An initiative to develop 21st century regional food systems (Jump-started by a US$10 billion federal stimulus COVID package)

Abstract

Introducing a proposal for an immediate US$10 billion federal stimulus investment to scale up a nationwide system of regional food enterprises during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper discusses a new systems model on which the proposal is grounded on. It presents three interlocking structural components: Commons Trust, Commons Community Fund, and Commons Community Corporation. Central to the model is the recognition that farmland must be held as a long-term public good. Moreover, it offers the choice of an alternative system for the multitude of independent food system actors across the nation seeking a viable path for the future.