Council Membership Roles and Responsibilities
The Birmingham-Jefferson Food Policy Council is sponsored by the Greater Birmingham Community Food Partners (GBCFP), whose mission is to promote access for all community residents to a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and social justice. The Council will examine the local food system, educate the community, and recommend solutions to policy makers in public, private, and governmental agencies and institutions. These guidelines provide the basic start-up structure for the Council, and may be adapted by the Council, once it is convened.
The Council seeks to:
- Examine the food system and identify opportunities for improvement
- Address health and socio-economic inequities resulting from food system imperfections
- Increase availability, access, and demand for healthy food
- Stimulate the local food economy
- Leverage public-private-non-profit collaboration to create positive change in the food system
Members of the Council will:
- Commit to transforming the food system in the greater Birmingham area into an economically viable, sustainable, and equitable system by identifying opportunities and advocating for policy change to support improvements.
- Demonstrate a commitment to respectfully engage diverse stakeholders within the community and seek to understand their concerns.
- Be willing to engage in problem-solving and decision making.
- Be willing to work in the public interest for the benefit of the food system, rather than directly representing any organization with which they are affiliated.
- Must demonstrate a legitimate connection to, and interest in, the local food system.
- Must attend Council meetings, approximately six per year. (Missing two Council meetings a year without prior discussion with the Council Chair is deemed equivalent to a resignation.)
- Engage in working groups, as necessary.