San Francisco’s Food Security Task Force was funded in 2005 to advise political leaders on policy to improve food security citywide. In late 2023, a subcommittee of that task force decided to hire a consultant to help them organize and evaluate data related to structures and models for food organizing in cities across the US and develop a series of recommendations for a new food organizing model in San Francisco.
Facente Consulting began work on this project in December 2023, accompanying Food Security Task Force members to qualitative interviews of food organizers and researching, compiling, organizing, and analyzing information on food structures and food policy councils in 8-10 US cities. In 2024, we helped design a workplan, attended monthly subcommittee meetings, and regularly presented findings and updates from desk research to the subcommittee members so they were able to ultimately select a model that is the best fit for San Francisco. After the Task Force voted on a final proposal for a new food structure they wanted to pitch to the Mayor’s Office and Board of Supervisors in summer 2024, we helped them develop a policy brief and slide deck, which Task Force members will use for presentations to city leaders.