Welcome to the Food System Alliance
The Food System Alliance (FSA) is a county-based collaboration between food producers, farm-workers, conservationists, health-care workers, food security activists, chef’s, and consumers who share a desire to build a vibrant, healthy, and durable food system.
The first FSA was started in 2006 in San Mateo County, when over 40 local leaders considered the proposition, “what could we create together that is impossible for us working alone.” Overcoming skepticism that a future-thinking County like San Mateo needed such an Alliance, the founding members engaged in a 10-month process of discovering just how little the coastal farming region and the San Francisco Bay side urban region understood about each other. The result were dozens of new connections between people and organizations and a clear sense that, yes, there was much to be done as an Alliance. The San Mateo group has since focused on Farm Bill Reform, increasing access to land for new farmers, expanding garden-based education, and developing a common argument for why food production matters in this highly urban County.
Food System Alliances are the next step for the Ag Futures Alliance movement. By expanding the roundtable to include important voices concerned with food and health (the San Mateo Alliance is one of the first efforts in the State where both the County Ag Commissioner and Public Health Officer are working together with community leaders to improve health by increasing access to local foods) the Roundtable addresses a new generation of issues and concerns about our food system.
Ag Innovations Network (AIN) is proud to be the sponsor and facilitator of the pioneering San Mateo FSA and the FSA project. Our goal is to create a network of FSAs across the state of California that ultimately can link efforts to more effectively improve local, state and federal policies that impact agriculture, the food system, and the environment.
If you are interested in bringing an Food System Alliance to your County, please see our introductory presentation and our Starting a FSA Frequently Asked Questions.
New Food System Alliance Website
On August 29 we launched the new Food System Alliance website, where you can get information on our growing Food System Alliance project. The site was designed by Andrea Schwandt-Arbogast. Let us know what you think (and if you see any glitches), drop us a note.
SMFSA Members Appointed ROC Fellows
Two members of the San Mateo County Food Alliance, Lisa Wasilewski and Jennifer Gross, were named 2008 Roots of Change Action Fellows. They become 2 of just 20 people selected from across California to work together to develop collaborative projects that move the California Food System towards a more sustainable footing. Congratulations to Lisa and Jenn!