The local food policy audit: Spanning the civic-political agrifood divide

Abstract

Transformation of the food system rests, in part, on changing the rules by which all actors play. Many of these rules take the form of public policy, whether they be laws, regulations, government spending or other tools used to impact markets. So concerns are raised when local groups in the food movement are reluctant to politically engage to change these rules. This chapter begins by outlining the concepts of food democracy, civic agriculture and civic food networks and their relevance to the advocacy coalition framework (ACF). Then the ACF is used to organize a case study of the Franklin County Local Food Council and its transition from a civically-oriented group to an advocacy coalition through the use of a technical tool-the food policy audit. The chapter concludes by suggesting that community-based food groups have a responsibility to span the civic-political divide and bring food system governance back into balance.