Local Food System Development

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

The Sarasota County Local Food System Development program arose out of the county’s need to reduce its Ecological Footprint in order to become a more sustainable community. A sustainable food system is a collaborative network of farmers, consumers, and communities with a common goal: to create a more locally based, self-reliant food system in which food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management function in harmony to provide community food needs. With this overarching goal in mind, county staff leadership initiated community discussions and decision-making that resulted in specific County Comprehensive Plan language that supports a local food system. Next steps were developing and implementing initiatives to carry out the intent of the county Comprehensive Plan in the area of local food systems. To date, six different initiatives have been developed and implemented, each with significant successes toward the accomplishment of chosen program goals.