History

In March 2017, the Flint Hills Wellness Coalition Nutrition Workgroup formed the Riley County and City of Manhattan Food and Farm Task Force. This group of 24 community stakeholders was created to identify a mission, vision and goals for a local food and farm council. To guide their work, the task force commissioned a food system assessment to bring together data and information from numerous secondary data sources to create a description of the current food system in the region. The assessment identified food insecurity, access to food, and food waste and related solid waste as issues to be addressed.

In summer 2018, the task force moved forward with the formation of bylaws and resolution development with a request for the City and County commissions to enter an interlocal agreement to form a joint advisory council. The first members were appointed in August 2018.

Extensive community engagement and assessment efforts led to development of a Food System Master Plan for Riley County and the City of Manhattan. A 2021 survey and 2022 Riley County Food System Assessment helped inform the master plan.