Municipal food programs with full-time, paid staff are blossoming all over the country. Recognizing this burgeoning movement, the Innovation Fund of the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, a Project of Global Philanthropy Partnership, sponsored a recent study entitled City Food Policy and Programs: Lessons harvested from an emerging field.

Researched and written by the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, the report gleaned best practices through interviews with food policy professionals from 13 North American cities. The analysis covers the challenges and opportunities faced by these programs in such areas as organization, funding, priorities and metrics, interdepartmental coordination, and community involvement.