Communities of practice are a valuable way of bringing partners together to connect and learn from each other to strengthen their collective work. It can also be very challenging to navigate the complexities that come with bringing a wide spectrum of partners together.

Founded in 2020, the Healthy Food Community of Practice has become a space for connection, learning, resource sharing, and action centered around the goal of helping to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) and communities kept furthest from power, can access and consume healthy food. Since launching three years ago, the Healthy Food Community of Practice has learned a lot from their members about how to better connect with one another, support each other, and create opportunities for collective action and innovation.

To share about what they have learned so far, we hear from Taylor Thompson (Intertribal Agriculture Council), who is a member of the community of practice, and Carolina Ramirez and Kaylyn Williams (Community Wealth Partners), who support the facilitation of the Community of Practice. They share about the key elements that have helped connect a very diverse group of participants, as well as what has been most helpful to support building trust and stronger relationships across their membership. 

References and Footnotes

• Healthy Food Community of Practice – Contact healthyfood@communitywealth.com to learn more.
• Article: Secrets to Success in Engaging Broad, Diverse Stakeholders for Transformational Change: Insights from the Healthy Food Community of Practice
• Intertribal Agriculture Council – contact info@indianag.org to learn more.
• Community Wealth Partners
• Resource: Sharing Power with Communities: A Field Guide

More on Collective Impact

Infographic: What is Collective Impact?
Resource List: Getting Started in Collective Impact

The Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.

The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.

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