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Food Policy & Planning
NEW! 2025 Produce Box Distribution Site Visit Report
NEW! 2024 B’more Fresh Reach and Impact
NEW! 2024 Baltimore City Food Environment Brief
NEW! 2024 Baltimore City Food Policy and Planning Accomplishments
NEW! Follow us on our socials!
NEW! 2024 Resident Food Equity Advisors Summary
2023 B’more Fresh Reach and Impact
Baltimore City Food Policy and Planning 2023 Accomplishments
Open Access Baltimore|Resource for Food Business Entrepreneurs
Morgan State University, in partnership with the City of Baltimore, released Open Access Baltimore, a free one-stop-shop online portal for student and community food entrepreneurs to find and utilize local resources for capital, permitting and licensing, and training that will help them plan, launch, and grow their businesses in Baltimore. Baltimore now becomes the third city to release Open Access, following on the heels of Open Access DC and Open Access Philadelphia.
American Rescue Plan Act Proposal Approved!
Food Policy Leadership and Strategy
The Food Policy and Planning Division is led by the Food Policy Director and staffed by a Food Access, a Food Resilience, and a Food Systems Planner. This division oversees the Baltimore Food Policy Initiative (BFPI), which has three pillars - interagency collaboration, the Food Policy Action Coalition (Food PAC), and Resident Food Equity Advisors (RFEA). Together, these efforts seek to build an equitable and resilient urban food system by addressing health, economic, and environmental disparities in areas with high food insecurity.
FOOD SYSTEMS APPROACH:
- Use policy to create a more equitable food system: By integrating food across government, and engaging in equitable research, strategic planning, and policy co-creation with residents.
- Increase resilience at household, community, and food system levels: This can be accomplished by addressing acute food insecurities, building long-term food resilience, and righting power imbalances in the food system.
- Strengthen and amplify the local food economy: By implementing “Good Food Procurement” standards, supporting local food-based businesses, and promoting food recovery.
- Create ag land-use policies that encourage urban farms and local food production: By identifying City-owned land suitable for farming; developing land tenure and pathways to ownership; promoting safe, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible production; and supporting growers to create financially viable urban agriculture.
Food Systems & Urban Agriculture - The Sustainability Plan
Food Access Chapter - "Our Baltimore" Comprehensive Plan