Food Policy Councils in Rhode Island
Rhode Island Food Policy Council, US.
This testimony is part of the CSIPM call for testimonies on Resilient Food Systems, contributing to the CFS policy process.
Food Policy Councils solve critical food systems problems by creating just and resilient ways
— Rhode Island Food Policy Council
What is resilience for you?
Equity through accessibility, economic viability, environmental sustainability.
Where is this experience is taking place?
In the state of Rhode Island (US) small urban and rural farmers are not being provided with the same tax breaks as large rural farmers. They are thus at an economic disadvantage not envisions when the tax laws for farmers were created decades ago when small urban and rural farms were not present.
What actions or practices have contributed to building resilience?
We have a structure that invites equitable participation and practice participatory decision making within our network. This breaks down power structures over time and brings more perspectives to the conversation. When the network is broad and all voices are encouraged, a systemic response to external shocks is more likely to impact the system properly, rather than improving a situation for one group of stakeholders while making it worse for another group.
Why is it important to support practices such as the one you are sharing?
Food Policy Councils solve critical food systems problems by creating just and resilient ways of producing, harvesting, manufacturing, distributing, and consuming food and managing food waste, using methods that encourage civic engagement and strengthen democratic processes. Their success depends on several important skills: understanding how to bring people together across differences to find common ground, raising funds successfully for yourself and your stakeholders, and increasing community members’ abilities to advocate for changes in public policy and regulations. Support for these practices increases the potential for food systems change to be systemic and transformational. In the case of the small urban and rural farmers, they have gained a voice in the state legislature that they did not have previously, and once the bill is a law they will have more economic stability and opportunity as a result of cost savings.
What should policymakers learn from this experience?
To support Food Policy Councils and similar networks and alliances, because they are mechanism to use in local places to solve critical food systems problems by creating just and resilient ways of producing, harvesting, manufacturing, distributing, and consuming food and managing food waste, using methods that encourage civic engagement and strengthen democratic processes.
The transformation of the food system – including food production, processing, distribution, preparation, and consumption – is possible through long-term collaborations rooted in justice and resilience (IPES-Food, 2021). In general, changing food systems requires reshaping the ways food systems are governed. In particular, it necessitates strong multisectoral governance – ideally engaging both governmental and nongovernmental actors (FAO, 2025; Patay, 2025). These efforts are key to securing the social, environmental, and economic outcomes achievable through food system transformation.
Food Policy Councils can be a critical part of the solution. They provide a venue for people from different walks of life – farmers, fishers, grocers, food access workers, food justice advocates, and others – to come together to find common ground and collaborate to make a positive difference in local food systems. FPCs take the long view, and work through democratic means to secure essential gains that, over time, can produce major changes. This is the beating heart of civic engagement – working through differences to recognize shared values and build community. It is also vital to the operation of healthy democracies. Civic engagement ensures governments are aware of and responsive to citizen input when forming the policies that impact security, prosperity, and well-being.
How could the CFS Policy Recommendations on Building Resilient Food Systems support your struggle?
By advancing, in addition to specific policies that work to address substantive systems issues, the concept of participatory governance mechanisms like FPCs in their recommendations to CFS.
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