San Mateo County Food System Alliance

The San Mateo County Food System Alliance (SMFSA) is a collaboration of community leaders focused on creating a better future for farms, people, and the environment in San Mateo County. Since its founding in 2006 the group has shifted the dialogue about, and the policy around, food system issues.

The SMFSA is first and foremost a place to spur collaboration. In an early win, the group uncovered an opportunity for farming and food access groups to reduce costs by coordinating their shipping from one side of the county to the other. This occurred when for the first time farmers met their counterparts at the local food bank.

SMFSA has focused on both short and long-term changes. In their “Garden in Every School” campaign, the group advocated for garden-based education for both health and environmental awareness. Their work on permitting on-farm water storage has been diligent and ultimately rewarded by changes in State permitting requirements. The group’s farm-to-institution program is among the state’s most robust in connecting healthcare institutions with farms.

Ag Innovations founded SMFSA and has provided facilitation and staff support throughout its 8-year life. Based on principles we have honed in dozens of similar community-based collaborations, the San Mateo group reflects the best of what we have learned about empowering local leadership for change.

“In the world of food and farming systems, the problems are always complex and the players and interests are diverse. Making change in such an environment requires patience and skilled facilitation to bring groups together for collaborative action. Ag Innovations has been doing just that for many years and they do it very effectively.”
Karen Ross, California Department of Food and Agriculture