Food Matters

A sustainable, healthy food system is a necessary component of a resilient city.  It is a foundation for health, not only for people, but for communities, animals and the planet.

To develop resilience through a community-based food system, we must connect food to issues of stewardship, policy, self-reliance, social justice, planning, design and ecoliteracy.

Resilient Cities has a history of food systems work, engaging in urban agriculture projects such as Troy Gardens, Alice’s Garden and the emerging work at the Resilience Research Center.  As a result, progress has been made in relationship building, government policies, planning, and capacity building in food, land, infrastructure and people.

Working Together

Building a healthy food system that is ecologically sustainable, economically vibrant and socially just requires building a strong, vibrant network of collaborative actors working from different angles but with the same goal: a better world.

Our food systems work at Resilient Cities enables us to think and act critically alongside a number of smart organizations locally, in Wisconsin, in the Upper Midwest, and across the U.S.

Milwaukee Food Council

Alice’s Garden

Growing Power

Lindsay Heights Corner Store Initiative

Lindsay Heights Neighborhood Health Alliance

M7 FaB (Milwaukee Seven Food and Beverage Advisory Council)

Milwaukee County Winter Farmers Market

Fondy Food Center

Sweet Water Foundation

Walnut Way Conservation Corps

American Planning Association Food Interest Group

Food Enterprise Development Network

Slow Food Upper Midwest

Slow Food USA

UEDA (Urban Economic Development Association)

Wisconsin Local Food Network

Community Food Security Coalition
Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab

Want to learn more?

Here are some of our favorite resources to learn more about our complex food system and making it more resilient. These resources have been developed by friends, partners and organizations we respect.

Food Systems Diagrams.pdf

Healthy Sustainable Food Systems Principles.pdf

Green Jobs in Food System.pdf

Wisconsin Seasonal Availability.pdf

Changing the Paradigm

The last half century is marked by intense industrial food production, which is supported by cheap fossil fuels and plentiful land and water resources.  However, our future holds a different story:  rising energy and food costs, a changing climate, lessening water supplies, an expanding population, and the dilemma of widespread hunger and obesity.  These realities call for a new approach to food and agriculture.  How will we nourish ourselves? 

A system as intricate and interconnected as the food system is not repaired, nor made resilient, because of a single solution to the problems it faces. A myriad of solutions must address the challenges to people and planet in order for a healthy, resilient and sustainable food system to exist in our communities.