Chicago Food Policy Action Council

What Chicago Food Policy Action Council does

Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) is a Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 2002 that co-facilitates, advocates for, and implements policies advancing food justice and food sovereignty across the Metro Chicago region. The organization works to ensure that all Chicagoans — particularly Black, Indigenous, and residents of color — have the right to produce and access culturally appropriate, nutritious, sustainable, and fair food, addressing structural racism in land access, food business ownership, food security, and political power. Its programmatic portfolio spans the Good Food Purchasing Initiative (GFPI), which works with institutions to shift procurement toward local economies, valued workforce, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and nutrition; the Chicago Food Justice Rhizome Network, a coalition of advocates organized through working groups; and the annual Chicago Food Justice Summit, hosted for 21 consecutive years. Supporting offerings include the GFPI Community Fund (unrestricted grants of $40,000-$80,000 to marginalized local farms and food businesses), the Food Chain Workers' Rights and Livelihood Manual, the bilingual Guide for Growers & Food Businesses, the Urban Stewards Action Network, and the M-CERF research consortium.

CFPAC operates through community organizing, coalition building, and policy advocacy at city, county, and state levels, with strategic partnerships spanning the Cook County Department of Public Health, the City of Chicago, the Illinois General Assembly, the Center for Good Food Purchasing (national), The Rockefeller Foundation, Builder's Initiative, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, and more than a dozen regional advocacy organizations. The organization's technology footprint is minimal — it relies on a Squarespace website, social media, email newsletters, and a Z2Systems donation platform — and there is no proprietary software or AI capability. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the organization is funded through foundation grants, federal and state government grants (CDC/HHS, USDA, ARPA), and individual donations, with the GFPI Community Fund having deployed roughly $670,000 to nearly $700,000 in grants to local farms and food businesses in 2025 and 2026 respectively.

Name

Chicago Food Policy Action Council

Legal name

Chicago Food Policy Action Council

Website

https://chicagofoodpolicy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CFPAC is a Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 2002 that convenes food justice advocates, advances values-based food procurement policy, and channels grant funding to marginalized local farms and food businesses in the Metro Chicago region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Food Policy Advocacy

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA), Food Systems & Value Chain Development for Nutrition (BPADAJAG), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

Keywords

• Food policy advocacy
• Food justice initiatives
• Community grant funding
• Good food purchasing
• Nonprofit coalition building

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Government Funding: CFPAC receives federal and state government grants, including CDC/HHS funding through Cook County Department of Public Health, USDA grants, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
2. Foundation Support: Funding from philanthropic foundations including The Rockefeller Foundation and Builder's Initiative to support the GFPI Community Fund and organizational operations.
3. Donations: Individual and organizational donations through their donation platform to support organizational mission and programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) co-facilitates, advocates for, and implements food justice and food sovereignty policies across Chicago and the Metro region. Its core offerings include the Good Food Purchasing Initiative (GFPI) for values-based institutional procurement, the Chicago Food Justice Rhizome Network coalition, the GFPI Community Fund grant program providing $40,000–$80,000 to marginalized local farms and food businesses, and the Annual Chicago Food Justice Summit convening stakeholders across the food system.

Product overview

The Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) is a food policy and advocacy organization rather than a technology product company. Its offerings consist of programs and initiatives focused on advancing food justice and sovereignty. The core program is the Good Food Purchasing Initiative (GFPI), which works with institutions to implement values-based food procurement. Supporting programs include the Rhizome Network (collaborative working groups), the GFPI Community Fund (grant program for farmers and food businesses), and the Annual Food Justice Summit. Additional offerings include educational resources like the Food Chain Workers' Rights Manual and the Guide for Growers & Food Businesses, as well as research through M-CERF and coalition-building via the Urban Stewards Action Network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Good Food Purchasing Initiative of Metro Chicago (GFPI): An initiative working to ensure institutional food purchasing advances an equitable, healthy, fair, local, humane, and sustainable food system while creating good food access for all.
• Chicago Food Justice Rhizome Network
• Urban Stewards Action Network (USAN)
• GFPI Community Fund

