Food Policy Council
In October 2011, the Washoe County District Board of Health established the Washoe County Food Policy Council as a volunteer public/private partnership to bring together representation from all sectors of the Food System for networking, collaboration, and promotion of access to healthy foods.
The Washoe County Food Policy Council will be charged with implementing the goals of the Washoe County Food Plan (Access to Health Food in Washoe County: A Framework for Food System Design) and to work towards reducing barriers so that all residents have access to healthy food. The Food Plan can be found here.
Council Member Qualifications
The volunteer position of Council member will require expertise in one or more food system related issues. Council members must also have the ability to work together to create policy and sustainable change while taking into consideration the impact on the entire local food system.
Members will represent diverse sectors of the local food system and the community at large. There are a total of ten (10) Council positions representing:
- Community Food Planning
- Consumers
- Food and Nutrition Data Systems Surveillance and Monitoring
- Food Distribution
- Food Preparation
- Food Production
- Member at Large (3 positions)
- Public Food Programs
There will be additional ongoing opportunities for interested community members and agencies to participate on workgroups and provide guidance to the Food Policy Council.
The criteria used for selecting inaugural members include:
- Commitment to term of up to two-years requiring regular attendance and participation in meetings;
- Active membership on at least one potential subcommittee of the Council that will generate a work plan with specific goals;
- Ability to generate policy and action items for the Council to pursue;
- Capacity to build collaborative relationships and bring resources to the effort; and
- Passion for improving the food system in Washoe County.
Application Timeline
Application will be released on Wednesday January 4th.
Completed applications are due Wednesday February 8th. They may be completed electronically at www.surveymonkey.com/s/FoodCouncil or a hard copy can be mailed to:
Washoe County Health District
Erin Dixon
1001 E. 9th Street, B-170
Reno, NV 89512
Applicants will be notified in early March 2012 and the first meeting of the Food Policy Council is expected to be held in May 2012.
For more information about the Food Policy Council please contact Erin Dixon at
(775) 328-2442 or edixon@washoecounty.us
