Agenda Item Name:
Title
Food Security Update
End
Presenter:
Karissa Raskin, Civic Collaboration Specialist
Sean McLendon, Strategic Initiatives Manager
Description:
Food security update on City and County efforts to date with possible next steps.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Hear presentation.
End
Prior Board Motions:
At the Joint City County meeting of Dec 15, 2020 Commissioner Prizzia moved to
1. Direct County staff to lead a collaborative effort with City and other stakeholders, such as community organizations and extension, to develop an interactive map of our local food system that includes, but is not limited to: food security support (food banks and pantries), food retail such as groceries, corner stores, markets and produce stands, processing and distribution, community gardens, and farms/agriculture.
2. County sign on to participate in the Good Food Purchasing Program, and to reach out to our fellow institutions - UF, UF/Health, V.A Hospital, North Florida Hospital, Chamber of Commerce, Santa Fe College, and the Sheriff’s office to encourage them to join us.
3. Direct County staff to work with city staff to bring back options for including incentives and/or requirements for food businesses (corner stores, gas stations, discount food, etc.) to provide fresh produce, staple food items and nutritious shelf stable food items and to expand locally farmed food in areas classified as food deserts in urban and rural areas. The motion carried 4-0 with Commissioner Chestnut absent.
At the same Joint City County meeting the City passed a similar motion.
City Commissioner Johnson moved the following:
1. City provide policy research on alternative brick and mortar food access initiatives included but not limited to a) government supported grocery stores b) grocery stores in schools c) grocery stores located in low income and/or public housing d) Multi-purpose facilities that include grocery stores similar to the Evans Center.
2. Direct City staff lead a collaborative effort with County and other stakeholders, such as community organizations and extension, to develop an interactive map of our local food system that includes, but is not limited to: food insecurity support (food banks and pantries), food retail such as groceries, corner stores, markets and produce stands, processing and distribution, community gardens
and farms/agriculture.
3. City of Gainesville sign on to participate in the Good Food Purchasing Program, and to reach out to fellow institutions - UF, UF/Health, the V.A. Hospital, North Florida Hospital, the Chamber of Commerce, Santa Fe College and the Sheriff’s office to encourage them to join us.
4. Direct City staff to work with County staff to bring back options for including incentives and/or requirements for food business (corners stores, gas stations, discount food, etc.) to provide fresh produce, staple food items and nutritious shelf stable food items and to expand locally farmed food in areas classified as food deserts in urban and rural areas.
5. Direct City staff to identify potential areas of collaboration between the City, County, and UF/IFAS to present to us during the January 15th 12th
special meeting.
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
The Good Food Purchasing Program Phase 1 cost estimate is $10,000 in FY21, account 001.17.1770.552.82.53. Phase 2 cost estimates will be an additional $10,000 in FY22, 01.17.1770.552.82.53. Once goals are established, the Board may adjust agreement with the Sheriff to reflect the food procurement costs for the Jail in FY24.
The Food System Mapping project will be designed and built by County Staff. Long term data updates may require resources.
The Corner Store Initiative does not have a cost associated with it as of yet. Once analysis is complete, staff will come back to the Board with a defined pilot project with estimated costs. These costs, shared with the City of Gainesville, would be associated with establishing a partnership with a retail operation(s) providing a subsidy for point of sale systems, marketing, or local food procurement.
End
Background:
Food System Map
Background
On December 15, 2020, at the Joint City of Gainesville and Alachua County meeting, a motion was made directing County staff to lead a collaborative effort with City and other stakeholders, such as community organizations and extension, to develop an interactive map of our local food system that includes, but is not limited to: food security support (food banks and pantries), food retailers such as groceries, corner stores, markets and produce stands, processing and distribution, community gardens, and farms/agriculture.
County staff is developing a draft methodology for organizing data into an ArcGIS web service.
This draft is based on the New Hampshire Farm Product Map. The City of Denver also has Food System map built on the same platform. To view the maps, follow these links:
NH https://unhcoopext.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=c78f08fba0d5431ab2c8d64d8b2d9b30
Denver https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2e91c6a4a49d434e8bdff9454d82fc71
The NH map was designed to assist consumers to connect with farms and farm products.
It will also reference the food-related database informed by the Food System Coalition of Greater Gainesville.
