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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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WHAT DOES SOFSA DO?

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Food Councils (sometimes called “Food Policy Councils” or “Food Policy Networks”) are cross-sector stakeholder groups that work collectively to address food systems-related issues and needs within a city, county, region, state, and/or Native American/First Nations community through policy, programs, and partnerships.

Source: Anne Palmer, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Onondaga County Presentation, July 2019

WHAT IS A FOOD COUNCIL, ANYWAY?

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Bring PROGRAMS together to create synergies�
Provide a forum for food system stakeholders to EDUCATE each other and the general public about respective areas of expertise�
Coordinate efforts and build PARTNERSHIPS within a specified geography or jurisdiction�
Influence government or institutional food POLICY, especially ones that promote equity, health, and sustainability�

WHAT DO FOOD COUNCILS DO?

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Onondaga County Presentation, July 2019

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The current food system is broken in ways that damage consumers, workers, farmers, and the environment.��
The detrimental impacts of the current system fall disproportionately on historically-marginalized communities, especially Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. �

The many stakeholders interested in solving these issues often operate in isolation from one another and struggle to build the power necessary to effect transformative change.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

We believe that together we can create a thriving food system that supports all people in our region and sustains the environment that we all share.

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SOFSA is a network of food system stakeholders and a catalyst for change.

Our mission is to strengthen our food system so that it works for all people in the City of Syracuse, surrounding Onondaga County, and the neighboring Onondaga Nation.

We bring communities together to foster relationships, develop projects, align resources, and advocate for policies to improve the health of our neighbors and our environment.

MISSION

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A community with the resources to provide local solutions to ensure everyone has equal access to food and to active participation in our food system

A community with a thriving food system built on a foundation of racial and social equity, environmental integrity, and economic inclusion

A community where supporting a resilient food system is integral to how we think as planners, politicians, educators, community activists, and citizens

OUR VISION

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Network has grown to over 300 individuals and 43 partner organizations
Strong relationships built that can be mobilized to support short- and long-term collaborations
Opportunities to connect: quarterly Open Meetings, issue-based Working Groups, identity-based affinity groups, site visits, shared learning opportunities, and events

FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS �that can be mobilized for change-making

Project ideas emerging from SOFSA working groups: regional farm to school effort (Farm to School), �food rescue pilot (Food & Environment), Double Up Food Bucks (Food As Medicine/Policy & Planning)
Advancing recommendations of local/regional food planning efforts (FoodPlanCNY, Ag & Farmland Protection, Community Health Improvement Plan, etc.)
Partners connecting through SOFSA launching new collaborations (ex. Food Bank @ Onondaga Nation)

DEVELOP PROJECTS �to advance local priorities with community input

Ensure that through collaboration and coordination, all partners working to build a better food system have the human and monetary resources necessary to advance their goals in specific areas of expertise
Leverage SOFSA resources to support partner fundraising and to avoid duplication
Build relationships that foster cooperation vs. competition among partners for mutual success (ex. Restaurant Resiliency Project – see complete story here: https://bit.ly/RestaurantResiliencyBlog)

ALIGN RESOURCES �to maximize impact

Awareness- and relationship-building around food system issues with government officials
Participation in local, state, and federal coalitions to support key policies that impact the CNY food system
Advocacy for inclusion of food policy priorities in local policy-making and budgetary decisions (ex. ReZone)
Initial plans for working on multi-modal transportation advocacy to increase customer access to the CNY Regional Market as well as other key food access points

ADVOCATE FOR POLICIES �that create the conditions for a thriving food system

ROOTED IN EQUITY & JUSTICE

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WHO IS PART OF SOFSA?

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If you eat, grow, or just love food in Onondaga County, you are part of SOFSA.

Get involved: �https://syrfoodalliance.org/get-involved/

SOFSA “MEMBERS”

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ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS & PARTNERS

Production	Marketing & Distribution
Brady Farm Hudson Egg Farms Jubilee Homes Urban Delights Learning Farm Onondaga Earth Corps Onondaga Nation Farm Reeves Farm�Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment (RISE)�Salt City Harvest Farm	Brady Market CNY Regional Market Authority Farm to Fork 101/Eden Fresh Network Food Bank of Central New York Salt City Market Syracuse Cooperative Market Syracuse City School District Food & Nutrition Services University United Methodist - Food Center @ 324

