For communities across Michigan and across the country, often the first step to building a community-based food system is cultivating an awareness of the opportunities. Communicating these opportunities to stakeholders, potential partners, and consumers can be a challenge.

In an attempt to “lower the bar” of that challenge, the Mott Group has created an example of a place-based booklet that frames the ideas of a community-based food system through local stories, facts, and photographs. Food Connections: Capital Area Community Food Profile highlights local food system successes in the 3-county area surrounding Lansing, Michigan.  Another example, Better Choices Through Local Foods:  Tri-County Community Food Connections, created by the Saginaw Local Food Initiative, highlights local food system successes in the 3-county area surrounding Saginaw, Michigan.

A Community Food Profile can serve many purposes at the local level, including:

• Highlighting successful local examples of community-based food activities
• Communicating visually and verbally the food connections within a community
• Building support for local activities that leverage limited resources for multiple ends
• Providing an entry-point for engaging leaders and citizens
• Developing multi-sector partnerships that result in mutually beneficial programs and projects

We offer the Capital Area Community Food Profile as a tool and a template for groups interested in creating a similar resource for their own community. Technical assistance, including a development guide is available through the Mott Group.