Principles of Engagement

Good Food Dialogues creates opportunities for diverse, purposeful and respectful exchanges among stakeholders. In alignment with this goal, the process we rely on to create safe, respectful communication includes the following principles of engagement:

Principle 1: Act with Urgency 

We recognize the utmost urgency of sustained and meaningful action at all levels.

Principle 2: Be Respectful

Within our respective capacities and circumstances, we will promote food production, consumption policies, and practices that strive to protect and improve the health and well-being of individuals; enhance resilient livelihoods and communities; and promote good stewardship of natural resources, while respecting local cultures and contexts.

Principle 3: Embrace Multi-stakeholder Inclusivity 

We support inclusive multi-stakeholder processes and approaches, within governments and communities, that reflect diverse perspectives (including indigenous knowledge, cultural insights, and science-based evidence) and enable stakeholders to design policy options that more equitably serve communities and improve the systems we rely on to end hunger and improve nutrition and health outcomes.

Principle 4: Complement the Work of Others

Recognizing that the challenges related to hunger, nutrition, and diet-related disease we are addressing are complex, we will seek to ensure that Good Food Dialogues amplifies and accelerates existing efforts, where practicable, and avoids unnecessary duplication, all the while encouraging bold and innovative new thinking and approaches that deliver systems-level transformation.

Principle 5: Build Trust

Good Food Dialogues will prioritize building trust with the communities and stakeholders we work with. The information shared during Good Food Dialogues events will be rooted in evidence-based, transparent data and our organization will remain accessible in our governance, decision-making, planning, engagement, and implementation.

Engaging Key Stakeholders in Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

To create meaningful impact, we will need the attention, involvement, and input of diverse and influential external stakeholders, including individuals with firsthand knowledge of the food and nutrition challenges.

Good Food Dialogues encourages participation and input from stakeholders in the private sector; academia; subject matter experts; political representatives; individuals with boots-on-the-ground, lived experience – with a special focus on historically underrepresented groups and communities to elevate robust and diverse voices committed to solving the issues at the heart of food, hunger, and nutrition inequities.

Prioritizing Equity by Building Longer Tables

Good Food Dialogues employs strategic outreach to historically underrepresented leaders and organizations to provide a critical equity lens and ensure that the voices of people from historically underrepresented groups most harmed by our current food system – including racial and ethnic minorities, Americans with lower incomes, and Americans living in rural areas – are at the center of food policy discussions and solutions.

Good Food Dialogues is leading efforts to engage a network of historically underrepresented community leaders and minority-owned businesses to mobilize inclusive participation. This engagement is essential to painting a full picture of the inequitable issues our nation faces, and ultimately solving them.