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New advisory board approved to coordinate city and county efforts to grow local food economy
WHAT. Sponsored by Austin City Council Members Mike Martinez, Lee Leffingwell and Laura Morrison, as well as Travis County Commissioners Sarah Eckhardt and Ron Davis at the recommendation of Edible Austin’s publisher, Marla Camp and Sustainable Food Center’s food policy task force. The Sustainable Food Policy Board will serve as an advisory body to the Austin City Council and Travis County Commissioner’s Court concerning the need to improve the availability of fresh, nutritious, locally and sustainably grown food at reasonable prices for all residents, particularly those in need. The board will coordinate the relevant activities of local government, as well as non-profit organizations and food and farming businesses, and explore new means for the city and county to improve the local food economy—by monitoring the availability, sustainabilty, accessibility and quality of local food.
WHY. The City of Austin believes that making a wide variety of safe, nutritious and sustainably grown food available to all our residents will have a positive affect on the region’s efforts to reduce energy consumption as well have a positive impact on our local economy.
" We want to see more locally grown and produced products in our grocery stores, restaurants and schools and the Board is meant to bring together the community and figure out how the City and County can play an active role in making this happen. This benefits our community nutritionally, environmentally and economically. We can do so much more to promote local, sustainably grown food," says Council Member Mike Martinez.
Council Member Lee Leffingwell agrees, "We are looking forward to working with the Board to find creative ways to protect our natural resources and create infrastructure for sustaining our urban farms and local food producers."
Co-sponsoring Council Member Laura Morrison explains, "Creating this new Board allows us to bring together community experts to address the sustainability of foods, which is a critical component in Austin achieving a sustainable future." READ THE ORDINANCE. To view or download a copy of the Ordinance, click here. FOR INFO ON HOW TO APPLY. Applications for board nominations are accessible online through the City Clerk's office Boards And Commissions page. The board (see below) is currently full-seated but interested persons are welcome to apply in order to be counted in the pool for open spots when available. There will also be sub-committee and issue-related task force opportunities available for persons who have applied as well as for other interested individuals. click here. FOR UPDATES. Check back here for upcoming meetings, subcommittees, and the latest meeting agendas: 6-14 Meeting Agenda. Agendas and Minutes will also be listed on our Resources page, see below. For questions, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it KUT NEWS STORY. For KUT news brief broadcast on Morning Edition on Friday, November 21 click here. RESOURCES. For background reading, policy papers and related materials on related topics click here.
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