Over the past few decades, efforts to build a sustainable, equitable, and affordable food system in the United States have arguably been disconnected across different fields. This good food movement spans multiple sectors—from labor rights to nutrition to sustainable agriculture—each with distinct goals, expertise, and spheres of influence. Several years ago, a group of food policy stakeholders recognized the clear need and opportunity to address this fragmentation by bringing together these disparate communities in pursuit of a more unified set of priorities and actions. They launched the Farm to Fork Initiative, a collaborative project that seeks to reflect the voice and shared goals of a cohesive good food movement.
Farm to Fork enables a broad group of food stakeholders to identify shared interests, establish stronger relationships, and create a platform for effective collaboration unlike anything that had existed before. Together, these groups are working collectively toward one common purpose: creating an equitable and sustainable food system that can make nutritious food available for everyone. The initiative targets good food policies at the federal level while at the same time emphasizing work to build thriving local and regional food systems.
Farm to Fork’s policy priorities focus on four main categories: equitable access to food; labor and economic advancements; environmental sustainability; and health and nutrition. In addition to enabling effective engagement with on-the-ground communities, experts, and practitioners, Farm to Fork leans heavily on policy advocacy as its most powerful tool, helping to build understanding among federal lawmakers and agencies of the need for and opportunities to improve our food system. It does this through open dialogue with activists, lobbyists, and elected officials.
Since its inception, Farm to Fork has evolved to become the go-to organization for those interested in food and the systems that help it arrive on our tables. Funders at the leading edge of the movement trust it to equitably distribute funds, and with the support of its fiscal sponsor, the Windward Fund, the initiative has disbursed 28 grants totaling $2.35 million to frontline and grassroots organizations working to design, advocate for, or implement effective solutions.
Within the past three years, our country has begun shifting more attention to the national food movement—illustrated by, as one recent example, President Biden hosting the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years. Yet there is still work to be done. Many threats to good food persist, from erosion of the social safety net to inattention to the perils of climate change. Farm to Fork remains committed to the fight, and will continue to help connect communities, amplify the voices of the workers feeding our society, and advocate for sustainable and equitable access for all.
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