Why is the city of Portland concerned about food policy issues? So, concerned in fact that the city's bureau of Planning and Sustainability devotes some of its resources to sustainable food programs like Urban Growth Bounty and the Better Together Garden at City Hall. On this episode of Locus Focus, we talk with Portland' "Food Czar" Steve Cohen, who manages the city's food policy and programs, about the need for these programs, why they are essential to creating sustainable communities. We'll also talk with Steve—who in the 1970s and 80s was a leader in numerous community projects and organizations with a strong counter-cultural bent—about how the values and community-building that shaped his younger years are finding an institutional niche in today's city infrastructure.
Steve Cohen manages food policy and programs for the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. He focuses on all aspects of a sustainable food system including planning, food security, education, economic development, urban agriculture, purchasing, composting, and climate change. Steve also staffs the Portland-Multnomah County Food Policy Council. Over the past 30 years he has played key roles in establishing indoor and outdoor festival markets, performing arts venues and community spaces in Oregon.
- KBOO