Rooted in Detroit

AMY KURAS, Policy Specialist at Detroit Food Policy Council

Rooted in Detroit, the Detroit Food Policy Council (DFPC) unites people throughout the food system toward the goal of a just, sustainable, equitable food system for the city of Detroit. The DFPC is a 21-member implementation, monitoring and advocacy body made up of representatives from city government, higher education, Detroit public schools, urban agriculture, farmer’s markets, institutional food, and more. “Our role as a convener is one of the most important aspects of our work,” says Winona Bynum, RD, PMP, executive director of the DFPC. “The food system is complex, and we provide the space where everyone can come to the table and address common goals and challenges.”

In 2009, the DFPC began and it hired its first staff in 2011. Today, two committees, education and engagement and research and policy, drive the day-to-day work of the staff. Most recently, the DFPC’s projects include: advocating for a simplified process for hopeful growers to access land in the city, educating the community about the importance of the food system, managing food waste, and meeting with other food policy councils in Michigan.

To encourage better quality offerings at the neighborhood grocery stores in Detroit, the DFPC brings together retailers, the city’s health department, academic researchers for The Great Grocery Store Coalition, a project spearheaded by the DFPC. During fall 2018, they held several focus groups across the city to hear from residents about where they frequented and why. They will take that information to determine a set of criteria to evaluate stores to designate “Great Grocery Stores,” encourage neighborhoods shoppers to “vote with their wallets” and patronize those stores that are best meeting the community’s needs.

“Over and over again, our research has shown that food access is the most pressing issue facing Detroiters when it comes to the food system,” says education and engagement manager, Kibibi Blount-Dorn, staff lead on the project. “Having quality grocery stores right in their neighborhoods can go a long way to alleviate that problem.”