An Ideal Food System

Around the country organizations have created new models for food production and distribution. The community food movement takes into account all parts of the food system from growing and harvesting to distribution to composting. This movement is changing the conversation, looking for new solutions to issues of food production and food insecurity. It emphasizes fresh, nutritious fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. It works to educate residents on where their food comes from and is tackling the issue of diet-related disease from the standpoint of education and food access. Food policy is part of this discussion.

Just over a year ago, a group came together to start talking about some of these issues. Out of that group came the concept of the idea food system as a SHOVEL. The group isn't meeting anymore, but the idea has gained some tilth to its frame. It has become very relevant to a new group working on some of these issues. So we wanted to share this with you....

So how does one describe the ideal food system?

What is a food system?   The food system is everything associated with the growing, shipping, processing/packaging, sales, purchase, and consumption of food. Everything about the food we eat each day is part of the larger food system.

And an ideal food system is one in which every person has access to enough nutritious food - all the time. Yes, there are many aspects to making this happen.

In a fit of spontaneity, a group discussing food policy in Dallas created a way to talk about the aspects of our DFW food system. An acronym was born.

What? You’re tired of acronyms? You will like this one. It’s a useful tool!

So here is what you need to dig in…

SHOVEL is…

Secure – a secure food system is one that provides access to healthy, quality food for all and enough food for all. It’s also a system in which food comes from a variety of sources so that if crops fail or there is a food related illness, there is still food available. An ideal food system advocates sustainable agriculture as a secure way to ensure continued production of healthy fresh foods. 

Healthy – healthy food is real food (fresh, nutritious fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein) with as little processing as possible. A healthy food system is one in which residents know where their food comes from, have plates that are usually filled with real food - not processed food, and have experiences growing and harvesting foods they regularly see on their plates. This food system creates healthy environments and ecosystems.

Open – an open food system is one that allows lots of people and lots of companies to be involved in the production of food. It encourages small food enterprises and micro-economies that help everyone have access to real food. Plenty of room exists for citizens to get involved- help on the CSA farm, volunteer at the farmers market, be a part of food policy committee, do advocacy work, and many other activities that support the food system.

Vibrant – a vibrant food system has a food culture that expresses the community’s values about food. The community is excited about locally produced food and recognizes its local food economy as something special and unique of which to be proud. The community looks forward to the changing of the seasons and celebrates these changes as well as the new foods available with each part of the year.  Many connections and conversations happen around food activities because a vibrant food system is a relational, interactive food system.

Equitable – a healthy food system is one that emphasizes healthy eating habits and works toward equal access to real food for all residents. With equitable access comes an increased opportunity for better overall health and wellness, for the individual and for the community. Food producers are always valued for their importance in the food system. Small food businesses whether food producers or food artisans are valued as much or more than large food producers because they are essential to an ideal food system.

Local – Local aspects contribute to and help shape the secure, healthy, open, vibrant, and edible food system. In order for a community to value its food system, it must be in touch with where that food comes from and who grew it. A local food system provides a stronger local economy which reinvests for an even stronger local food system. 

Developed by Susie Marshall and the Dallas Food Policy Discussion Group

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.