City of Flagstaff sustainability staff on Sept. 25 briefed the Sustainability Commission on the Food Action Plan, outlining a multi‑year assessment funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and asking residents to prioritize actions in October. "The primary purpose is assessing and growing a sustainable community food system," Steven Thompson, manager in the city's sustainability division, told commissioners as he reviewed project history and next steps.

The plan matters because the assessment covered Northern Arizona and aimed to identify gaps in food access, distribution and local food economies, and because the resulting action plan will guide city and county steps the commission and council may adopt. "We wanted to get a really good sense of food system in Northern Arizona," Thompson said, adding the work informed goals and draft actions now ready for community prioritization.

Thompson said the assessment phase (2023–24) included a community survey that yielded "over a thousand responses," 34 key‑stakeholder interviews, six workshops, and a social‑network analysis conducted by consultant New Venture Advisors. Local partners named during the presentation included Flagstaff Food Link and Flagstaff Family Food Center. From those inputs the project team and a steering committee formulated four overarching goals — food access; local farm and ranch economy; resilience; and network building — and "over 50 critical actions" organized under objectives for each goal.

City staff asked the public to review draft actions at two in‑person open houses and via an online survey during October. Thompson gave the open house dates as Wednesday, Oct. 8 at the Eastside Library, 6–7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Downtown Library, noon–1:30 p.m., and said an online survey would remain available through the month on the city’s engagement platform, Connect Flagstaff. After October the consultant will synthesize feedback, staff will revise the draft through November and December, and the city hopes to bring a draft to City Council for review in early January.

Commissioners asked about access to the underlying assessment data. Commissioner Tom Lamme asked, "I was curious about the raw data," and Thompson said copies of the community food system assessment, results, and related reports are available on the project web page and that staff would share links and the presentation with commissioners. Thompson also said staff would perform outreach and a press release to advertise the October open houses and the online survey.

The commission took no formal action on the Food Action Plan at the Sept. 25 meeting; staff presented information and solicited questions and direction to promote community participation in October.