Baltimore City Planning Department - Food Policy Task Force

Results from a Law Review from the Harrison Law Institute at Georgetown University

• Using Zoning to Create Healthy Food Environments in Baltimore City
• Using Zoning to Create Healthy Food Environments in Baltimore City

Food Policy Task Force Strategies and Recommendations

The following strategies are ten top priority actions recommended by the members of the Food Policy Task Force:

1. Expand and Promote Farmers’ Markets
2. Expand and Promote Community Supported Agriculture
3. Support Continued Research on Food Deserts and Collaboration with Policymakers
4. Support a Central Kitchen Model for the Baltimore City Public School System
5. Support for Community Gardens and Urban Agriculture
6. Expand Supermarket Home Delivery Program
7. Improve the Food Environment around Schools and Recreation Centers
8. Support Street Vending of Healthy Foods
9. Create Healthy Food Zoning Requirements or Incentives
10. Develop a targeted marketing campaign to encourage Healthy Eating among all Baltimoreans
    
     

Draft Mission Statement

The Baltimore City Food Policy Task Force brings together stakeholders in Baltimore’s food production, distribution, and consumption system to collaboratively identify means to create demand for healthy food through awareness and education and to ensure opportunities for all Baltimoreans to access affordable healthy food options in order to achieve and sustain better health outcomes and a higher quality of life.

Mayor Sheila Dixon announced the creation of a Food Policy Task Force to improve city residents’ access to healthy foods. The Task Force will be jointly led by the Baltimore City Department of Planning and the Baltimore City Health Department. The Task Force will meet three times, and will release a final report with recommendations to address food policy in the City.

Both malnutrition and obesity pose significant challenges in Baltimore, and cardiovascular disease is the city’s leading killer. Studies by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found that many Baltimore residents lack convenient access to healthy foods such as whole wheat bread, skim milk, and fruits and vegetables.

Want to grow your own food?  For information on the Maryland Master Gardener Program, call the Home and Garden Information Center at (410) 531-5556 or visit Master Gardner website.

Baltimore City Farms:  Contact Information Coleen McCarty, City Farms Coordinator, (410) 396-0180, for more information.

Elected officials

Congressman Elijah Cummings, Delegate Shawn Tarrant, and Councilwoman Agnes Welch will participate on the Task Force. Other interested officials are invited to participate as well.