Greater Birmingham Community Food Partners

Below is a copy of the current Birmingham-Jefferson Food Policy Council Operating Guidelines. The final Operating Guidelines will be established, and voted on, by the Council after it is formed. This document provides a framework upon which the future Council can build upon, and make changes to, as they deem necessary to carry out their mission.

Birmingham-Jefferson Food Policy Council

Operating Guidelines

The Birmingham-Jefferson Food Policy Council (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 the Council, once convened, as needed to best facilitate its work.

Task

Specifically, 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; and
• Leverage public-private-non-profit collaboration to create positive change in the food system.

Structure

The Council is composed of up to 21 individuals who live, work, or have ties to Birmingham and Jefferson County. The Mayor of Birmingham and Jefferson County Commission may each appoint one member. One seat may be appointed by a local funding agency. Five members shall be appointed by GBCFP. The remaining seats shall be filled through an open application process.

Members of the Council should represent one of the following food system stakeholder groups:

1. Business Community
2. Community-based Organizations and Residents
3. Food/Agriculture
4. Health and Education
5. Government

Membership Requirements

• Members must be committed to transforming the food system in the greater Birmingham area into an economically viable, sustainable, and equitable system as defined in the Food Charter.
• Members must demonstrate a commitment to respectfully engage diverse stakeholders within the community and seek to understand their assets and concerns.
• Members must be willing to engage in problem-solving and decision making.
• Members must be willing to work in the public interest for the benefit of the food system, rather than directly representing the organization(s) with which they are affiliated.
• Members must be residents of greater Birmingham or demonstrate a legitimate connection to and interest in the area’s food system.
• Members must attend each of the six Council meetings and engage work groups as necessary.

Executive Committee

The Council membership elects from its membership an Executive Committee composed of a Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary. The Chair will convene meetings, call issues to a vote, and provide general guidance to the Council. The Vice-Chair will assist the Chair and assume those duties in the absence of the Chair. The Secretary will record the proceedings of the Council and work with GBCFP staff to draft policy reports and represent the Council in media, legislative and other public events.

Workgroups

The primary work of the Council is conducted in ad hoc work groups. These workgroups will be created by the Council as needed to address specific policies or issues deemed important by the Council. Each workgroup is chaired by a Council member, but may include others not serving on the Council.

Length of Term, Appointment, and Meetings

Council members will serve randomly assigned terms, ranging from one to three years. Members may not serve more than two consecutive terms. The Council is self-perpetuating, with the exception of those seats identified above under “Structure.”

Each spring, the Council and GBCFP will work to recruit new members to the Council to replace those whose terms are expiring.

The full Council will meet six times each year. Workgroup meetings will be scheduled as necessary. Missing two Council meetings a year, without prior discussion with the Council Chair, is deemed equivalent to a resignation. New interim members will be appointed as needed to fill unexpired terms.

Quorum

A quorum consists of 51% of Council members. Members must be present to vote.

Decision-Making Structure

Decisions shall be made by Modified Consensus Building:

1. Hear all viewpoints

a. Hear and address concerns

b. Hear reservations

2. Seek consensus

3. If there is no consensus, take a vote noting:

1. Blocking concerns
2. Stand aside (Abstain)

4. Decision shall be made a simple majority

5. When decisions cannot be made by simple majority, distinguish types of disagreement as either:

a. Can live with it

b. Strong disagreement

6. If more than 1/3 of the group strongly disagrees, reopen for discussion to reach compromise with at least 2/3 majority.

Staff

GBCPF will retain the necessary staff to facilitate the work of the Council, including capturing meeting minutes, creating meeting agendas, maintaining Council website, email distribution lists, and other administrative duties as necessary. Staff will also coordinate meetings for the Council and the workgroups.

At present, these tasks are performed by the Food Policy Coordinator – a position partially funded by the Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) and Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities grants through March 2012.