Readiness, outcomes, and capacity for future sustainability of food policy councils created through SNAP-Ed: A case study

Carrie Draper, Zachary Herrnstadt and Ashley Page Bookhart

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2025, vol. 14, issue 3

Abstract: Communities have formed food policy councils (FPCs) to address inequities in the food system by advancing policy, system, and environmental change (PSE) strategies, including through the SNAP-Ed program, but this approach has not been studied. To address this gap, we employed a case study approach with the aim of exploring (1) components of readiness for groups to start an FPC; (2) sector and priority population engage­ment in FPCs; (3) PSE strategies adopted as a result of FPC efforts; and (4) capacity for the future sustainability of FPCs receiving funding and ongoing training and technical assistance as a part of SNAP-Ed programming. Seven South Carolina groups interested in starting FPCs in partnership with SNAP-Ed participated in the study. They were interviewed to explore their readiness, sub­mitted ongoing tracking documents on engagement and PSE strategies, and completed sustainability assessment surveys and interviews. Groups demon­strated motivation and capacity to start or expand FPCs, though capacity-building needs were also identified. Engagement increased over a two-year period where ‘government or elected officials,’ ‘education,’ and ‘business/economic development’ became the most engaged sectors, while priority populations were most commonly engaged through a ‘consult’ or ‘inform’ approach. Forty-nine PSE strategies were adopted, with ‘initiation, improve­ment, expansion, reinvigoration, or maintenance of edible gardens’ being the most common strategy implemented and ‘community organization’ the most common setting. Capacity for future sustaina­bility of FPC scores increased over time for ‘fund­ing stability,’ ‘organizational capacity,’ and ‘adapta­tion’ domains, while other domains decreased. Results demonstrate evidence to justify the contin­uation of funding for FPCs through SNAP-Ed to advance PSE strategies. Further exploration is needed on how to ensure sustainability and that people eligible for SNAP-Ed are the ones leading FPCs.

Keywords: Agricultural; and; Food; Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/362797/files/1358.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:joafsc:362797

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development from Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().