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Transmittal - 6/30/2022ERIN MENDENHALL Mayor OFFICE OF THE MAYOR P.O. BOX 145474 451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 306 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84114-5474 WWW.SLCMAYOR.COM TEL 801-535-7704 CITY COUNCIL TRANSMITTAL Lisa Shaffer, Chief Administrative Officer Date Received: 6/30/22 Date Sent to Council: 6/30/22 TO: Salt Lake City Council DATE: June 29, 2022 Dan Dugan, Chair FROM: Debbie Lyons, Sustainability Director SUBJECT: FY23 Sustainability Holding Account Funds STAFF CONTACTS: Sophia Nicholas Sustainability Deputy Director Sophia. Nicholas@slcgov.com | 801-535-7755 DOCUMENT TYPE: Written Briefing RECOMMENDATION: The Sustainability Department requests the City Council authorize release of funds from the Department holding account, allocated in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, to complete a Community Food Assessment. BUDGET IMPACT: $125,000 has been allocated in the FY 2023 Adopted Budget for the Community Food Assessment. BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: FY 2023 Sustainability Holding Accounts The Council-Adopted FY2023 City budget placed the following contingency to funds allocated for: 1) Community Food Assessment; 2) New EV Charging station installations; and 3) Two separate Electric Vehicle charging studies to evaluate internal and public facing EV charging needs and air quality priorities. For all proposed expenditures of funds tied to a contract that requires a competitive bid process, the Department will not solicit bids or proposals, execute a contract, or encumber such funds until the Department has provided a draft scope of work or draft request for proposals to the Council for review. a. Any policy document or multi-year funding plan must be in compliance with Resolution 14 of 2020, and the Department will not rely on other previously adopted resolutions or policy documents to authorize the administrative adoption of such policy documents or multi-year funding plans. Lisa Shaffer (Jun 30, 2022 07:57 MDT) ERIN MENDENHALL Mayor OFFICE OF THE MAYOR P.O. BOX 145474 451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 306 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84114-5474 WWW.SLCMAYOR.COM TEL 801-535-7704 b. All policy documents will be adopted by the City Council before the Department relies on the policies for additional policy or budget plans. Additional information on all proposed projects subject to the Council’s contingencies are included in Attachment A. The Department has been working with an on-call consultant to develop a scope of work for the Community Food Assessment and would like to move forward with the consultant as soon as practicable. Salt Lake City Food Security and Sustainability Reliable access to food is essential to the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities and is critical to supporting an equitable and inclusive city. Supporting a food system that not only provides adequate nutritional value, but also supplies culturally relevant food will lead to inclusivity, a diverse food culture, and economic opportunity for residents. The food system includes all aspects of how food is produced, processed, distrubted and consumed. Local government involvement in local and regional food systems is becoming more common as food access interacts closely with other city activities such as economic development, housing, transportation, land use, environmental health, and public health. Development and growth can increase barriers to food access and exacerbate disparities, but can also create opportunities to address barriers that already exist. The city’s role in planning and supporting local and regional food systems will facilitate equitable access to healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant food for all residents, improve public health, create economic opportunity, and foster a culture of inclusivity and belonging. The Sustainability office has a history of working on food security initiatives dating back to 2008- 2009. Examples of historical food initiatives the Sustainability Department has led out on, collaborating with existing agencies and organizations, are included in Attachment B. Fiscal Year 2022 Budget – Healthy Food Access In FY 2022 $210,000 was allocated for Healthy Food Access. The Department projects to spend $72,000 of the FY22 allocated funds and has accomplished the following: • Drafted a Food Equity Resolution in collaboration with the 2020-2021 Resident Food Equity (RFEA) Cohort, discussed in the February 8, 2022 Council Work Session in addition to the Resident Food Equity Advisor (RFEA) Program; • Planned and launched the 2022-2023 RFEA cohort, which included: o Working with a contracted facilitator to develop curriculum and schedule; o Recruiting 13 Resident Food Equity Advisors, including nine returning advisors from the 2020-2021 RFEA cohort; o Convening the first three of 12 