Local Food System Plan

Photograph of basket of local food

In recent years, Lincoln has taken significant steps to secure its future as a thriving and resilient community. One such step included the adoption of the Local Food System Plan in 2023 which seeks to strengthen the security of food produced, processed, and consumed in Lincoln. A thriving local food system reduces food insecurity, benefits the local economy, and helps protect the environment.

For consumers, local food is fresher, tastier, and more nutritious. Residents and communities that grow their own food enjoy the recreational and social benefits while ensuring increased food security against disruptions to the global food supply chain.
For farmers, a robust local food system offers a more stable market for their products, growth avenues, and entrepreneurial opportunities, which drives economic development for the entire region.
For the environment, a thriving local food system reduces the need for long-distance food transportation, which lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, it promotes sustainable agricultural practices, preserving soil, water, and air quality.
For public health, a thriving local food system provides residents with access to fresh, healthy food. Access to nutritious food helps reduce obesity, heart disease, and other chronic diseases.

Goals

Based on community input received through community meetings, surveys, and focus groups, the following goals were identified:

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Key Terms

Food Insecurity

Food security occurs at two levels: individual/household and community. An individual/household's food security concerns access to enough nutritious and culturally appropriate food. Community food security is about whether there is enough food available to meet the dietary needs of our growing urban population now and in the future.

Food System

The food system is the production, processing, transport, consumption, and waste or recovery of food – basically following the path of food from production to your table. Farmers, processors, distributors, retailers, and all of us as consumers are included in the system.

Food System Plan

A food system plan provides strategies for strengthening a community’s food system through policy and community action.

Local Food

Though somewhat flexible based on the type of food, local food is generally defined as food grown within a 250-mile radius of a community. For Lincoln residents, that includes parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa, as well as western Nebraska.

Map showing local food radius definition

Regenerative Agriculture

Regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming systems that incorporates environmental benefits, and specifically focuses on enhancing soil health and mitigating the effects of climate change. It involves practices such as minimal tillage and cover cropping to benefit soil health and protect natural resources.

Food Recovery

Food recovery is the practice of collecting edible food that would otherwise go to waste and delivering it to local food distribution centers.

Land Acknowledgement

We recognize that a food system starts with the land, and that sustainable stewardship of that land is the basis for food production and the well-being of those who live on it. We acknowledge that the City of Lincoln is located on lands that are the past, present, and future homelands of the Ponca, Omaha, Dakota and Otoe Peoples. Our goal is to be respectful custodians of these traditional lands, learn from the past, be mindful of what we do in the present, and work toward a sustainable future for those who come after us.

Contact Us

Anna Oetting

Sustainability Specialist

Phone

402-441-7859

Email

aoetting@lincoln.ne.gov

Mayor's Community Committee on Local Food

  • Megan McGuffey (Co-Chair), Community Crops
  • Tim Rinne (Co-Chair), Hawley Hamlet

Committee Members

Read the Full Plan

Local Food System Plan(PDF, 3MB)

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