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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/01/2025 - Meeting Minutes ERIN MENDENHALL DEPARTMENT Mayor of SUSTAINABILITY sLCgreen SLC FOOD MICROGRANT • COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, A. The following members of the SLC Food Microgrant Selection Committee were present: In-Person Maria Schwarz, Chair Diana Ramirez, Vice Chair Monica O'Malley, Secretary, non-voting member Joshua Rebollo Karina Villalba, arrivedat238p.m. Darby Egbert Electronic Marifer Rivera The following members were absent: James Hunter Also Present: None Minutes by Monica O'Malley, Salt Lake City Sustainability Department Meeting Time: 2:30 p.m. I Time Commenced: 4:00 p.m. 1. Roll call (5 minutes) 2. Approve meeting minutes (10 minutes) The Committee reviewed the draft March 18t", 2025, meeting minutes. Committee Member Egbert made a motion to approve the minutes, given that"Council Member" be changed to "Committee Member" in two instances where the wrong title was mistakenly included. ERIN MENDENHALL DEPARTMENT Mayor %0 of SUSTAINABILITY SLCgreen With a second from Committee Member Rebollo, the voting members present unanimously approved the official written minutes for the SLC Food Microgrant Selection Committee Meeting held on March 1811, 2025, given the mistakes are corrected prior to posting. 3. Review Community Grant application scores/questions (75 minutes) Chair Schwarz provided an update that 92 of the 95 approved Home Food Production Grant applicants received notification of their award. Two applicants were not sent an award notification because the Committee is awaiting confirmation that they have received approval from their respective landlords to conduct their projects. Once landlord approval is confirmed, the applicants will be granted the $250 award. One applicant did not receive an award notification because it appears their Home Food Production application is the same as a Community Grant application, prompting the need for further discussion. Chair Schwarz gave a brief overview of how the Committee will review the Community Grant applications and reminded the group of the Program purpose. Vice Chair Ramirez asked whether applicants that are not physically located within the Salt Lake City boundaries are eligible to receive the grant. Chair Schwarz explained that Home Food Production Grant applicants must be within the Salt Lake City boundaries, however, Community Grant applicants may be outside the City's boundaries as long as their project clearly benefits Salt Lake City residents. Chair Schwarz reminded the Committee that about $33,500 is available to award Community Grant applicants, and the amount requested by all applicants sums to around $106,000. The Committee proceeded to review each Community Grant application individually in alphabetical order of the applicant's organization name. The Committee discussed the applications submitted by the following 13 organizations: • Backyard Urban Garden (BUG) Farms • Ben Ari Gerr L.C. • Black Forest Homestead LLC • Camarilla Circle Community Garden ERIN MENDENHALL DEPARTMENT Mayor of SUSTAINABILITY SLCgreen • Community Health Centers, Inc. • Fletcher Court Community • Food Not Bombs Salt Lake City • Food, Movement, and You - U.U. Center for Community Nutrition • Friends of Switchpoint • Frog Bench Farms • HK Brewing Collective • Lauracares LLC • Neighborhood House For each applicant listed, Chair Schwarz gave a brief overview of their grant proposal and prompted committee members to discuss discrepancies in scores when applicable. Committee members were given the opportunity to raise any questions and/or concerns they have regarding an application. Because Committee Member Hunter was absent, Chair Schwarz shared the written feedback he provided for each applicant. Chair Schwarz explained that committee members are welcome to change their scores at anytime before the group votes on a final funding recommendation, whether that be during a committee meeting or not. Throughout the discussion, several committee members made changes to their overall recommendation scores. Some key considerations the group discussed while reviewing grant proposals and scores include: 1. Funding Limitations The Committee often recognized the fact that the amount of funding available covers less than a third of the amount requested. Because of this, some members gave applications lower scores to reflect their funding preferences - not because the application was poor. 2. Project Impact on Community The scale of impact an applicant's project may have on the larger Salt Lake City community- in terms of increasing food access and community connections - largely influenced members' scores. Some common topics the Committee discussed while considering a project's impact are: ERIN MENDENHALL DEPARTMENT Mayor of SUSTAINABILITY SLCgreen • The location of an applicant's organization relative to Salt Lake City's boundaries • The number of people that may benefit from a project, looking at how an applicant plans to engage the community, and the population served • The depth at which community members will be influenced by a project • How sustainable a proposed project may be in terms of its lifetime • Whether the project offers something new to the Salt Lake City community • Whether the applicant has or will establish community partner relationships to leverage greater reach 3. Funding Impact on Organization While discussing and adjusting scores, the Committee considered the impact a grant award may have on an organization's ability to complete their proposed project. The group contemplated whether applicants with large existing budgets and/or a strong ability to find funding elsewhere will successfully complete their projects without Community Grant funding. There was consensus to reserve the limited amount of funding available for applicants with small budgets that have a greater need for grant funding. 4. Committee Members' Prior Knowledge of Applicants Notably, several committee members shared additional information about Community Grant applicants, pulling from professional and personal experiences. The additional context was used to help the group gain a better understanding of the applicants and their project's impact. 4. Adjourn With a motion from Committee Member Ebert, the Committee voted unanimously to adjourn. Mangy U schwal-z 04/15/2025 APPROVED: Maria E Schwarz(Apr 15,2025 17:04 MDT) Date: Maria Schwarz, Committee Chair This Document and the recording constitute the official minutes of the SLC Food Microgrant Selection Committee meeting held April 1, 2025.