meetings where advisors have received orientation to program goals, reviewed and provided feedback on the Community Food Access Survey , and received training to increase their understanding of equitable food policies and the municipal policy development process; and • Launched a statistical Community Food Access survey in collaboration with Y2Analytics to assess food inequities and opportunities across the City and inform prioritization of the ERIN MENDENHALL Mayor OFFICE OF THE MAYOR P.O. BOX 145474 451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 306 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84114-5474 WWW.SLCMAYOR.COM TEL 801-535-7704 RFEA’s equitable food solutions. Results and analysis will be included in the Community Food Assessment. Fiscal Year 2023 Budget - Healthy Food Access A total of $195,000 was allocated in the Adopted FY2023 budget for Healthy Food Access projects: $35,000 to continue the Resident Food Equity Advisors Program $35,000 to develop a Food Microgrant Program, compliant with the Open and Public Meetings Act; and $125,000 to complete the Community Food Assessment, allocated with the aforementioned contingency. The primary purpose of this written briefing is to fulfill the expectations of the City Council related to funds held for this activity. Community Food Assessment The Department plans to use an existing on-call consulting contract with Carbaugh Associates, Inc., (57-1-19-1151, “Equity and Food Systems Consulting”) to complete the Community Food Assessment. As-needed consulting services outlined in this contract include: food system and equity consulting, research, strategic planning, facilitation services, community engagement, program and policy development, and project management. Scope The goal of this assessment is to increase the City’s understanding of the current state of the Salt Lake City local and regional food system; help inform future food policies, projects, programs, and plans; build a more robust community food system network; and raise public awareness about local food equity, resilience, and sustainability issues. The 2023 update will also include a review of challenges experienced and lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic. The consultant will: 1. Use cross-cutting themes of equity, sustainability, and resilience to evaluate the current state of Salt Lake City’s food system, including: production, processing, distribution, retail, access and consumption, waste and recovery, and governance; 2. As recommended by the 2020-2021 RFEA cohort, update achievements and progress made on recommendations from 2013 Community Food Assessment; 3. Compile up-to-date data on food system activities; evaluate activities in relation to population growth over the past decade and projected growth, and incorporating lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic; 4. Gather new information through additional engagement methods that were not used in the 2013 study, which include: statistical community survey; community and affinity group interviews; development of a GIS-based food equity mapping tool with District-level information; a food policy, planning, and governance inventory; community/affinity group interviews; and internal City department interviews. ERIN MENDENHALL Mayor OFFICE OF THE MAYOR P.O. BOX 145474 451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 306 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84114-5474 WWW.SLCMAYOR.COM TEL 801-535-7704 The estimated timeline to complete the study once the scope of work is approved by the City is 18 months. The Department will provide the final report to the Council to consider future policy and programming opportunities. ERIN MENDENHALL Mayor OFFICE OF THE MAYOR P.O. BOX 145474 451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 306 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84114-5474 WWW.SLCMAYOR.COM TEL 801-535-7704 Attachment A: FY 2023 Sustainability Initiatives Funded with City Council Contingencies Salt Lake City Sustainability Department Fiscal Year 2023 Initiatives Funded with City Council Contingencies The Council-Adopted FY2023 City budget placed the following contingencies on funds allocated for Sustainability Department initiatives: a. For all proposed expenditures of funds tied to a contract that requires a competitive bid process, the Department will not solicit bids or proposals, execute a contract, or encumber such funds until the Department has provided a draft scope of work or draft request for proposals to the Council for review. b. Any policy document or multi-year funding plan must be in compliance with Resolution 14 of 2020, and the Department will not rely on other previously adopted resolutions or policy documents to authorize the administrative adoption of such policy documents or multi-year funding plans. c. All policy documents will be adopted by the City Council before the Department relies on the policies for additional policy or budget