http://www.seattle.gov/council/conlin/attachments/2010food_council.pdfNEW REGIONAL FOOD POLICY COUNCIL APPROVED
On Thursday, January 28, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) approved the creation of a Regional Food Policy Council. The Regional Food Policy Council (RFPC) will work with community, business, agriculture, and government partners to identify gaps in the region’s food system and develop integrated policy recommendations and actions that will help our region move towards a food system that supports healthy people and communities and environmental sustainability.
A local Acting Food Policy Council, with modest funding support from WSU Cooperative Extension and lots of volunteer energy, has been working for several years, and has been a very important partner in developing the Local Food Action Initiative (LFAI) and in the implementation work that has happened since the LFAI was approved by Council in May of 2008. Part of the work program for the LFAI has been to create a permanent Food Policy Council, as has been done in a number of other cities and regions around the US and Canada.
Our goal was to create the Food Policy Council on a regional level. A regional approach can combine the interests and representation of urban and rural people, and support making connections on the regional level between farm producers and urban consumers. The work of the RFPC can inform economic development strategies, protection of farmland, and developing food processing and marketing opportunities for locally grown food. PSRC, which is the planning group for four counties (King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap), and is governed by local elected officials from the region, is a great place to be the center for food policy development.
The Obama administration is very supportive of these kinds of efforts, and has launched a grant program specifically targeted at supporting Food Policy Councils. The City of Seattle has already received a $300,000 federal grant to support community organizations implementing the LFAI, and the experience and energy around local food issues in this area would make the Puget Sound Regional Food Policy Council a great candidate for a federal grant to advance its work. Members of the Acting Food Policy Council will work with my office and PSRC to structure the new RFPC and develop this funding source over the next several months.
Once the new body is established and funded, it will bring together representatives from across the food system, including those involved in production, processing, packaging, distribution, consumption, and food waste, as well as agencies addressing environment, housing, emergency preparedness, and economic development issues. This group will develop policies that will protect farmland, foster economic development, improve public health, and increase access to fresh, local food.
2010 TO BE YEAR OF URBAN AGRICULTURE
On Wednesday, February 3, Mayor Michael McGinn and I announced the launch of 'The Year of Urban Agriculture', a campaign to promote community agriculture efforts and increase access to locally grown food. This campaign will work through city agencies and private organizations to encourage more food growing in Seattle, develop new policies to promote local food at the City level, and support the work of providing adequate food, healthy choices, and better nutrition for Seattle residents. Details on the program will be posted at www.seattle.gov/urbanagriculture as specific initiatives are launched.
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