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04/02/2024 - Meeting Materials ERIN MENDENHALL ! DEPARTMENT of Mayor _ SUSTAINABILPTY r. nT Food&Equity Program SLCgreen FOOD EQUITY MICROGRANT MEETING MINUTES Tuesday,April end,2024 2:30pm-4:00pm The following members of the Food Equity Microgrant Program Selection Committee were present: In person Maria Schwarz, Chair Afa'Aikona,Vice Chair Monica O'Malley, Secretary, non-voting member Xris Macias Karina Villalba,joined at 2:41 pm Electronic Joshua Rebollo James Hunter,joined at 2:38 pm The following members were absent: None Also Present: None Minutes by Monica O'Malley,Salt Lake City Sustainability Department, Special Projects Assistant Meeting Start Time: 2:35 pm I Time Commenced: 3:52 pm 1. Roll call 2. Approve Meeting Minutes Vice Chair'Aikona motioned to approve the written minutes from the 3/26/2024 meeting. Committee Member Hunter seconded the motion.With no further discussion,the committee voted to approve the 03/26/2024 minutes unanimously. 3. Review & Discuss Community Grant Scores The committee continued their conversation from last week, discussing applications in which there were large disparities in score. Multiple committee members mentioned they plan to change their score on some applications after talking with the group. The committee also discussed that, like last year, there may be opportunities to grant partial funding to community applicants, and committee members should keep that in mind when making final decisions. The committee also discussed opportunities to connect community grant applicants with one another and other organizations that are doing similar things. The committee also continued conversations around the impact of funding projects focused on capacity building vs one-time use of funds and the impact of funding projects for organizations that are well established in the community and have large budgets. When discussing the impact of funding an application, the committee discussed the timeline of the project in terms of when the funding would be spent and whether the funds would be contributing to a large, ongoing project that will likely be successful without grant funding vs a smaller project that is more dependent on receiving a Food Equity Microgrant to be successful. Committee Member Macias mentioned received clarification from employees of the SLC Mayor's Office that the SLC Mosquito Abatement District does not receive government funding,however,the organization does have board members who are a part of the city administration. With this new information, it seems the SLC Mosquito Abatement District is eligible for funding. The committee discussed how they should weigh different scoring categories. Committee Member Macias argued that the timeline category should have a higher weight. Committee Member Villalba suggested decreasing the weight of the mission category. Other committee members agreed with Macias and Villalba, and the committee unanimously decided to weigh the populations served,project proposal, project impact, and partnerships categories the greatest; mission, leadership, and timeline categories in the middle; and success, evaluation, sustainability, and budget categories the least. Committee Member Villalba asked what the reporting requirements are for Community Grant applicants, if any. Chair Schwarz replied that last year she asked organizations to send a summary of their project and budget, an impact summary, an explanation of lessons learned, and feedback on the Program. Committee Member Macias asked if they could review the feedback that was received. Chair Schwarz said yes, and she explained the majority of the feedback was very positive. Common feedback received was to provide more levels of funding in addition to the $250 Home Food Production Grant and the $5000 Community Grant, to offer the program earlier or at multiple times throughout the year, and many applicants expressed they would like to have more opportunities to connect with other people and groups in their community. 4. Review & Discuss Home Food Production Scores The committee discussed different prioritization categories to examine while deciding which Home Food Production applicants to approve for funding. Categories include an applicant's identification with priority populations, their location, their annual household income, and whether they were awarded a grant last year. Committee Member Villalba asked how many Home Food Production applications were awarded last year. Chair Schwarz responded that 54 applicants were awarded grants, and 45 of those submitted the necessary paperwork to receive a check. This year, there are 67 eligible Home Food Production Grant applicants. Committee member Villalba expressed it would be interesting to see the number of applicants by council district, especially west side neighborhoods. Chair Schwarz demonstrated that about 30% of people who applied for Home Food Production Grants live in Districts 1 and 2, and an additional 20% of applicants live in District 5. Vice Chair 'Aikona said she thinks the income and location categories should be considered when deciding which applicants receive Home Food Production Grants. Committee member Villalba agreed that the income category matters, as low income could be a barrier for some people to carry out their home food production project, while other applicants with higher income may carry out their project regardless of whether they receive the grant funding. The committee recognized that some people responded that they preferred not to disclose their income on their application. The committee discussed the large impact this money can have on individual households and the greater community. 5. Discuss Funding Ratio & Next Steps Chair Schwarz asked committee members to send their final scores to her, and she indicated she would create different funding scenarios for the committee to examine at the next meeting. 6. Adjourn Vice Chair'Aikona motioned to adjourn the meeting. Committee Member Villalba seconded the motion.With no further discussion,the committee voted to adjourn. 57��APPROVED: Date: April 11 , 2024 This document and the recording constitute the official minutes of the Food Equity Microgrant Program Selection Committee meeting held April 2nd,2024.