Eos Grantees in the News

Eos Funds Boston Food Council Coordinator

In December 2008, Mayor Tom Menino established the Boston Food Council. To support this effort to help Bostonians access healthy, locally sourced food, the Eos Foundation is providing a grant toward the hiring of the Council’s first full-time coordinator. The Council also seeks to expand Boston’s local food production capacity and promote food as an economic development strategy.

Food Policy Councils (FPCs)—the first of which was launched in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1982—have sprung up across the country as a strategy to combat hunger, enhance local development, and improve the health of residents. In Boston, Council members include representatives from the Boston Public Health Commission, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Food Project, the Boston Public Market Association, the Claneil Foundation, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Farm Aid, City Fresh Foods,  Project Bread, and ReVision Urban Farm, as well as Eos.

The hiring of a paid coordinator is a major step forward for the Council because, as a 2009 report from the Institute for Food and Development Policy notes, “…the vast majority of FPCs have either no staff at all or only one part-time staff person…The lack of staff is a key challenge for many councils, and can cause councils to dissolve.”

On the other hand, they report, the promise of a successful Food Policy Council is enormous, with the “potential to democratize the food system” and an “opportunity to capture more wealth in the community.” The Eos Foundation believes a vibrant Council can help lead Boston to a healthier and better future.

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