Welcome to the “About” page of the Food Systems Coalition of Greater Gainesville (FSC-GNV) website. Below, you’ll find an interactive tour of our logo as well as a written overview of what we do.

About Us

Click on the different sections of our logo to learn more about what we do and how we do it.

The logo for the Food Systems Coalition of Greater Gainesville, depicting carrots, a food system, and a social network
CoalitionFoodSystems

Coalition

We are a grassroots coalition of diverse local stakeholders who share knowledge, resources, experiences, networks, and opportunities for partnership that can enhance our individual efforts. The FSC-GNV is neither an extension of any existing organization or agency nor an entity of its own.

Anyone who is interested can participate in the FSC. Local government staff, non-profits, small food-based business owners, local farmers, community gardeners, faculty, students, healthcare professionals, and more are already involved.

Food

The FSC-GNV meets monthly, alternating between focusing on Food Access & Community Wellbeing and Supply Chain & Economic Development.

We seek to identify barriers (policies, resource gaps, socioeconomic disparities, market challenges, etc.) that impede our local food system and work together towards solutions.

Systems

We use a systems perspective in our work. This means we’re concerned with the entire lifespan of a food, from seed & feed all the way through to consumption and waste disposal. It also means we’re interested in a wide range of fields, including:

Farming
Agricultural extension
Farmworker rights and well-being
Community gardening
Food processing & manufacturing
Food transportation & distribution
Food marketing & retailing
Restaurants
Public health
Nutrition education
Emergency food assistance
Institutional food service
Urban planning & policy
And more!

What is the Food System Coalition of Greater Gainesville (FSC-GNV)?

The FSC-GNV is a grassroots coalition of diverse local stakeholders. Specifically, we aim to improve our local food system through collaboration. Thus, we meet monthly to share knowledge, resources, experiences, networks, and opportunities for partnership.

What is the FSC-GNV mission?

To improve the accessibility, justice, and sustainability of our local food system.

How do we achieve our mission?

Our work includes the following efforts:

  1. Facilitating collaboration and open communication amongst diverse stakeholders engaged in projects, programs, and policy initiatives that aim to improve our local food system.
  2. Raising awareness of initiatives underway in our community.
  3. Identifying opportunities to leverage collective resources and talent to address food system issues – such as policy, resource gaps, socioeconomic disparities, market challenges, procurement practices, etc.

Who participates?

Anyone! For example, local government staff, non-profits, small food-based business owners, local farmers, community gardeners, faculty, students, healthcare professionals, and more are already involved.

Updated July 24, 2021

Download a PDF version of this information about the FSC-GNV HERE.