What is the Minnesota Food Charter?

Developed through a broad-based public process, the Minnesota Food Charter offers a shared roadmap for how all Minnesotans can have reliable access to healthy, affordable, safe food in the places they work, learn, live, and play. We believe this access will reduce the risk and cost of obesity and diet-related diseases, like diabetes and heart disease; conserve state resources; and boost economic prosperity.

ROBUST PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Many residents and the organizations that represent and serve them are passionate about food access issues. The Minnesota Food Charter’s public input process engaged this broad diversity of residents, including:

Educators
Elected and appointed officials
Family farmers from rural, immigrant,
and urban communities
Financial institutions
Food and farm businesses
Food and farm-related organizations that
serve diverse audiences
Funders
Healthcare and public health professionals
Healthy food advocates
Institutional foodservice decision-makers
Middle school and college students
People with food access issues
Recent immigrants
Researchers in agriculture, food, and health
Social justice advocates
Tribal nations
Workers in food- and farm-related jobs

HOW DID WE DEVELOP THE FOOD CHARTER?

Thousands of Minnesotans in many communities and organizations helped develop the Food Charter. They attended events, contributed their ideas online, and provided leadership, identifying challenges and solutions related to healthy food access. To this input, we added expert opinions and the most current research on effective strategies for overcoming Minnesota’s barriers to healthy food access.

The Food Charter is intended to guide planning, decision-making, and collaboration for agencies, organizations, policy-makers, and public and private entities across the state.

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The Minnesota Food Charter will ensure we have healthy, affordable and safe food, building a legacy of health for future generations.

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The Minnesota Food Charter Network is supported by the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota Department of Health, University of Minnesota Extension, and the General Mills Foundation. This material was funded in part by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP – with funds received from and through the Minnesota Department of Human Services. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. The Minnesota Food Charter Network is hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Institute.