About the Department

In April 2016, Mayor Toni Harp announced the City’s appointment of the Food System and Policy Director, the first of its kind in the state and among only 20 similar positions throughout the country.

The mission of this office is to ensure that the City of New Haven has a vital, resilient and robust, secure food system that assures all constituents have access to food. including healthy food options.

Our department works collaboratively with the New Haven Food Policy Council [NHFPC], City departments and other key stakeholders to build, improve and sustain city-wide efforts on food security, urban farming, and strong food economy.

Over the past nine years, a broad-based coalition of community members, organizations, businesses, schools, hospitals and City departments has collaborated through the NHFPC to address food issues such as hunger, obesity, food access, school food, urban gardens, and food business development.

The 2013 NHFPC Food Action Plan has served as the framework for policy change, coalition building, and grassroots organizing. The Food System and Policy Office is currently in the process of updating the Food Action Plan to more comprehensively reflect food system work throughout New Haven. The new, revised Food Action Plan is based on collaborative community input. Once completed this plan will move us towards a more vital, resilient, and robust food system.