The Creation of the Food System Coalition

Joel Diringer was one of the conveners of the SLO County Food System Coalition (FSC). His consulting business Diringer & Associates focuses on health policy and program development, research and evaluation, and so he was called upon to work on the Hunger-Free Community Project. This project was born out of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Hunger-Free Communities planning grant that was awarded in Spring 2011 to the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County.

It was important to me to help form the food system coalition in order to coalesce community efforts that were combating hunger on many different fronts, and also to provide a community forum for discussion and action.” - Joel Diringer, Diringer & Associates

As part of that grant’s objectives, the Food Bank convened a group of stakeholders to form a food policy council that would focus on community education and outreach. This group was the FSC.

A second part of the Hunger-Free Community Project was the collaboration of community partners on 2 food system studies which are:
 
Food Resource Guide, led by The Central Coast Ag Network (CCAN)
Food Security Assessment and Food Store Survey, led by STRIDE, a Cal Poly research group

Both the Food System Coalition and these two studies have contributed to the third component of the grant, the creation of Paradox of Plenty, a strategic plan to address hunger and nutrition issues in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County.

After the conclusion of the Hunger-Free Communities grant, the Food Bank, with Diringer & Associate’s assistance, was awarded the USDA Community Food Project grant twice, consecutively. These were used for various projects carried out by food system stakeholders, including the FSC, which focused on expanding nutrition and food opportunities to marginalized immigrant, and Latinx communities in San Luis Obispo County.

Joel sees value in the FSC because it coalesces a wide range of SLO County residents who are interested in an equitable and sustainable food system. Bringing together agriculture interests, social services providers, health professionals, educational organizations and grassroots advocates means a large portion of the food system is represented, which will help bring positive change.

However, Joel notes that ten years after its initiative to drive out hunger in the county, there is still work to do. With the help of a committed base of organizations and persons who continue toward FSC’s goals, Joel knows the food system will continue to improve.

Over the years, I have enjoyed working with a robust group of “old-timers” and new participants to keep the Coalition sustained.” - Joel Diringer, Diringer & Associate

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We are so thankful for Joel's help to create our Coalition! If you or someone you know has skills in grant writing, project organizing, or other nonprofit support areas that you would like to volunteer, please contact us today!