The Washington State Food Systems Roundtable (RT) recently released the long-awaited Prospectus, which presents a 25-year vision for Washington State’s Food System. The Roundtable was a broad, diverse coalition of public and private partners committed to creating a food system that promotes the health of people, fosters a sustainable and resilient environment, is economically vibrant, and creates an equitable and just society. The Roundtable prided itself on its broad representation, including government, Tribes, local food policy councils, agriculture, food enterprises, labor, anti-hunger and nutrition advocates, economic development organizations, academia, public health, philanthropy and others.

This Prospectus is a road map for how Washington might achieve this vision and provides a framework for collaboration, engagement and shared responsibility. The Prospectus provides the opportunity for alignment across sectors, distributed leadership, and continued development of strategies over time. Washington’s Prospectus is not the first state to have undergone a statewide food systems planning effort. In 2006, the Michigan Food Policy Council produced a report of recommendations, and, in 2015, Vermont released its ten year Farm to Plate Strategic Plan. These plans have moved forward in implementation through the support of backbone organization. A local organization, Food Action, will steward Washington’s Prospectus and begin bringing the strategies into fruition.