GoGreen Seattle 2014 Sustainable Food Charette Report

Transcription

1 GoGreen Seattle 2014 Sustainable Food Charette Report Overview The GoGreen Seattle Conference s Mini-Charette: Defining Actionable Solutions to Local Food Movement Challenges in the Puget Sound Region provided a platform for public and private professionals to brainstorm solutions to the five top regional food issues. According to King County, the Food Industry accounted for $6 billion of the county's revenue last year alone. Studies show that 10,000 new jobs could be potentially created in King County if the percentage of locally produced food and beverage items increases from its current rate of 2 percent to 10 percent. Early this year, King County launched the Local Food Initiatives program to expand the local food economy and to improve access to healthy food for lowincome communities. With these two goals in mind, the GoGreen Conference interviewed many sustainable food community leaders and farmers to identify the most prevalent food issues in the region. From the information gathered, the conference presented five problem statements at the Mini-Charette. Charette participants were asked to propose solutions and share innovative ideas to five key issues. The goal was to find a solution that could be integrated into King County's Local Food Initiatives outreach strategy. This report explains the process and presents the findings of the Mini-Charette. Problem Statements I: How to bring healthy food to low income families II: How to design a profitable business model for local small sustainable farmers III: How to make urban agriculture beneficial for city residents and profitable for stakeholders IV: How to gain support from research institutes for organic and sustainable farming communities V: How to encourage small restaurants and grocers to reduce their waste and carbon footprint Problem Statement I: How to bring healthy food to low income families According to the May 2013 Mapping Food Access in the City of Seattle report, there are 89 supermarkets, 24 produce stands and 15 farmers markets throughout the city. However, the

2 issue of improving access to healthy food for low-income families has affected the entire state of Washington. In the City of Seattle this issue is more pronounced as it is the largest metropolitan area in the state. According to the mapping study, low-income neighborhoods have lower concentrations of supermarkets and often depend on transit for grocery shopping. As the result, low-income families have limited access to fresh, healthy and affordable food in their neighborhoods. The study showed that the limited food access is linked to obesity in poorer neighborhoods. - Strategies to bring healthy food to the city in the most affordable and convenient manner (farmers markets, neighborhood grocery stores) - Provide resources for low-income families to grow healthy food (P-Patch, community gardens) - Can we solve food issues and create jobs at the same time? - Food stamps (SNAP) are currently accepted at farmers markets - Food bank coupons - Stack box model - The Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) - Tiny Tots in Rainer Valley Farm - Urban gardens (ex. High Point) - "Ice cream truck" idea to being healthy food to neighborhoods - Farm Bill reform to give mid-level farms incentives and subsidies to support sustainability, especially in the urban areas - Bring urban gardens to every school Problem Statement II: How to design a profitable business model for local small sustainable farmers who grow organic produce Many shoppers do not have indepth knowledge of the real cost of sustainable produce because they only see the price tag, not the benefits of sustainable, locally grown produce. The price of

3 organic produce is more expensive than non-organic food at the retail grocery stores. The price from local sustainable farmers is even higher. As result, local sustainable farmers are producing healthy organic produce but earning far less revenue and are struggling to obtain capital for the next season. - Educate consumers and youth on the real cost of produce - super markets vs local small farms - Small farmers build an organization to work with regulatory government on small farm policies and regulations to generate positive financial impacts - Financial resources (government grants and loans) for small sustainable farms to raise capital - Create new direct market venue - Educate consumers on the value of sustainable food (GMO, organically grown, etc.) - Small business loans for farmers - Capital o Debt relief programs for farmers o Financial institutes need to understand the true costs of sustainable farming (ex. cost of land, labor costs, etc.) o Funding access (ex. prepay farmers for organic transaction) - Marketing/Education o QR code for food miles (ex. distance travel, life cycle, etc.) to demonstrate the costs that reflect the miles and true value of sustainable food o Create Pacific Northwest specific labels for local produce o Free marketing services for local small sustainable farmers o Programs to educate internal employees, external vendors and consumers - Legislature o Farm Bill reform to provide subsidies for sustainable farmers o Ensure local grants stay local o Lessen the sustainable farming regulation o Transfer development rights o Provide resources to compete against large scale farms o Create a system that values small farms - Resources o Create a toolbox for small farmers

