Description

We are leaving extraordinary times. How changes in external condisions can affect the work of FPC and what are the best strategy to enhnace their resilience?  Electoral cycles, global crisis such as COVID or wars can drammatically affect political agendas. Food might be a particularly particularly affected by these changes. How can we ensure FPCs resilience in difficult times? 

In this Session: 

Relationships, resilience, clarity, and adaptability (Rodger Cooley)

• Changes within governmental leadership both elected and administrative often require shifts in strategy, approach, and relationships. FPCs can work to prepare for these inventible transitions through coalitions, direct electoral education, and multilevel relationship building

„1 idea – 3 cities: the founding of food policy councils and the strategies of food policy entrepreneurs in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Vienna (Karen Schewina)

• I compared the structures of three food policy councils in cities that signed the MUFPP (Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Vienna) and will present a few findings regarding the legal structure, support from the municipalities etc to impact the development of food policies or strategies. I come to the conclusion, that food policy entrepreneurs play an important role in these processes and want to present the strategies to navigate certain challenges like changes after electoral cycles or lacking support from the administration in general, but also the need to discuss theories of change in the councils themselves. 

People-centred food policy councils: The Toronto experience (Lori Stahlbrand)

• The Toronto Food Policy Council (TFPC) was a leading food policy council throughout its 30 years of existence. The TFPC went into an unplanned hiatus during the pandemic, from which it has not yet emerged. For three decades, the TFPC was a citizen council advising the Toronto Board of Health and Toronto City Council on food issues. It operated under a unique model of community stakeholder engagement, based on citizen volunteers who committed to help develop and advocate for progressive and sustainable food policies using a food systems approach. This presentation will explore this model and how it functioned to advance urban food policy in Toronto. The presenter is a former City of Toronto Staff Lead for the TFPC, and was also a TFPC member during the mid-2000s.

We gave it our best shot. Madrid FPC experience (Julia del Valle González)

• Since signing the Milan Pact in 2025, Madrid City Council has embarked on an ambitious journey to shape food policies and build a governance model fostering multi-stakeholder, multi-level participation. Across two and a half legislative terms, the external team led by Germinando and various rotating municipal technical teams worked together—sometimes more successfully than others. Madrid’s Food Policy Council (FPC) took different forms and went through several stages, yet consistently demonstrated strong participation and cooperation. Spoiler alert: we didn’t quite make it. But throughout the process, we remained committed, learned a lot, and gave it our best shot.