Putting Resilience to Work: Food Policy in Action Workshop

November 8, 2018 we hosted a workshop exploring resilience thinking, effective collaboration, and food policy in action.

Forty-two people from 21 organizations attended applying a new lens for understanding shared work and learn some skills to expand and strengthen our work to create an equitable and resilient regional food system.

Background: In November 2017 Asheville’s City Council adopted a Food Policy Action Plan (FPAP). This plan provides Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council with a road map for advocacy with the city.

As we all know, food systems are complex networks and food ecosystems transcend municipal boundaries. In this workshop we’ll reframe and explore the Food Policy Action Plan (FPAP) as we apply a new lens for understanding shared work and learn skills to expand and strengthen collaboration across our food system.

Overview of the day:

Laura Lengnick, Principle Consultant at Cultivating Resilience showed us how resilience thinking can spark new insights and identify potential collaborations that enhance the success of organizations working for community-based social change. In the afternoon, Dr. Ameena Batada, Associate Professor of Health and Wellness at UNC Asheville shared tools and strategies to deepen and inspire deep collaboration across food system agencies and sectors. To wrap up the day, ABFPC members lead a discussion exploring next steps including policy and advocacy to realize a more resilient and sustainable regional food system.

Representatives from the organizations below were among who was at the table.