CCDEH Excellence in Environmental Health

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1 CCDEH Excellence in Environmental Health County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health Local Food Systems Summary: The dynamics of food systems have changed continuously over the years. Historically, the focus of environmental public health was on prevention, food security and environmental contamination. While it is still important to remain vigilant in these areas, the focus has shifted from large scale enterprises to local food systems that play a pivotal role in ensuring that food is safe, secure and sustainable. There is a need to widen the lens of environmental public health and look at changing cultural norms, chronic disease prevention and environmental sustainability. Past experience reveals that transformational food systems change is influenced by the interconnected relationships between food and society, health and the environment. This makes collaboration with others on these change efforts more important now than ever. With so many diverse programs within environmental health, when considering food systems policy we must also consider solid waste disposal, water quality and land use in addition to food safety. Collaborative partners include public health, agricultural representatives and regulators, schools and other institutions, food industry representatives and regulators, NGO s and academia. In the County of San Diego, the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) collaborated with a multiple partner stakeholders to transform the local food systems in the San Diego region, which has a population of more than 3 million and is equivalents in size to the state of Connecticut. DEH collaborated through stakeholder working groups to develop and implement the following tools: Culinary Garden Best Management Practices and Culinary Garden Agreements, Community Garden Guidelines, Retail Market Conversion Guidelines, and a Health in All Policies Plan. Additionally, DEH collaborated with stakeholders to streamline the permitting process for a Fishermen s Market that offers fresh, sustainable local seafood to residents and visitors to the County. Culinary Garden Guidelines and Agreement: DEH established a working group, and in partnership with Public Health Services, the Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures, a local NGO and DEH s own food safety, land use, and solid waste programs, reviewed guidance drafted by CDPH, and developed best management practices for culinary gardens, as well as a culinary garden agreement. These agreements are implemented in partnership with our regulated facilities, including schools, hospitals, detention facilities, and restaurants, so produce grown at their facilities can be considered an approved food source. The workgroup helped to develop common language and a common understanding of what approved source means and why it is important to follow best management practices to ensure food safety. Previously, there was no logistical way to approve using produce grown at the facilities as an approve source. Schools were not using the produce that students grew

2 on campus into the cafeteria meals because there was no established way to document best management practices. Environmental health and public health worked together to make a positive change for the students, who proudly saw the produce they grew used in their meals. Community Garden Guidelines: These guidelines were created in a similar way as the community garden guidelines. Individuals were growing produce for themselves as a way to sustain their way of living as a result of economic downturn. Some of them harvested excess produce they wanted to sell to the public. It was important to provide guidelines on best management practices, and guidance on when and how produce can be sold to the public. Retail Market Conversion Guidelines: Access to fresh, local produce has been a challenge for many neighborhoods in the County with food deserts. Community residents do not have easily accessible supermarkets, farmers markets or other retail venues that offer fresh produce; the places where they can shop are convenience and liquor stores that typically stock little or no produce. When making decisions about what items to sell, store owners face economic and space constraints. Providing fresh produce to customers requires additional floor space and refrigeration equipment they do not have. Implementing a way to help conquer this challenge was the focus of collaborative efforts from DEH, Public Health Services and the County s Building Department. The idea was to help corner stores who sold mostly prepackaged, high calorie, low nutrition food in making changes to their store, adding the refrigeration needed to sell fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods. DEH started this project by providing basic plan review guidelines for the store conversions. Over time, with the input of food store representatives, these have been enhanced, to also include operational procedures, which provide basic food safety knowledge for store operators. This project has helped neighborhoods to have greater access to healthy food that is also safe. Health in All Policies: Live Well San Diego is a long term initiative of the County of San Diego, which began in in There are three parts to Living Well, including: Building Better Health, Living Safely, and Thriving. The Health in All Policies Plan (HiAP) is part of Thriving, which calls for cultivating opportunities for all people and communities to grow, connect and enjoy the highest quality of life; the HiAP is a plan to help departments realize their roles in health. DEH collaborated with various County departments, including Building, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, and others to develop the HiAP, which essentially identifies how the work of one Department affects another, and establishes a framework to pursue common goals. The development and implementation of this plan effected a significant organizational cultural change, and as a result, County Departments are now actively changing zoning regulations and current policies to better collaboratively support the County s built environment initiatives. The Local Fish Market: At the direction of the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors, DEH partnered with the San Diego Port Authority and local commercial fishermen to find a solution that would allow local fishermen, which, organized as the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, to operate on Port of San Diego land. With ingenuity and collaboration from DEH, the Port Authority and local

3 fishermen, DEH found a creative way to legally permit the open air market as a temporary vendor and within a couple of weeks issued a health permit. In August 2, 2014, the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market started their operations. Local fishermen are now allowed to sell their catch directly to consumers at the bayside every Saturday morning. DEH met with representatives of the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, explained the conditions under which the market could operate. The THDM functioned as the organizer and fishermen would be able to sell their fish as temporary vendors. DEH worked closely with organizers and vendors, guiding them through the temporary vendor permitting process and expediting site inspections and issuance of permits. DEH also meet individually with the fishermen as they applied for their vendor permits, helping them complete their applications, and explaining the activities allowed by their permit has helped them successfully sell their products to consumers who are delighted to have this local source of fresh, sustainable seafood. Additionally, the Board of Supervisors is sponsoring state legislation (Assembly Bill 226) that CCDEH and CAEHA has actively supported to streamline permitting operations for local fisherman throughout the state. Changing Economy: Our food multi faceted system should ensure healthy food production and delivery for all. Challenges include the centralization of our food supply and heavy reliance on food imports which increase the scope and impact of foodborne illness. Obesity is in many ways a foodborne illness, and it greatly contributes to the incidence of other diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome to name a few. Public education and promotion of healthy living has made the public aware of the risks associated with obesity, and they want to reverse its effects. They want to eat healthier and to do so they are going go back to more sustainable food systems practices like composting, growing their own fruits and vegetables or purchasing them from the local farmer. We must take in account these efforts, evolve with them and contribute to these efforts with innovative and easy to implement food safety options that can become an integral part of this movement instead of being perceived as a barrier to healthy food systems changes. The commercial fishing industry has always been part of the local economy in San Diego; however, over the years the commercial fishing fleet has dwindled to less than half of what it once was. In the mid 1980 s there were close to 300 boats in the fleet, that have now been reduced to about 130 boats operating at just two commercial fishing docks along San Diego s working waterfront. The commercial fishing industry is one of the 14 sectors in San Diego s Blue Economy, and is a driver that contributes to sustainable jobs in the San Diego region. According to our local fishermen, the economic downturn was a pivotal driver for their renewed interest in establishing a local venue to sell fresh caught seafood directly to the public. Eliminating the middle man not only allows them to have a sustainable business, but it also allows them to interact directly with the public, promote the benefits of fresh seafood and educate the new generations on the history of San Diego s fishing industry.