plans. FY2023 Sustainability Initiatives Funding Held by Council subject to contingencies stated above: Issue Amount Planned Procurement Method Scope of Work or Description Related Policy Documents New EV Charging Stations $214,000 May include the following: 1. Competitive bid- construction 2. Grant funds (reimbursed) 3. Cost-share with UDOT Funding will support installing additional Level 2 EV Stations and a potential partnership with UDOT to support installing a Fast Charging site in SLC. RMP and DAQ incentives are available to reimburse some of the cost. Federal infrastructure funding will also become available in 2022/2023 to fund the installation of public charging stations. Potential locations may include: City parks, 200 South, Regional Athletic Center, Steiner Aquatic Center, golf courses, and City libraries. Several locations are being evaluated based on EV charging demand in the area, availability of nearby public chargers, electrical capacity, proximity to power source, and other factors. 1. Joint Resolution 22 of 2016 “Establishing Renewable Energy and Carbon Emission Reduction Goals for Salt Lake City” 2. Joint Resolution 45 of 2020 “Establishing Electrified Transportation Goals for Salt Lake City” Air Quality $300,000 Two, separate RFP Processes 1. Internal Fleet Electrification: Evaluate City’s fleet replacement plan, fleet usage data, and recommend electrical charging infrastructure to support vehicle electrification infrastructure at City facilities. 2. Public-facing EV charging Infrastructure: Study to evaluate policy and program opportunities for the city to improve public access to EV charging. The two studies will position the city to take advantage of federal, state and utility incentives to build out charging infrastructure and will be presented to the Council when completed 1. Joint Resolution 22 of 2016 “Establishing Renewable Energy and Carbon Emission Reduction Goals for Salt Lake City” 2. Joint Resolution 45 of 2020 “Establishing Electrified Transportation Goals for Salt Lake City” Healthy Food Access-Food Equity Funding (Community Food Assessment) $125,000 Existing On-Call Contract (57- 1-19-1151) – Equity and Food Systems Consulting The goal of this assessment is to increase the City’s understanding of the current state of the Salt Lake City local and regional food system; help inform future food policies, projects, programs, and plans; build a more robust community food system network; and raise public awareness about local food equity, resilience, and sustainability issues. The 2023 update will: 1. Use cross-cutting themes of equity, sustainability, and resilience to evaluate the current state of Salt Lake City’s food system, including: production, processing, distribution, retail, access and consumption, waste and recovery, and governance; 2. Update achievements and progress made on recommendations from 2013 Community Food Assessment; 3. Compile up-to-date data on food system activities, emergency food access, and incorporating lessons learned during the COVID- 19 pandemic; 4. Gather new information through additional engagement methods that were not used in the 2013 study, which include: statistical community survey; community and affinity group interviews; development of a GIS-based food equity mapping tool with District-level information; a food policy, planning, and governance inventory; and internal City department interviews. The estimated timeline to complete the study once the scope of work is approved by the City is 18 months. Joint Resolution “Declaring Salt Lake City’s Commitment to Advancing Food Justice and Equity”, discussed 2-8- 22 in the Council Work Session ERIN MENDENHALL Mayor OFFICE OF THE MAYOR Attachment B: Examples of Historical Sustainability Initiatives to Improve Food Security P.O. BOX 145474 451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 306 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84114-5474 WWW.SLCMAYOR.COM TEL 801-535-7704 Examples of Historical SLC Sustainability Initiatives to Improve Food Security Timeframe Title Partners Description 2009 SLC Food Policy Task Force (FPTF) established Maria Schwarz, SLC Sustainability (Current Co-chair); Natalie Loots, Utah Department of Health (Current Co-chair); Wasatch Community Gardens; International Rescue Committee; Sapa Food Hub; HEAL Utah; SLC Top Crops Farm; HelloBulk!; Comunidades Unidas; Utahns Against Hunger; Urban Food Connections of Utah, SLC Farmer’s Market The FPTF is comprised of individuals and organizations involved in the food system and interested in improving food policy in SLC. The Task Force went through a facilitated visioning exercise in 2018, and was renamed the Food Policy Council. 2009-2011 Sustainable Code Revision SLC Planning Evaluated existing ordinances and recommended revisions to reduce the barriers that existed for urban food production. The suite of ordinance revisionsrelaxed restrictions on backyard chickens, beekeeping, and farm stands, and provided more clarity and definitions related to urban agriculture. 