing policies act as a barrier to food access or can be proposed or amended to improve food issues; and identify how we will work within existing policies to accomplish goals.
 
2. Communications and PR: Will communicate existence of the Food Policy Council and its role (branding); identify issues and communicate these to the public; and communicate successes of the Food Policy Council.
 
3. Research and Funding: Will research what other Food Policy Councils have accomplished and identify possible donors, grantors and government funding.
 
4. Food Production and Distribution: Will explore how food production and distribution work in this community and what other kinds of relationships need to happen to improve the process.
 
We ask that all work group members attend their group's meetings regularly, commit to one year of work and participate in projects, initiatives and research as needed.  Please click on this link by Friday, February 11th to sign-up for a work group(s): http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K2XHYH2.  After sign-ups are completed you will be contacted by a member of the Governing Council acting as your group's convener. 
 
For additional information on the St. Louis Food Policy Council, as well as a list of Governing Council members, please visit our updated web page, located on the Healthy Youth Partnership website: http://healthyyouthpartnership.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=308&Itemid=163

Please forward this email on to others interested in food policy advocacy.  Welcome again to the St. Louis Food Policy Council, we look forward to working with you to promote a just, equitable and sustainable food system in St. Louis!

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Andrea Elmore
Policy Coordinator Americorps VISTA
Healthy Youth Partnership
and...@healthyyouthpartnership.org
(W): 314.345.2454