Local Government/Fruit Veggies
Best Practice Strategies:
The Fairfax Food Council’s (FFC) elevated their partnerships in the Bailey’s Crossroads community to increase access to a farm share subscription program for SNAP/EBT recipients and/or families with children in the Free/Reduced Lunch Program, implemented cooking demonstrations, and more. During this work the FFC uncovered zoning ordinances that made food access initiatives challenging in the communities they were aiming to reach. To address this issue the FFC established a zoning committee to work with the Fairfax County Planning Department in order to provide recommendations to produce a revised county code, expected to be effective in June 2019. This collaboration amplifies the value of community organizations working with local government to enact sustainable change in their localities.
Lessons Learned
While the FCC operates successfully with partners from all sectors in the county; non-profits, businesses, government, and faith-based organizations, the coalition has learned to adopt the practice of inviting community members to participate and influence the conversation about solutions to food access and nutritional barriers. This contributes to the FCC’s collective understanding that the full impact of these efforts is only realized when those affected have ownership and actively participate in the process.
Agency Partner:
Fairfax Food Council
Testimonials
“The Fairfax Food Council understand that change cannot be imposed on communities, but rather needs to be built from within.”
Terri Siggins, Project Manager, on how understanding the perspective of what individuals living in poverty and dealing with food insecurity experience is critical in this kind of work.