Food Systems Facilitation, Planning & Assessments
Communities are turning to locally grown produce to address food deserts, food access, social justice, and poverty. Rural areas lean on local food systems to support grocery stores and stimulate economic development. Our team can assist with planning processes to help food system stakeholders work together on shared challenges, needs, and future goals for our local and regional food systems.
A food plan provides an opportunity to co-create a vision and actionable goals for the local and regional food system alongside community members, farmers and farmworkers, food retail and service workers, students, small business owners, and other partners.
An assessment of the current food system in a community is helpful in identifying key assets, challenges and opportunities that will set the stage for the priorities in the food strategy, eventual decision-making around policy goals and identifying baseline data and indicators that will be monitored as progress is made.
Explore existing reports and resources available to support local and regional food systems collective action.
Learn More & Collaborate
Many communities, counties, and regions in Kansas have already started conversations around supporting and developing their local and regional food systems. Some communities have formed councils or groups to discuss local food and farm opportunities. Other communities have completed food system assessments or plans.
In the fall and winter of 2023-2024, the K-State Extension Community Food Systems team held a series of local food community roundtables across the state and heard from over 400 Kansans. These roundtables were opportunities to connect and discuss challenges, needs, and vision for the future of the Kansas local food system.
The project was funded by a USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Regional Food System Partnership grant awarded to K-State Research and Extension. The team recruited both Extension and non-Extension partners to co-host the roundtables in 14 locations. Partners were provided with guidelines to invite critical food system players and materials to promote the roundtables in their communities. Four virtual roundtables were held to reach participants unable to attend in-person.
The report on the roundtable findings is linked below.
ACRE is a professionally-facilitated strategic planning process to help groups of farmers and other community members work together and compete more effectively.
By identifying shared concerns, shared histories, shared values, shared opportunities, and developing a strategic work plan, ACRE helps local and regional groups of farmers and their stakeholder allies - including fisheries, mariculture, agroforestry and timber production, food handlers, food processors and packagers, distributors, and retailers, as well as nonprofit and municipal allies - begin to transform into more resilient "AgriClusters."
We have four Local Food System program staff with K-State Extension that serve as connectors and facilitators throughout the state. We look forward to meeting you and helping your community grow your local food system! Contact us at kansaslocalfoods@ksu.edu to discuss the possibilities of supporting conversations around food systems goals and strengths.