Food policy councils and the food-city nexus

Abstract

This field report links food and city policies by tracing the history of the Toronto Food Policy Council and offers our experience-based suggestions regarding the concept of critical food guidance, which we associate with capacity-building and providing opportunities for civic engagement on a continuous and meaningful basis. We bring the insider perspective of Canadian food policy practitioners and staff leads of the Toronto Food Policy Council – the first food policy council in a major city when it was established in 1990, and still considered one of the most influential among the world’s 350 similarly-inspired councils.

Keywords

• food policy councils, toronto food policy council, cities, planetary crisis, people-centred food policy, civic engagement, multifunctionality