The number of food systems plans being
developed across the United States and Canada
are growing. These plans have been undertaken
by states, regions, counties and municipalities and
share a common focus on advancing the capacity of
the food system. This paper provides an overview of
how one rural, three-county region, the Northeast
Kingdom (NEK) of Vermont, has undertaken a regional
food system planning and assessment process. The
project is led by a regional planning commission and
economic development corporation, Northeastern
Vermont Development Association (NVDA). Working
with the region’s leading local food hub organization,
the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE), the
year-long planning process has led to the creation
of a strategic plan that includes asset maps; goals,
targets, and measures; a governance network analysis
for support-system actors; recommended strategies
and action items; and a proposed implementation
framework. We compare the NEK planning process
to other previous efforts and draw some conclusions
about rural regional food systems planning more
generally.
