A steering committee for Community, Local, and Regional Food Systems (CLRFS) team was established in November 2015 under the guidance of Dr. Ed Jones and morphed into the VCE CLRFS Program Team in January 2018. We developed a CLRFS Model, a result of a vast literature review and an interactive mapping exercise that the steering committee conducted at the 2016 statewide CLRFS Forum. Our drafted CLRFS pathway model was further refined through discussions in 2020 over several program team meetings.

The current model focuses on seven interrelated long-term outcomes enclosed in a “cloud” of Justice and Fairness in the Food Systems. Those seven concepts are- healthy people, food security, viable communities, sustainable farmland, and natural resources, agricultural profitability, economic development and innovation for all, and safe and nutritious food and water for all. Our goal continues to be to assess current VCE programs in CLRFS and develop a workable organizational structure for supporting these efforts across the Commonwealth.