Have you identified key stakeholders and community leaders? Are the groups most impacted by the issue at the table?
Critical to success is an inclusive, participatory, community engagement process. Engaging key stakeholders from diverse sectors across the food system ensures that policies are responsive to and reflective of context, are shaped by a robust participation from all relevant sectors, and offer a powerful signal to policymakers about the importance of this issue to their constituents. Stakeholders and members of task forces may include food access organization representatives, industry leaders, government and policy leaders, financial sector representatives, community development leaders, public health leaders, children’s advocates, community organizers and leaders, local residents, farmers, food entrepreneurs or businesses, workers across the supply chain, and more.
Check out the following resources to help plan and implement an inclusive and participatory process to engage your community in identifying solutions:
- Community Engagement Resource Guide: What it is?
- Community Engagement Resource Guide: Why use it?
- CDC’s A Practitioner's Guide for Advancing Health Equity, which includes Meaningful Community Engagement for Health and Equity
- Inclusive Engagement Toolkit for Community Food Projects Planning, by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project
- Community Engagement & Participation Checklist, by PolicyLink
- Watch this archived Portal webinar: Engaging Community Partners to Support Healthy Food Retail