What happened
City Council authorized a contract with Woollard Nichols Torres Consulting in December to implement the Austin/Travis County Food Plan. Created with input from hundreds of area residents, the plan is meant to tackle challenges with food access and production through dozens of strategies related to land use, climate response and community initiatives.
The city's nearly $282,000, three-year consulting contract will support one piece of that work, the creation of an "implementation collaborative" involving residents and other groups working toward food system goals. The collaborative is kicking off early next year and also expected to receive county funding.
"This contractor will design and lead a collaborative process to support the implementation of the Austin/Travis County Food Plan, including the gathering of a diverse group of partners from across the food system to align priorities, coordinate resources, and drive collective action," a city agenda document states.
Zooming out
The regional food planning effort was established as nearly 1 in 5 Austin households face food insecurity, or a lack of access to healthy and affordable food. That estimate is higher than the national average, and comes as funding is dwindling for food support from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to local services like senior meal deliveries and produce access for students and their families.
When responding to the potential federal SNAP freeze this fall, Austin and Travis County officials said local governments won't be able to fill in all the gaps from rising food insecurity. County commissioners did dedicate half a million dollars in emergency food aid in November due to anticipated lapsing SNAP benefits during the federal government shutdown.
"Food access in Austin is being shaped not only by local conditions but also by federal and systemic forces. Further changes are likely to emerge in the months ahead as federal and state funding shifts continue to unfold," Zach Baumer, Austin Climate Action & Resilience director, said in a November memo. "To maintain progress and ensure equitable access, the City and partner organizations must proactively adapt food programs and improve coordination to meet the needs of the community’s most vulnerable residents."
Austin's funding approved in December comes as much of the work envisioned through the plan has yet to take shape, and after stakeholders acknowledged the difficulty some food system strategies will face.
Several goals are tied to land acquisition and the buildup of local farming programs, costly proposals requiring moderate to significant public investments to get off the ground. While both city and county leaders voted to support of the plan in 2024, that action wasn't tied to any major budget allocations for the work.
Dozens of smaller-scale strategies are in progress, from the new community collaborative to local food preparedness planning and a community-owned grocery cooperative—although that project's launch has been delayed.
What's next
As the new implementation collaborative takes shape, the city will have some additional funding available for other food plan strategies.
This fall, Austin was awarded 20,000 euros—roughly $23,000—through the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact to help implement the plan. Edwin Marty, food policy manager with the city climate office, said that funding will likely be made available to relevant community groups through a public solicitation process next year.
“This award belongs to the many community members, advocates, and partners who helped shape Austin’s Food Plan,” Baumer said in a statement. “It’s a model of how local governments can advance equity and resilience by putting people at the center.”
Austin is also set to host the Milan Pact's North American forum in March, bringing dozens of civic food policy advocates to Central Texas. A separate food planning summit will be held after as part of the 2026 South by Southwest Conference & Festivals.
In addition to the plan overview and progress tracking already available online, Marty said the city is now working to launch an interactive food system map to determine the best uses for potential assets like farmland and other facilities.