Government & Public Good	Healthcare & Higher Ed	Nonprofit
OCRRA Onondaga County Agriculture Council�Onondaga County Health Department�Onondaga County Legislature Onondaga County Soil & Water District Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency Syracuse Housing Authority	M.S. Hall & Associates St. Joseph’s Health SUNY - ESF�Syracuse University - Nutrition & Food Studies�Syracuse University - Community Geography SU – Citizenship & Civic Engagement SU - Lender Center for Social Justice SU - Ctr for Sustainable Community Solutions Syracuse Urban Food Forest Project�Upstate Medical University	Allyn Family Foundation American Heart Association CenterState CEO CNY Community Foundation Cornell Cooperative Extension - Onondaga Food Access Healthy Neighborhoods Now! Farm Bureau of Onondaga County Healthcare Education Project New York Agricultural Land Trust Northeast Organic Farming Association - NY Seven Valleys Health Coalition Syracuse Grows

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OUR TEAM

Maura Ackerman

Facilitator & Co-Founder

Avalon Gupta VerWiebe

Equity, Inclusion, & �Engagement Coordinator

Brittany Taylor

Senior Community Liaison

Julie Capito

Food and Environment Intern

Ellen Pitstick

Program Evaluation & �Public Policy Intern

Mable Wilson

Community Liaison

Rhonda Vesey

Community Liaison

Manika Gautam

Community Liaison

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CURRENT ADVISORY BOARD

Julia Carboni�Syracuse University�Citizenship & Civic Engagement

Brandy Colebrook

NY Agricultural Land Trust

Christina Hudson Kohler

Hudson Egg Farms

David Knapp

Onondaga County Legislature & Onondaga Agricultural Council

Rachel Murphy Viens

Syracuse City School District�Food & Nutrition Services

Jessi Lyons

Brady Farm

Peter Ricardo

Food Bank of �Central New York

Curtis Waterman

Onondaga Nation Farm

Jonnell Robinson

Syracuse University�Community Geography

Estelí Jiménez-Soto�Syracuse University

Food Studies - Agroecology

Jeremy DeChario�Syracuse Cooperative Market

Emilija Postolovska�M.S. Hall & Associates

Caitlin Toomey

Upstate Primary Care

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WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON?

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Ground-Softening �Prior to May 2019

Visioning & Preliminary Planning�May 2019 - September 2020

Planning & Experimentation

October 2020 - December 2022

Moving Toward Sustainability

January 2022 and beyond

USDA-RFSP Planning Grant

Onondaga

Ag Council

TCI-Syracuse

Emerson Fellowship

SU Lender

Fellowship

CNY Community Foundation

Allyn Family Foundation

Bylaws ratified �June 2021

Interim Advisory Board instituted

July 2020

Community Liaison program launched�July 2021

COVID-19 Rapid Response efforts

Spring 2020

NYS Farm to School

FoodPlanCNY Celebration�July 2021

Racial Justice Learning Series begins April 2021

Local candidate food policy questionnaire�October 2021

Hosted NYS Food Council Convening January 2022

BIPOC & LGBTQ Affinity Groups launch Feb 2021

Name selected

November 2019

Equity & Justice Statement finalized

May 2021

Food & Environment Working Group launched March 2022

First Advisory Board elections

January 2022

Governance & committee structure established late 2019

Food Justice Symposium

2015-2018

Lender Symposium�March 2022

SOFSA has grown a lot in a relatively short period of time, thanks in large part to the support provided by Syracuse Grows as its fiscal sponsor.

SOFSA grew out of several previous efforts to improve various aspects of the regional food system which collectively built momentum towards formalizing a convening and coordinating body in 2019 - including as a key recommendation that emerged during the development of FoodPlan CNY led by Evan Weissman and Matt Potteiger

Under the auspices of Syracuse Grows, SOFSA was awarded a two-year planning grant in the inaugural round of the USDA Regional Food Systems Partnerships (RFSP) grant program. In combination with the work that Jonnell led in Evan’s honor through the Lender Fellowship – which aimed to ground SOFSA in a solid social justice foundation - the USDA grant has positioned SOFSA for its next chapter.

Support received from the Allyn Foundation will allow SOFSA to continue the Food Justice Learning Series begun under the Lender Fellowship beginning in Fall 2022
Support from the Onondaga County Agriculture Council will enable SOFSA partners to pilot a food rescue initiative modeled on previous work done in Cortland County to begin in January 2023
In collaboration with partners from Cortland, Madison, and Jefferson counties, SOFSA has been awarded funding from the NY Department of Ag & Markets to support a regional farm to school project to further support the efforts of our new CNY Regional Farm to School Coordinator, Lizzy Cooper.

Aiming to knit SOFSA’s existing initiatives, food justice activities, and these new efforts together, we have applied – in collaboration with Syracuse Grows – for a further 3-year implementation grant from the USDA-RFSP program. If awarded (we’ll find out on/around September 30^th), the grant would significantly increase SOFSA’s operations and support a number of connected initiatives.

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QUESTIONS?

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