Here are the questions posed to candidates for the forum, edited for length:
1) How do you plan to work with and support the work of the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council as it seeks to implement our Food Action Plan?
2) What would you do to remove barriers and create land-use incentives to improve the quality of food and beverages sold in neighborhood food environments (healthy neighborhood markets, farmers markets, full-service grocery stores, full-service restaurants, wellness centers, community gardens, etc.) in underserved communities? How do you plan to openly address the race and class issues which go unaddressed in our city but which create unequal opportunities for health and good food?
3) What steps do you propose to encourage and support residents growing their own food? How do you plan to work toward aligning Asheville’s policies and budget to match the values it embraces to support our farmers and preserve our agricultural land?
4) In the event of a major crisis or natural disaster, Asheville doesn’t have local food supplies sufficient for the recommended two weeks. How will you advocate and organize to ensure food security for our city in a time of crisis?
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.