Products and services

• Good Food Purchasing Initiative (GFPI) A values-based food purchasing program that works with institutions (schools, hospitals, government agencies) to shift procurement toward five core values: local economies, valued workforce, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and nutrition.
• Chicago Food Justice Rhizome Network A collaborative network of food justice advocates organized through working groups (Resilient Food Systems, Monthly Rhizome, CFPAC Policy calls) to build a more equitable food system in Chicago.
• GFPI Community Fund A grant program providing unrestricted funding ($40,000–$80,000) and technical assistance to systematically marginalized local farms and food businesses striving to meet Good Food Purchasing Program standards.
• Annual Chicago Food Justice Summit Multi-day annual summit fostering connections and hosting meaningful conversations surrounding food justice and food sovereignty for advocates, policymakers, farmers, and food businesses.
• Food Chain Workers' Rights and Livelihood Manual A handbook containing key information about food chain workers' rights, health and safety laws, worker organizing, and advocacy for workers throughout the food system.
• GFPI Guide for Growers & Food Businesses A comprehensive guide for people growing food or running food businesses to learn about emerging market opportunities created by the Metro Chicago Good Food Purchasing Initiative; available in English and Spanish.
• Urban Stewards Action Network (USAN) An action-based transformational network of community farmers and partner organizations providing safe space for BIPOC coalition building and redefining power in the Chicago food system.
• M-CERF (Midwest Consortium for Equity, Research, Food Justice) A research consortium focused on equity, research, and food justice that publishes academic works on food systems, community impacts, and sustainable agriculture.

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Cook County Department of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2023CFPAC collaborated with Cook County Department of Public Health and Cook County Good Food Task Force on the Suburban Cook County Microgrant Program to expand access to healthy, locally sourced emergency meals and produce to food insecure communities.
• Illinois Stewardship AlliancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on food-related legislative wins and policy advocacy at the Illinois General Assembly.
• Illinois Environmental CouncilmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on environmental and agricultural policy advocacy including Farm Bill Week of Action.
• Illinois Public Health Institute Alliance for Health EquitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on food-related legislative wins and public health policy advocacy.
• Greater Chicago Food DepositorymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on food-related legislative wins and food system advocacy.
• Urban Growers CollectivemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization contributing to the GFPI Guide for Growers & Food Businesses resource development.
• Advocates for Urban AgriculturemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner contributing to grower resources and urban agriculture advocacy; hosts the Grower Resources listserv.
• University of Illinois Extension - Local Food Systems & Small FarmsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in resource development including the GFPI Guide for Growers & Food Businesses; supported Suburban Cook County Microgrant Program.
• Center for Good Food PurchasingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partner organization for the Good Food Purchasing Program providing standards and certification framework.
• Southland Development AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported Suburban Cook County Microgrant Program and local food system development.
• Real Foods CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Suburban Cook County Microgrant Program supporting local food businesses.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Center for Good Food Purchasing: National standards body that originated the Good Food Purchasing Program framework that CFPAC implements at the Metro Chicago level; operates the certification architecture CFPAC relies on, making it the most comparable direct peer.
• MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger: National nonprofit advocating on federal food-assistance policy and funding anti-hunger programs; comparable in policy-advocacy mission, federal grantmaking activity, and focus on systemic food insecurity solutions.
• Fair Food Network: National nonprofit working to build a more equitable food system through programs like Double Up Food Bucks; comparable as a sustainable food systems impact organization combining direct program delivery with federal-level policy advocacy.
• Greater Chicago Food Depository: Chicago's largest food bank and listed CFPAC coalition partner; comparable as a Chicago-anchored food-access nonprofit advancing anti-hunger policy and operating regional food distribution and advocacy programs.
• Food Policy Action Network: National food-policy advocacy organization tracking congressional food-policy votes and lobbying federal legislators; comparable in food policy advocacy focus and coalition-driven operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Food Research & Action Center (FRAC): National nonprofit working to eradicate poverty-related hunger through policy advocacy, research, and public education; comparable in food-systems policy advocacy focus and federal nutrition program engagement.
• Urban Growers Collective: Chicago-based BIPOC-led nonprofit operating urban farms and partner of CFPAC for GFPI Guide development; comparable as a Chicago-region food justice organization spanning production, workforce, and community programming.

Emerging players

• Win (MAZON partner org former model) / Hunger Free America: National anti-hunger policy and advocacy nonprofit combining direct service with policy campaigns; partial overlap with CFPAC's dual programmatic-and-policy operating model for addressing food insecurity.

Regional players

• Illinois Stewardship Alliance: Statewide Illinois food and farm policy advocacy group working on legislative wins; comparable in food/farm policy advocacy model and CFPAC's coalition partner on Illinois General Assembly work.
• Advocates for Urban Agriculture: Chicago-based coalition advancing urban agriculture and grower resources; comparable as a Chicago-anchored, CFPAC partner working on grower capacity-building and urban food system advocacy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/usanchicago
• Facebookfacebook.com/chifoodpolicy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Chicago Food Policy Action Council