What is Food Democracy?

The NJ Food Democracy Collaborative was created as an expression of food democracy. Food democracy is both a process and a goal. It happens when community members learn together and take collective action around programmatic and policy strategies to address complex food systems issues in their own communities (Bassarab, Clark, Santo and Palmer, 2019).

In a democratic food system:

• People have agency over their food environment

• People have access to information about programs and policies

• Institutions that manage programs that impact food and agriculture are transparent and accessible

• People have a voice in decision-making about their food system at all levels and can participate in shaping it.