4 Successes: Culinary and Community Gardens There are currently 28 approved Culinary Gardens in the county. Each one of their operators has completed an agreement where they certify they will abide by established best management practices to ensure a safe food source. These practices are verified during routine field inspections conducted by Environmental Health Specialists. The Culinary Gardens provide local fresh produce for the permitted sites that cultivate them, such as schools and restaurants. Likewise, the Community Gardens make fresh produce available for the individual growers and for the public with whom they share their crops. These gardens provide access to a source of fresh fruits and vegetables that is safe, secure, and sustainable. The workgroup created several guidance documents to support local growers and educate them in best management practices. These documents include: Culinary Garden Best Management Practices and Culinary Garden Agreement, Community Garden Guidelines, Community Garden Frequently Asked Questions, Guidelines for the Use of Alternative Water Supplies to Irrigate Gardens, and Composting Tips for School or Community Gardens. Retail Market Conversions The initial driving force for establishing guidelines for the Retail Market Conversions was the Cilantro to Stores Program, funded by a grant from the County s Health and Human Services Agency. In June 2011, the Chula Vista Cilantro to Stores program encouraged four owners of convenience stores in the underserved area of western Chula Vista to dedicate a percentage of their square footage to the sale of locally grown fresh produce. The primary goal of program was to increase access to fruits and vegetables by creating sustainable, fresh produce sections in four convenience stores, with a further goal to develop produce supply chains that were sustainable after grant moneys were spent. DEH guided the four stores through the plan check process needed for the conversion, and worked with them to ensure they were in compliance with equipment installation, as well as safe food storage and handling. DEH created a guideline, Retail Market Conversions for Fresh Produce Plan Check Requirements, to assist interested market owners on the plan check requirements and next steps. Fishermen s Market The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market reports that it estimates that they have a weekly average of almost 350 visitors and sales of 1.1 tons of fish per week. The average price per pound of seafood offered at the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market ranges from $5 to $12, representing an average of over $15,000 per week in direct sales from local fishermen to the public. Not only is this supporting and enhancing the local economy, it also provides an opportunity to educate the public about the benefits of healthy living/eating, buying local, and the environment. Anecdotally, some customer have mentioned that the prices at the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market are lower in cost than what they typically pay for like items at a traditional seafood store. With the sharing, peer to peer, and collaborative economic concepts on the rise in the community, the concept of consuming fresh fish sold directly from local fisherman is a new economic reality in San Diego. Additionally, obtaining a temporary permit to sell dockside provided a mechanism in which the local

5 fishermen could sell directly to the public without requiring a significant investment of up front capital that would be needed to establish a permanent market facility with infrastructure. This solution provides a path for the local fishermen to grow their customer base and can help them grow into a more permanent fishermen s market, if they so desire. Having access to fresh, locally produced affordable foods is one of the tenets of Live Well San Diego the County of San Diego s 10 year initiative to improve health, safety and well being for all residents. The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market has helped to advance the County s vision of providing healthy, fresh, affordable food options for residents to improve their health. Fish and other seafood are an important part of a healthy diet. Eating locally caught, fresh seafood has many health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, eating approximately one to two 3 ounce servings of fatty fish a week reduces the risk of heart disease by 36 percent. Fish is packed with protein, vitamins, and nutrients that keep our heart and brain healthy. The strong and consistent evidence for benefits is such that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the American Heart Association, and other health organizations recommend eating fish twice a week as part of a healthy diet. In addition to providing an opportunity to educate the public about the health benefits of eating fresh fish, this program also presented an opportunity to partner with San Diego Grown 365 (365), a Farm Bureau initiative that supports local farmers and informs and promotes the benefits of buying local. This initiative identifies San Diego County products with the 365 red certification mark and motivating retailers and consumers to purchase agricultural products grown, produced, processed and/or manufactured in San Diego County. The 365 red certification mark is a marketing opportunity that can help members realize greater sales by identifying their products as locally grown. The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market has become an official 365 licensee. This program has also been an opportunity to educate the public about the environmental benefits of eating underutilized local seafood species and information about the ocean ecosystem. The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market partners with academia and local universities to offer environmental education brochures and information, as well as some demonstrations and displays, at their fishermen s market. This program has also provided DEH with the opportunity to educate operators and the public about the importance of food safety, how to reduce risks that can lead to foodborne illness, and to showcase how DEH delivers a positive approach to customers as the regulatory agency implementing the California Retail Food Code.

6 Supporting Information Culinary and Community Gardens Retail Market Conversion Fishermen s Market harbor dockside market urchins san diego/ harbor dockside market.html harbor dockside market/ weekly catch/