North American Food Systems Network

The North American Food Systems Network (NAFSN) works at the forefront of the food systems profession itself, providing networking opportunities, resources, career guidance, leadership opportunities, training, webinars, podcasts, and a comprehensive jobs board for people at all levels of this critical-change work. 

NAFSN also convenes subject matter experts to develop training and open-access tools specifically for community-based food systems professionals. 

We envision a future in which food systems practitioners have the tools and support to effectively support the development of viable local and regional food systems that offer rewarding economic opportunities for producers as well as provide access to healthful, safe, reliable, affordable, biodiverse and culturally-diverse connections to food for all.

Your support helps NAFSN provide inclusive, affordable, easy-to-access, professional development opportunities for all involved in community food systems work. 

If you value a diverse, place-based, well-informed workforce at the helm of every community's food systems, support NAFSN today!

***

NAFSN's mission stems from our collective knowledge that the world’s dominant food structures have undermined the well being of Earth and all its inhabitants, including humans. Urgent issues related to food and agriculture that reduce the resilience of communities include:

• the ubiquity of diet-related human diseases
• farmer economic insecurity, aging-out, mental health concerns
• unjust and unsafe working conditions of farm workers
• farmland loss
• inability for new and historically marginalized farmers to access farmland & resources
• degradation of soil, water, air
• confined, disease-prone livestock
• disparities in rural communities
• lack of local infrastructure supporting food processing and distribution
• poor access to healthful foods in many communities
• disregard for traditional knowledge of regenerative practices
• climate change threatening food production
• industrial food production contributing to climate change
• multi-cultural foodways lost and replaced with cheap, highly-processed products sold as food

Effective solutions to these issues will address the interrelated challenges across both food and nutrition security and climate change and work towards transforming national and global food systems. This work will include strategies to promote local and regional food systems, which have been shown to reduce food waste, support local economics, increase the biodiversity, freshness, and nutritional value of foods, and reduce food insecurity.

NAFSN knows that this workforce requires unique skills, science-based knowledge, and trust-based networks. We offer learning and networking opportunities for practitioners at all career points (emerging, transitional, seasoned) to help this workforce become better known, valued, and engaged in driving meaningful change. We lean toward newcomers, and value lived experiences and activism as cornerstones of this profession.

NAFSN is a project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that accepts all funds on our behalf.