Racial Equity and Economic Justice Community of Learning and Practice

How can we help FPCs incorporate racial equity in their practices, programs and policies? With support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the CLF's Food Policy Networks team partnered with four organizations and a consultant to facilitate a community of learning and practice (COLP) to address that question. Our partner organizations included the Center for Ideas, Equity and Transformative Change, Interaction Institute for Social Change, ChangeLab Solutions, Progressive Therapy and consultant Kip Holley. 

The facilitation team designed an immersive online learning experience centered on three values-- racial equity, economic justice, and healthy communities—and focused on four key pillars of FPCs: 1) structure, 2) culture, 3) programs and policy, and 4) membership.  FPC representatives participated in monthly virtual learning sessions from October 2021 to November 2023. The Progressive Therapy team created a supportive space during these monthly learning sessions and by hosting periodic FPC member-only Power Hour sessions that allowed individuals to process the impact of social injustice, oppression, and trauma on their personal wellbeing, workplace, and community. 

In April of 2023, the Mississippi Food Justice Collaborative hosted COLP members and the facilitation team at a gathering in Jackson, MS, to cultivate a more robust connection among the FPC members and to visit the impressive groundwork happening in Jackson. During this three-day gathering, we built stronger connections and began understanding how to use influential power through relationship building. Read more about this momentous event in You Had to Be There: Working on Equity in Jackson, Mississippi.

Fifteen FPCs, two people per FPC, participated in the COLP over two years. The last session was held in November of 2023, but COLP members will be offered one-on-one consultations with facilitators through April 2024.