CFSC Member Committees
The Community
Food Security Coalition (CFSC) has a number of committees
that focus on various aspects of community food security work.
Some committees provide an advisory role to a particular CFSC
program, while others focus on issues relevant to the broader
community food security movement. CFSC board members, staff,
and members work together in these committees, which meet
in person at the annual meeting and by conference call through
the rest of the year.
Members are invited to join a committee and bring your unique
skills and experience to shaping this collective work. The
following list gives a brief overview of each committee and
lets you know whom to contact for more information or to get
involved.
Community Economic Development Committee
The CFSC Community Economic Development Committee
seeks to build the capacity of grassroots CFSC members to strengthen
community-based food systems as a strategy for community economic
development in their own regions.
For more information contact:
Ken Meter, (612) 869-8664, kmeter@crcworks.org
Katherine Pigott, KPigott@regionofwaterloo.ca
Food and Faith Committee
The Food & Faith Committee (formerly Faith-Based Committee)
exists to provide all people of faith with a special forum
to discuss community food security issues and to contribute
to CFSC, which we believe can be a powerful vehicle for addressing
local and world hunger at its foundation. The Committee provides
an entry points for people of faith to work together to make
important connections between our food systems, our lifestyles,
social justice and environmental stewardship. Sacred themes
of God's provision for all people, economic justice, the dignity
of work, respect and care for the created order, and sacrifice
for the good of neighbors become struggles and victories of
real life. People and groups coming from a faith-based orientation
can strengthen the Coalition, increase secular groups' understanding
of how to work with faith communities, and broaden the perspectives
and vision of the movement. The Faith-Based Committee has
presented CFSC workshops and organized tours, and has compiled
some stories of congregational involvement in community food
security.
For more information contact:
Kristen Markley, (717) 240-1361, kristen@foodsecurity.org
The International Links Committee works to
connect the Coalition to its food
security allies around the world through initiatives
for food sovereignty, food justice,
fair trade, and sustainable agriculture. Our goals
are to strengthen CFSC's
involvement in broader global movements and to serve
as a springboard for
collaboration among CFSC members on international
issues. Comprised of diverse
NGO representatives and individuals, the
International Links Committee hosts educational calls
on food sovereignty topics every other month, in
addition to email communication and an annual meeting at the Coalition
conference. The committee also coordinates the annual Food Sovereignty
Prize.
For more information contact:
Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau, (212) 629-8850 x48,
tristan@whyhunger.org.
Outreach and Diversity Committee
The Outreach and Diversity Committee (ODC) was
one of the core member committees of CFSC for several years. Currently,
the committee is not active. CFSC Board members are in the midst of
strategizing directions for our future dismantling racism and outreach
efforts. The most recent project here has been learning about garcinia cambogia.
If you are interested in joining with others in working toward dismantling racism in the food system, please join the Growing Food and Justice For All Initiative hosted by Growing Power.
Resources and links related to dismantling racism
View the mission statement and documents developed by the CFSC's Outreach and Diversity Committee when it was active
For more information contact:
Jeanette Abi-Nader (CFSC staff liaison), (434) 973-4435, jeanette@foodsecurity.org.
Policy Committee
The Policy Committee exists to further the Coalition's policy
program goal to deliver focused and well coordinated policy
tools for the community food security movement in the US.
The Committee manages the Coalitions policy formation process
including meeting at least annually with members to review
policy priorities. Those interested in more active policy
work meet via conference call every other week to strategize
on current legislative efforts and share updates. Committee
members also play a vital role in targeted outreach in specific
districts and states during the federal legislative calendar.
For more information contact: Aisha Amuda, (202) 481-6933,
aisha@foodsecurity.org
The CFSC Urban Agriculture Committee was begun in 1998, and
has consistently been one of the Coalition's most active units.
Composed entirely of volunteers, including board members of
CFSC and the American Community Gardening Association, the
committee identifies specific advocacy needs for the urban
agriculture movement in the United States and Canada. The
Committee has written an urban agriculture primer (pdf download), and has since produced new versions
of the primer directed at specific professional audiences. The Committee is acting as the incubator for MetroAg, a new North American urban and peri-urban agriculture alliance.
For more information contact:
Betsy Johnson, (617) 536-1711, betsy@bgjohnson.com
Cynthia Price, (231) 739-6397, skyprice@gmail.com
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