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04/09/2024 - Meeting Minutes ERIN MENDENHALL ! DEPARTMENT of Mayor = SUSTAINABILTTY r. nT Food&Equity Program /„tom SLCgreen FOOD EQUITY MICROGRANT MEETING MINUTES Tuesday,April 9th,2024 2:30pni-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 Electronic Joshua Rebollo James Hunter 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: 2:38 pm I Time Commenced: 3 : 4 9 P In 1. Roll call 2. Approve Meeting Minutes Vice Chair 'Aikona motioned to approve the written minutes from the 4/02/2024 meeting. Committee Member Villalba seconded the motion.With no further discussion,the committee voted to approve the 04/02/2024 minutes unanimously. 3. Review& Discuss Home Food Production (HFP) Scores Chair Schwarz gave an overview of different HFP grant funding scenarios based on the different prioritization categories and average scores. The committee pointed out some HFP applications that stood out for being poor and having low scores but expressed that most HFP applications were well done. 4. Review & Discuss Community Grant (CG) Scores Chair Schwarz presented the Community Grant application scores listed from highest to lowest. Committee Member Hunter noticed some of the applicants were flagged for location and asked for clarification on what that means. Chair Schwarz informed the group that the four organizations flagged for location all serve Salt Lake City residents but were flagged for having offices or operations outside of Salt Lake City. 5. Recommended Funding Distribution Committee Member Hunter asked what funding would remain for Community Grant applicants if all Home Food Production applicants were funded. Chair Schwarz responded$24,000 would be available for Community Grant applicants in that scenario. Committee Member Rebollo asked how many of the top scoring Community Grant applicants could be funded by $24,000. Chair Schwarz demonstrated that $24,000 would fully fund the top 5 CG applications with $3,200 remaining. Committee Member Hunter expressed he would be supportive of funding the Vanavil Community Garden application as a HFP grant to receive $250. Committee Member Macias agreed. Committee Member Hunter said he wants to prioritize funding HFP grants since the funding can have a large impact on a household or family. Chair Schwarz added that the Resident Food Equity Advisors originally proposed this grant program as a resource to help families grow food at home, then that evolved to include organizations that promote food equity. The committee discussed the importance of different HFP priority categories when it comes to making funding decisions. The group ultimately decided the income and priority population categories were most important to consider. The committee discussed whether they should make an HFP funding decision first then base CG funding decisions on remaining funds or vice versa. The group also discussed how funding was distributed last year. Committee Member Rebollo suggested looking at different funding scenarios for the top scoring CG applicants, and the committee examined several different funding scenarios with just the top 10 scoring CG applicants. Vice Chair Aikona reminded the group of their previous conversations on whether to deprioritize CG applicants that have a large budget size The Committee agreed that, despite being the 9'highest scoring applicant,Neighborhood House should not be funded because they have a large budget and are well established in the community. Committee Member Villalba expressed that she feels confident community organizations that do not receive awards this year will apply again. Chair Schwarz reiterated how this program can be a resource for collaboration amongst community organizations with aligned goals. Chair Schwarz also emphasized the competitiveness of this process and her goal to expand the program in the future so there is greater opportunity to receive funding. The committee discussed the possibility of funding about $1,000 - $2,000 over budget if approved by the Sustainability Department Director. When discussing the proposal to fund all HFP applicants, Vice Chair'Aikona expressed disagreement and recommended selecting applicants based on the income and priority population categories. The committee revisited the spreadsheet showing HFP applicant scores and standing in each priority category. The group was supportive of excluding five(5) HFP applicants from funding. Four(4) applicants were excluded due to having an annual household income level at or above the area median income for Salt Lake County and for not identifying with at least one of the priority populations. One (1) applicant was excluded due to having an annual household income level at or above the area median income for Salt Lake County and having a relatively low average score. After the committee had finished discussing the different funding scenarios, Committee Member Macias motioned to approve the following funding distribution: • Fully fund 62 of the 67 Home Food Production applications at$250 each, excluding five (5) applicants for reasons listed above • Fund the top 5 scoring Community Grant applications at the full amount requested. This includes granting $5,000 to Salt Lake City Community Fridges (SLCCF), $2,500 to Fill the Pot Ministries, $4,000 to Proyecto Xilonen, $4,300 to New American Goat Club, and $5,000 to Salt Lake City Food Not Bombs. • Partially fund Community Grant applications with high scores ranking 6te— 101 at$1,000 each, excluding Neighborhood House. This includes granting $1,000 to each of the following: Aikona, Missio Dei Community, Food Justice Coalition, and Somali Community Self-Management Agency. • Fully fund the amount requested by Vanavil Community Garden at $310 for having a high recommendation to fund score and a low amount requested. Committee Member Villalba seconded the motion. With no further discussion, the committee voted to approve this funding distribution. The approved funding distribution totals $40,610 with a total of$25,110 awarded to CG applicants and a total of 15,500 awarded to HFP applicants. $140 of funding remained unallocated, and the committee discussed using this money to support hosting an event for awardees. 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. This document was reviewed and approved by committee members via email on April 22nd and April 23rd of 2024. APPROVED: Schwarz, Maria pae Ily signed 2024.04251314:58'60o Date: 4/25/24 This document and the recording constitute the official minutes of the Food Equity Microgrant Program Selection Committee meeting held April 9th,2024.