ROOM AT THE TABLE - Intersight - University at Buffalo

and authorities. Food policy councils usually serve an advisory capacity to
county governments (and other levels, such as state governments), and vary
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A successful example of a county food council, the Dane County
Food Council, was implemented via resolution by the Dane County Board
following popular citizen petition. Membership on the council represents
backgrounds of “agricultural, business, nutrition, economic development,
academia, urban planning, and food security.” All nine positions are appointed
by either the county executive (6 members) or the county’s Environment,
Agriculture, and Natural Resources committee (3 members). 7 The resolution
passed by the county legislature to implement the Food Policy Council can
be found in Appendix E.
Farm bureaus are another type of body of county citizens making
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County Farm Bureau works as a watchdog group for “defending the rights
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as those engaged in agricultural production. As mentioned, the Bureau
furnishes scholarships for students interested in agricultural careers, but
it also puts together local programs like informative legislative seminars,
dinners at local farms, and forms community action groups. These farm
bureau groups share knowledge at meetings and create awareness of local
farmer concerns in Macomb County.
D. Plans
Counties may also adopt plans to articulate their policy goals and
implement them. In the food system context, there are comprehensive plans
that include provisions for the related food system, or separate stand­alone
food system plans. For example, the Transfer of Development Rights and
Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements in Dane County described
above are proposed in the 2007 Comprehensive Plan. 8 In addition to the
legal property restrictions these programs have created, the Plan creates fee
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