Objectives: (1) Link food and farm businesses, non-profit organizations and local government entities in a common effort to support a resilient local food system; (2) Improve the availability of safe, healthful, and, where possible, local food at affordable prices for all; (3) Address barriers and opportunities to strengthen connections among producers, processors, distributors, retailers, and recyclers; (4) Ensure through outreach and engagement that citizens, agencies, organizations, and local businesses consider a healthful and resilient local food system to be an essential part of all policy, planning, and decision-making; (5) Convene food system stakeholders and provide a forum for collaboration in the public sphere; (6) Act as a clearinghouse by developing, collecting, and sharing food system information and resources; (7) Create, evaluate, and influence food system policy; (8) Support and participate in food system programming. *