4 Problem Statement III: How to make urban agriculture beneficial for city residents and profitable for stakeholders Urban agriculture is the hottest and trendiest topic across the country. From New York City to Seattle, building owners and residents are looking to rooftops and empty lots for opportunities to harvest greens. Healthy food access, greening the urban landscape, agriculture education for kids, and clean air quality are just added benefits to urban agriculture. However, the current model does not generate positive revenues for stakeholders. - Educate stakeholders on the importance of urban agriculture to create a healthy ecosystem - Strategies to maintain the urban agriculture throughout the year - Ways make urban agriculture profitable and decrease barriers (i.e., cost of resources, space and infrastructure, etc.) - Urban agriculture gains local government support - Transform and utilize public land - Rooftop Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) on community buildings - Study about how much land is needed to feed our state/region to demonstrate the urgency for urban farming - Investigate lands, cost effective methods and most profitable crops for urban farmers - Gain community involvement through coop or profit sharing model - Consider permaculture, hydroponics, and vertical farming - Offer community space for food packaging and processing - Create a common place to educate people about the benefits of urban farming - Provide incentives for building owners of multifamily or commercial buildings to grow food (roof top gardens)

5 Problem Statement IV: How to gain support from research institutes for organic and sustainable farming communities Sustainable agriculture is still seen as a secondary study in agriculture programs at many research institutes. With the lack of research on sustainable agriculture, the public has limited statistical information on the benefits of sustainable farming making it difficult to persuade investors, consumers and the government to invest in sustainable and organic farming. - Strategies to engage academics and research institutes to study organic and sustainable farming - Ways to get grants and funding for research institutes to invest and foster innovations in organic and sustainable farming - Ways to work with regulators to streamline the cost and time associated with getting certified as organic. Many farmers willing to do what it takes on the ground, but the paperwork and cost of organic certification can be an inhibitor - In shaping policy - cross-campus research to make organic certification a value-add to farmers - Institutions understand the values of sustainable farming to climate challenges - Tie sustainable farming research to green jobs in higher education, cultural studies, economic drivers, marketing research and nutrition studies - Establish roles of academic research (ex. supporting farmers) to make the case to fund research - Get research funding from local politicians - Create urban farm/food hubs on higher educational campuses for research - Ways to disseminate and share research findings

6 - Broaden research topics to include: creating new markets for organic farmers, best management practices, incentives for buying local from local markets Problem Statement V: How to encourage small restaurants and grocers to reduce their waste and carbon footprint Currently, small restaurants and grocers don't have ways to recycle food scraps in the Puget Sound Region. In this competitive market, most of restaurant owners and grocers are inundated with menu designs, business development and marketing. The challenges are creating process and allocating staff time to ingrate food waste collection into workflow. ROI calculation is additional time for management staff. Making an effort to reduce their carbon footprint and tracking the results has to be something simple and efficient. - Strategies to collect food scraps from small restaurants and grocers - Processes to integrate carbon reduction into day-to-day work flow - Resources to assist restaurant owners and grocers to reduce their carbon footprint - Commercial businesses pay for private contractors to collect food waste but it is not mandatory - Food waster prevention toolkits: King County The West Cost Climate & Materials Management Forum - Set up small food waste collection points with composting bins in neighborhoods - Develop neighborhood scale waste reclamation and fertilizer production - Design biodiesel program model for small grocers and restaurants to attract early adapters for pilot program with in-kind contributions - Educate businesses on the benefit of food compositing, show case studies and successes

7 - Revise land use code for easy access to compositing - Create incentives commercial businesses to compositing April 30, 2014

8 Contributors: Co-Moderator: Patti Southard Project Manager, King County GreenTools Co-Moderator: Lucy Moore Author, Common Ground on Hostile Turf Group Leader: Terri Butler Ph.D. Executive Director, Sustainable Seattle Group Leader: Jessika Tantisook Founder, Starvation Alley Farms Group Leader: Nicole Kistler Founder, Nicole Kistler Studio Group Leader: Ellen Southard Salmon Safe Outreach Manager, Stewardship Partners Group Leader: Peter Donahue Compost Master, Alleycat Acres The GoGreen Seattle Conference thanks the attendees who participated in the Mini-Charette and shared their experience and ideas to be included in this report. About The GoGreen Conference At its core, the GoGreen Conference is a platform to share resources and solutions within a regional economy and connect people working towards similar goals. Our focus is on sustainable systems and practices, which we believe are foundational to the success of individual organizations as well as our cities, states, nations and world. Attendees come to GoGreen to learn from experts in their community and leave armed with the tools and strategies to make a difference at their organization.