What is a "Foodshed EcoSystem"?

"A Foodshed is the geographical area between where the food is produced and where the food is consumed. The Foodshed concept is similar to a watershed as both encompass the flow of a substance from its origin to its ultimate destination."

[Definition courtesy Michigan State University]

We've developed a framework with which to think of a Foodshed, consisting of its players and context in a set of concentric rings.

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Many folks think of the "food system" as it's core components: the inner orange circle, with farmers and distributors and retailers and the like. It is, but it is also much more. Some diagrams omit both animals and us eaters and drinkers. We think consumers drive the need for the whole thing. And animals participate with the ultimate price. They deserve to be included, and treated humanely up to market day.

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Surrounding core food system activities are their direct enablers: the companies that do the activities - and their funders - as well as the policy makers that set the rules and the regulators that enforce them.

Where is "government" in this framework, you ask? Government plays so many roles, we've elected to place associate specific government agencies or departments with the role they play, the activities they do, rather than lump all government into one big ol' pot.

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Beyond that, there is a whole world of supporters, influencers, and cheerleaders. One of the most recent arrivals on that scene is the EcoSystem Builder, whose job it is to help everyone else connect, collaborate, and succeed.

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Of course we wouldn't want to forget the overall context in which that food system operates, particularly our old friend Mother Nature!

Other important aspects of context include the actual people (the "talent") available to work in the food system; the overriding national, regional, and "food" culture; the modern world of data and information technology; and the web of collaboration and mutual benefit that binds it all together.

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Components

Core Components

eaters and drinkers, us, everyone on earth

land, soil fertilizer, feed, equipment, precision ag tech, energy, services

livestock, poultry

farmers and ranchers, vertical & aqua / 
​hyro-ponic
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transformation of raw material into value-added product including livestock, grains, produce

consumer packaged goods, brands, co-packers

brokering, aggregating, storing, distributing and delivering

for end-customer consumption: restaurants, cafeterias, caterers

grocery stores, farmers markets, mobile farm-to-institution trucks, end-customer delivery companies

trash haulers, food waste recovery, composters, hunger agencies, up cyclers

Direct Enablers

start-ups, small business, artisans, crafters, mid-size firms

the biggies across all core  component functions

federal, state, & local executive & legislative bodies, food policy boards, think tanks, planning agencies

certifiers, gov't enforcement agencies, self-regulating associations

banks, farm credit, private investors, foundations, fintech​

Supporters

primary food system surveyors, ag study drivers, secondary research compilers

promoters of the good food movement, either as individual grassroots activists or as organizations

trainers, consultants, mentors, developers, designers, experts, marketers, accountants, lawyers

colleges, universities, technical training schools, online learning, entrepreneur & producer trainers

aka ecosystem entrepreneur, convener, facilitator, catalysts, connectors, cheerleaders, co-creators and changemakers

incubators and accelerators, cohort programs

industry groups

co-working, shared commercial kitchens

magazines, newspapers, radio, blogs, websites, social media outlets

Context

weather, soil, ecology, humans, organisms

the building of social capital with a focus on the common good and food culture - honoring and helping food cultures from various groups

the humans, the workers, the environment that attracts and retains quality, creative, hard working people

information technology, precision agriculture, SaaS, mobile apps, big data, little data, just right data

intersections facilitating the interaction of people, ideas and resources;
cooperation, trust; reciprocity

Context

On-Ramps are access points so that all interested people can participate, with particular attention to historically un- or under-represented peoples. On-ramps should be explicitly built and promoted by the players within an ecosystem.

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