On Thursday, January 25, 2024, the CNMI CHL Food Systems project (CHL FS) held its first Local Advisory Council (LAC) meeting in Saipan, led by Tayna Belyeu-Camacho and Patty Coleman with assistance from the CNMI CHL team. The purpose of the meeting was to bring community partners together and to share and discuss the CHL FS project. CNMI LAC members included representatives from the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC) Public Health, the Public School System (PSS) Child Nutrition Program, PSS State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS), PSS Head Start program, Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), WIC program, Kagman Agricultural Farms and Producers Association (KAPFA), Tinian Cattlemen’s Association. Rota Department of Commerce, Life in the Son Christian Fellowship, Department of Finance, and Kalayaan, Inc. Meeting activities included an overview of past CHL projects and the current Food Systems project, the purpose of the LAC, a video introduction of the CNMI Food Systems Trainee Hannah Shai and updates on her progress, and a review of the CNMI causal loop diagrams (CLDs). Members were able to share where and how they see themselves contributing to the LAC and they participated in an activity where they mapped the current actions their organizations were taking to address specific variables on the CNMI CLD. The second CNMI LAC is scheduled for September 2024.