Alachua County's Regional Food System Map builds upon these platforms and is also anticipated to help many related community needs. The data may also inform the Corner Store Initiative and Good Food Purchasing Program efforts. Specifically, it may help small-scale producers connect with aggregators, commercial purchasers, and institutional buyers.
Geographic Limits of Food System Map
Roughly, the food system is limited to a 50-mile radius of all contiguous Counties to Alachua. These include Union, Bradford, Baker, Duval, Putnam, St. Johns, Marion, Levy, Gilchrist, Dixie, Lafayette, Suwannee, and Columbia counties.
Assistance from UF/IFAS Extension will be needed for producer data outside of Alachua County. If this information already exists in a GIS format, it would greatly accelerate the entity population. City of Gainesville, Food System Coalition, and other local partners are needed to provide critical feedback on the structure of the data, naming conventions, and ultimate utility of the interactive website.
Technical Review
Alachua County Growth Management staff have reviewed the New Hampshire model. It is possible to replicate the functionality of this map with our available toolsets. It would be optimal to have a data methodology that allowed the bulk import of data-points into the system. They would also have a user submittal option with a staff review control to ensure information integrity. Alachua County will use ARCGIS and Survey 123 as toolsets. Information will be stored locally at Alachua County which will allow staff to have better control over the appearance, form, and functionality of the map. To provide a resource that is user-friendly for a range of community literacies, a mobile app should be developed using the data set generated by the mapping project.
Map data has the opportunity to be shared over a variety of platforms. The City’s myGNV Resource Finder searchable database may be a natural extension of mapped data making the information accessible in another user-friendly format.
Once data is in hand, Growth Management estimates a build time of six weeks to 3 months which will include the creation of data-forms, email management, and a data management dashboard.
Draft Methodology for Metadata
“Text” means text entry.
The address must be identifiable on a map.
“Yes/No” questions allow multiple selections.
Metadata
Business Name (text input)
Address (text input)
Phone (text input)
Webpage/Social Media (text input)
Category (yes/no)
Farm*
Cottage Industry
Foodbank/Food Pantry/Free Grocery
Community Garden
Public Edible Landscape
Processing Facility
Distribution Facility
Foodhub
Food-Incubator
Grocery Store
Corner Store/Bodega/Convenience Store
Farmers Market
Produce Stands/Community Food Stands
Winery
Brewery
Food Truck-Mobile Vendor*
Emergency Food Assistance
Other: text option
Production (yes/no)
Meat
Dairy
Vegetables
Fruit
Seafood
Alcoholic Beverages
Eggs
Grains
Honey
Citrus
Ready-to-Eat Foods
Compost
Cut flowers
Hay
Livestock for sale
Soy
Nuts
Seeds
Herbs
Juices
Roasted Coffee
Plant stock/seedlings
Value-added local food product (text option)
Specialty or Ethnic Food (Text option)
Other: text option
Purchasing Options (yes/no)
Language (Text entries eg Se Habla Espanol)
CSA/CSF
U-Pick
Curbside-pick-up
Home Delivery Service
Online Purchasing
Pop-up Market Participant
Farmers Market Participant
People-of-Color-Owned
Black-Owned
Indigenous-Owned
Woman-Owned
Certified Organic
USDA-Certified
Business Delivery Service
Other: text option
On or near a transit line (in distance increments eg ¼ mile of me)
Good Food Purchasing Program Participant
Days of Operation (text)
Hours of Operation (times)
Payment Options (yes/no)
Cash
Check
Credit Card
Mobile Payment
SNAP/EBT/Food Stamps
Barter/Trade
Free
Other: text option
Employment Opportunity
Hiring full time (yes/no)
Hiring seasonal (yes/no)
Volunteer Opportunities (yes/no)
More details (additional text)
*If/Then Option for Farm Category
Size of Farm (in Acres)
Agritourism Opportunity (yes/no)
Gleaning (yes/no)
Specific Farm Crops (text)
Food Justice Certified (yes/no)
Organic Certified (yes/no)
*If/Then Option for Food Truck-Mobile Vendor Category
Regular locations (multiple addresses?)
