Improving regional food security
A project of Lane Community Health Council, Upper Willamette SWCD, FOOD for Lane County & Ensoterra, LLC
Building an equitable, resilient, and sustainable food system and investing in the health of our community through collaboration.
ANNOUNCEMENT
FOOD For Lane County is pleased to offer grants to Partner Agencies.
Lane County Food System Survey
A Food System includes all the processes and infrastructure involved in feeding us. Please take this survey to help us gather baseline information. The survey takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Project Overview
The Grow Lane County Project is the result of an investment by the Lane Community Health Council (LCHC) to address the social determinants of health that affect residents who have limited incomes and experience food insecurity.
To meet the priorities identified in the project, LCHC will collaborate with FOOD For Lane County, the Upper Willamette Soil & Water Conservation District and Ensoterra, a food systems consultant, to deliver a comprehensive five-year project.
The overall goal is to improve the health quality for residents with a specific emphasis on addressing the ethnic, cultural and racial disparities for residents who grow and/or access the food.
Carrie Copeland (FFLC) and Grant Simonton (UWSWCD)
Building a Food System
Food security means having access to safe and nutritious food that meets a person’s needs and preferences. A reliable food system can provide for a healthy diet and can be a powerful tool for increasing and improving food security. The development of a Food Security Council is a method by which individuals from diverse backgrounds can share their insight and improve regional food security, together.
As the first step in this five-year project, we will be hosting a community meetings with identified stakeholders involved in education, government, food distribution, hunger relief, health, food businesses and lived experience in Fall 2024 and ask them to identify other community members.
Information gathered will inform our Food & Farm RARE Coordinator on next steps in conducting a county-wide food needs assessment. Findings from this will be presented in 2025.
Long Term Goals
Our five-year goals for both the Council and the Project in general are to:
Support Council-identified projects that address health disparities, patient-centered education about food security, public health campaigns with health departments focused on food access, educational programs and health promotion activities.
Host four annual one-day food security conferences
Improve decision making and diversity of engagement.
Decrease duplications of services.
“Food security is when all people have access to safe and nutritious food that meets their needs and preferences.”
— World Bank