2012 Green City Growers Program Established Urban Sustainability Directors Network and Community Foundation of Utah (Grant); Wasatch Community Gardens (WCG- a non-profit) Grant awarded to develop two community gardens in areas of the City with low access to healthy local food. The City worked with WCG to develop nine community gardens on City-owned property in the last decade. There are now seven existing community gardens on City-owned property, and one additional garden in the planning stages. This program is managed by Parks and Public Lands through a contract with Wasatch Community Gardens. 2012-20 FruitShare Program USDA (Grant); Utahns Against Hunger (non-profit); TreeUtah (non-profit); Green Urban Lunchbox (non-profit) Voluntary program to harvest fruit from residential fruit trees. A portion of the fruit is donated to local food distributors providing emergency food assistance. This program continues to be operated independently by the Green Urban Lunchbox. 2012 Food Recovery Food Policy Task Force, Waste Less Solutions (non-profit) Created a program, now operated by the non-profit Waste Less Solutions, to divert consumable food waste from the landfill to food assistance programs. 2013 Community Food Assessment (CFA) Carbaugh and Associates, Inc (consultant) Evaluated the current state of SLC’s food system, including barriers and opportunities. Identified ten key priority areas and 75 policy and program recommendations. 2013-2018 Culinary Incubator Kitchen Square Kitchen (business) The CFA-2013 identified a lack of commercial kitchen space for burgeoning food entrepreneurs as a barrier to increasing availability and diversity of local food. City funds (grant and loan) were provided to incentivize development. Square Kitchen opened in the City’s Poplar Grove neighborhood in 2018. Square Kitchen has assisted in the launch of several local food businesses and food trucks, including HelloBulk!, Hans Kombucha, Wasatch Nectar, Z Nectar, and Santo Taco, among many others. 2015-2017 Double Up Food Bucks USDA (Grant), Utahns Against Hunger (non-profit) Matches SNAP benefits dollar for dollar for the purchase of fruits and vegetables and farmers’ markets and farm stands. 2016-2018 Urban Greens Mobile Market USDA (Grant), Green Urban Lunchbox (non-profit), Salt Lake Community Action Program (non-profit); Utahns Against Hunger-Double Up Food Bucks, (nonprofit) Established eight point-of-sale weekly mobile markets July- November in the Glendale and Poplar Grove neighborhoods. 2017-2021 Pesticide Free Healthy Babies Bright Futures (Grant); SLC Parks and Public Lands Grant funding provided to pilot organic management at four city parks and fields; and establish the pesticide free campaign encouraging city residents to pledge to “Pesticide Free” yard maintenance and receive a yard sign. 2017-2019 Microgrant Program for local farmers USDA (Grant); Urban Food Connections of Utah (program area of the Downtown Alliance) Small grants awarded to assist local farmers to grow more diversified and sustainable produce. 2020-2021 Culturally Relevant Emergency Food Boxes United Way, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Communidades Unidas (non-profits); CDBG (Grant) Increase emergency food support and access to healthy, culturally relevant for residents with limited resources to absorb the economic impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds used towards: enrolling eligible families into the project, purchasing culturally relevant food for food boxes, and delivering boxes. 2020- current Resident Food Equity Advisor Program Carbaugh and Associates (facilitator) Launched in 2020, modeled after a program in Baltimore, the RFEA program engages residents from historically underrepresented or underserved communities to understand, at a more local level, the unequal barriers some residents face when trying to access healthy, culturally appropriate, and individually relevant food. The 2020-21 cohort produced a set of recommendations in a report. The 2022-23 cohort will select one or more of the recommendations to develop into a funding proposal for the City. 2021 Food Hub Feasibility Study Crossroads Resource Center; USDA (grant) Evaluated current food production, processing, and distribution systems in Northern Utah to understand the challenges present and opportunities available to develop a food hub to serve the region. 2017- current Urban Agriculture Parcel Leases SLC Parks and Public Lands; International Rescue Committee (non-profit); Keep it Real Vegetables (private business); HCL Investments LLC (private business) City has leased parcels to 3 individual farmers/farming groups for agricultural use. Additional farmers have expressed interest in leasing land. Sustainability and Public Lands have explored and flagged other parcels that could be made available to urban farmers, pending development of an environmental assessment and remediation standard operating procedure.