Phase I Implementation Timeline
Project Planning
• Project Scoping and Mapping Boundaries - Complete
• Technical Review - Complete
• Data Shared by Food System Coalition and City - Complete
• Asset and Category Evaluation - In progress; January - March
• Verify Data Sources and Data Collection - In progress; January - June
• Follow-up Technical Review of Site and App needs Between City and County Lists - May
• Food System Site/Administration Tool Creation - waiting on previous items; April - June
• Pilot Map and App Launch and Refinement - waiting on previous item; July-August
Phase II Mapping Data Follow-Up w Stakeholders - waiting on previous item; Ongoing after launch.
Phase III - Major data updates, data stewards
Good Food Purchasing Program
Background
Also, as part of the December 15, motion the Board directed that the County will sign on to participate in the Good Food Purchasing Program, and to reach out to our fellow institutions - UF, UF/Health, V.A Hospital, North Florida Hospital, Chamber of Commerce, Santa Fe College, and the Sheriff’s office to encourage them to join us.
City and County staff have jointly reached out to our institutions. The Chamber of Commerce, V.A. Hospital, and Santa Fe College have reported that back that they will not be able to participate. UF/Health, North Florida Hospital, and UF are interested in learning more about the program. Discussions are ongoing. Staff has not heard from the Sheriff’s Office as yet.
A local food procurement standard is a voluntary measure typically taken by a governmental entity to set a modest, institutional percent of food purchases. The percentage of purchase is evaluated annually as compared to the adopted community food-values such as local economics, environmental sustainability, workforce, animal welfare, and nutrition as part of the standard.
Impact of Local Food Procurement Standards
The result of setting a procurement standard is transformative for communities in that it focuses on the purchasing power and influence of institutions in support of small to midsize farms, preservation of agricultural lands and greenbelts for food production, and recycles food dollars many times over in the community as part of an economic multiplier effect.
Local governments may implement their own standards and goals or adopt a third-party administered standard. These standards are comparable to building systems such as LEED or Green Globes.
Programmatic Steps
The Good Food Purchasing Program is established over a two-year period. Participation begins in Phase 1 with a thorough understanding of the Program and current food purchasing practices of participants through a baseline assessment that gauges the existing level of alignment with Good Food Purchasing Program standards in the five value categories. There are two steps involved within Phase 1 programming:
Year 1, STEP 1: Onboarding and Baseline Assessment
• Conduct Good Food Purchasing Program Kickoff: Training & Onboarding
• Notify Vendors & Collect Data
• Submit Data (Vendors)
• Complete Food Service Operations Questionnaire, Nutrition Checklist, and Extra Points Checklist (Institution)
• Conduct Baseline Assessment
Year 2, STEP 2: Goal Setting
• Debrief Draft Baseline Assessment
• Deliver Final Baseline Assessment and Score
• Set Good Food Purchasing Program Participation Goals (i.e. Star Rating Target)
• Develop Action Plan to Meet Star Rating Target
• Engage Community Stakeholders
• Finalize Action Plan & Implement Actions
• Mid-Year Action Plan Check-In
Alachua County Food Costs
The Board of County Commissioners budgets approximately $70,000 per year in food purchases. Indirectly, a greater amount is budgeted through the County Jail as managed by the Sheriff (Budget FY19 $975,000 Actual FY18 $863,000). The Sheriff contracts with a vendor for food services and procurement at the Jail.
Institutional Participation
The Alachua County School Board is currently the only Good Food Purchasing Program member in the South Eastern United States. They have just completed their Phase 1 Baseline Assessment.
The University of Florida is exploring local food as part of its foodservice request for proposals to be issued later in 2021.
The average local food procurement percentage for most governments without having a standard in place is typically 2 percent. A modest community goal for institutional purchases could be 5 percent. North Carolina, on the higher end of regional examples, has set a 10 percent goal.
Local Food Procurement may have cost differentials at lesser or greater values, be subject to seasonal availability, and may have early issues with aggregation and distribution in amounts suitable for institutional purposes.
A third-party administered standard will require a two-year commitment and $20,000 from the Board but is estimated to be less than the cost of a dedicated FTE to track and report purchase per an adopted standard.
Implementation Timeline
Scope of Work Review and Issuance of Professional Services Purchase Order - end of March
Year 1, STEP 1: Onboarding and Baseline Assessment - April 2021 - March 2022
Year 2, STEP 2: Goal Setting - April 2022 - March 2023