Food Systems Policy: How Local Food Can Help Solve Food Insecurity in Connecticut

Connecticut has two major problems related to food: less than 3% of all food spending is on local items, and hundreds of thousands of residents are food insecure

While local food is often associated with affluent customers at farmers markets, that does not need to be the case. Many of the foods that are currently most affordable and accessible are ultraprocessed and detrimental to public health. By promoting access to local food, not only can a sufficient quantity of food be guaranteed, but quality as well.

The food insecurity crisis in Connecticut necessitates a policy intervention. Ensuring those policies support the provision of local food to food insecure residents has the potential to address food insecurity in the short term and through increased food supply and economic development help address the underlying causes of food insecurity in the long-term.

Participants will learn about and discuss opportunities for policy to create such links between local food and food security. This workshop will also cover current policy initiative possibilities in Connecticut regarding food insecurity, opportunities to bolster the local food system through short-term food insecurity solutions, and how bolstering the local food system has the potential to address the underlying causes of food insecurity in the long-term.