Summit Food Policy Coalition gets its first director; wants to increase access to healthy food

Summit County Food Policy Coalition, a group aiming to increase access to healthy food, has its first paid staff member, Beth Knorr.
Knorr will continue to serve as director of markets for the nonprofit Countryside Conservancy, overseeing Countryside’s farmers markets in the area.
For the Summit County Food Policy Coalition, Knorr will serve as director, a part-time position.
The Akron Community Foundation will pay $150,000 of a period of three years to pay Knorr’s part-time salary, as well to implement various plans.
The coalition, which was founded about nine years ago, also seeks to support entrepreneurial efforts surrounding local foods.
Knorr is far from new to the coalition. She is the group’s longtime steering committee member and is a former board chair.
Katie Fry, the coalition’s current board chair, said coalition board members chose Knorr in part because of her history with the coalition,  as well as her ability to raise funds and awareness.
The new position is the outgrowth of nearly two years of research and meetings initiated by Akron Community Foundation. In 2014, the foundation  commissioned an assessment of the local food network to identify needs surrounding healthy food availability, and to set the foundation’s own funding priorities concerning food access.
The director position will transition from 20 hours per week to full time over the course of three years. Knorr’s office will continue to be at Countryside’s headquarters in Boston Township.