Agenda Item Name:
Title
American Rescue Plan - State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds - 2022 Food System Equity Program: Food System Workforce Development and Jobs Pipeline for Disadvantaged Communities Proposal (ARP2021x015)
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Presenter:
Sean McLendon, Office of SEEDS
Description:
Presentation of a preliminary project plan Food System Workforce Development and Jobs Pipeline for Disadvantaged Communities
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approve the preliminary project plan and the budget amendment. Direct staff to bring back a sub-recipient agreement with a non-profit entity with the ability to meet the project requirements.End
Prior Board Motions:
June 22, 2021 - American Rescue Plan - State and Local Fiscal Revenue Recovery Funds
Fiscal Consideration: $26,129,224.50 has been received from the U.S. Treasury
Recommended Action: Approve the Plan, adopt the resolution for unanticipated revenue and accompanying budget amendment, and authorize the County Manager to: (i) approve and sign any recipient grant agreements and related documents necessary for the County to receive American Rescue Plan funding from the Federal Government; (ii) develop for subsequent BOCC approval guidelines and criteria for implementation of each Plan element, and (iii) negotiate for subsequent BOCC approval interlocal agreements and other contracts to implement the Plan.
Commissioner Prizzia moved to Approve the Preliminary Plan presented with a modification to increase local food line item to $4 million and decrease Undesignated line item from $9 million to $6 million, adopt the resolution for unanticipated revenue and accompanying budget amendment, and authorize the County Manager to: (i) approve and sign any recipient grant agreements and related documents necessary for the County to receive American Rescue Plan funding from the Federal Government; (ii) develop for subsequent BOCC approval guidelines and criteria for implementation of each Plan element, plus, explore items discussed during commission comment to possibly be added to the Plan including, mental health, non-profit capacity building, structural translation funding, re-entry services, and senior housing as well as request an update on the central receiving unit and a presentation by UF Health and (iii) negotiate for subsequent BOCC approval interlocal agreements and other contracts to implement the Plan.
Motion passed 5-0
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
$250,000 allocation from ARPA - SLFRF until 12/31/2026. Project: ARP2021x015
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Strategic Guide:
Strategic Guide
Social and Economic Opportunity
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Background:
This project builds off evidence for food system workforce programs developed by the ACBoCC through their 2020-2021 locally funded Community Redevelopment Food System Grants. Project partners will include workforce board, institutional, and local non-profits engaged in food system economic development, farmers’ markets, and ethnic-culturally specific food/meat producers. The partnership will build quality job opportunities for communities facing covid-based inequities in this sector and will also increase the local resilience of the food system. By creating better employment opportunities in our food system, we can bring greater economic stability to these disadvantaged communities. Culinary arts professionals may also act as ambassadors in their communities for healthier food choices.
Uses of Funds
The ACBoCC will allocate $250,000 over two years ($125,000 per year) to expand high-quality vocational opportunities in the food system targeting communities facing covid-based inequities. Approximately 100 individuals will be assisted with food-related vocational training over this time period. This workforce development will increase the local resilience of the food system in our community per Treasury guidance under Negative Economic Impacts (EC 2.10) Assistance to Unemployed or Underemployed Workers by creating a Youth Leadership culinary arts jobs pipeline for youth in disadvantaged communities and the expansion of a jobs training opportunities through an existing Community Kitchen space.
These programs will provide assistance to individuals who want and are available for work, via job training, assistance to individuals to start small businesses & development of job and workforce training centers focused on food system occupations from farmers to culinary arts professionals.
Disadvantaged communities in Alachua County have experienced ongoing job insecurity and a lack of upward income mobility which has also been exacerbated by COVID. Workforce development in the high-demand food system sector will promote greater equitable outcomes in these communities.
Program Goals, Awareness, Access, and Distribution
a. Goals: This proposal targets food system employment opportunities for historically underserved, marginalized, or adversely affected groups in qualified census tracts or combination of underlying income, employment, and COVID impacts to provide:
• A youth jobs pipeline for culinary arts and healthy food outcomes
• And a community kitchen space supporting workforce training with certificate opportunities for a culinary arts program
b. Awareness: Alachua County piloted these programmatic responses using local funds in 2020-2021 with high participation of marginalized communities and great success. That pilot program has ensured that the 2022 expansion will be equitable and practical in enabling these communities to be aware of the services funded by the SLFRF.
c. Access and Distribution: The two programmatic responses target services to different eligible populations based on their needs as youth entering a jobs pipeline and certification training for unemployed and underemployed workers. These responses recognize the differences in levels of access to benefits and services across groups. A sub-recipient agreement with a non-profit entity with food system expertise requirements will assist in promoting the program and completing applications that meet eligibility criteria.
d. Outcomes: Having two programmatic responses, as previously stated, targets services to different eligible populations, but it also addresses problems with the underlying food system of the community at a holistic level from youth, workforce, and talent development to producer.
• Youth jobs pipeline for culinary arts and healthy food outcomes:
• Youth career awareness and exposure, marketable trade skills, better home nutrition outcomes, jobs pipeline creation.
• Community Kitchen space as a location for workforce training with certificate opportunities for culinary arts outcomes:
• Culinary arts certification, food-related farmer support, better employment opportunities with higher incomes. Stability of income and employment contribute to greater food security and health outcomes, small farmer and rancher profitability, market access, food safety, greater resilience for the entirety of the local food system
Promotion of the program and participation will be tracked by disaggregating outcomes by race, ethnicity, and other equity dimensions as part of the reporting requirements. These reporting requirements build upon the qualitative and quantitative reporting developed by the 2020-2021 pilot program.