Meeting Notes Douglas County Food Policy Council Monday, August 16, 2010 7:00-9:00 PM The Community Mercantile

Attendees: Brenna Wulfkuhle, Lori McMinn, Greg Shipe, Barbara Clark, Clint Hornberger, Rita York, Jim Fischer, Rick Martin, Constance Wolfe, Debbie Miers, Julie Henry, Bill Wood, Emily Hampton, John Wilson, Dan Nagengast, Frank Male, Kim Scherman Absent: Dennis "Boog" Highberger, Tom Buller, Daniel Poull Staff: Eileen Horn Guest presenter: Mercedes Taylor-Puckett, Our Local Food Visitors: none

I. Administrative Items:

a. With 18 members in attendance, a quorum was reached. b. All new council members were introduced. c. Approval 7.19 minutes: moved by C. Hornberger, second by B. Wood d. Jerry Jost’s term as facilitator is complete. His volunteer service was recognized by the board. Eileen will deliver signed card to Jerry. e. Eileen will research a venue for the Sept. 20th meeting. f. WellCommons posting schedule: i. Each subcommittee will add “Wellcommons post discussion” to their monthly subcommittee meeting agendas. ii. Each subcommittee will post one relevant item/month to Wellcommons as their contribution. iii. These posts can be project updates, announcements of FPC educational events, relevant articles, etc.

II. Councilmembers’ Event/Grant updates:

a. Rick and Emily updated the council on the progress of the Free State H.S. garden project. Emily will be the garden coordinator, and will keep us updated as the project progresses. b. Dan Nagengast has received positive feedback on the RBOG (USDA Rural Dev.) grant and will hear in mid-Sept. Dan and others are traveling to Wisconsin this month with SARE to discuss developing local foods in our region. c. The Success by Six coalition is collaborating with local CSAs on a grant to provide fresh, local produce in early childcare providers’ homes in Lawrence. d. Kim updated the group on the status of the KU student farm. They would like FPC members to meet with Environs to inspire them to rejuvenate this farm. e. October 2-3 is the Kaw Valley Farm Tour. f. October 1st (Liberty Hall) – Free State, the Merc and others are collaborating on a celebration of local foods. More details to follow. g. Our local Douglas County Food bank is in need of donations, please donate here: http://www.dccfoundation.net/site/?page_id=20

III. Our Local Food Presentation, Mercedes Taylor Puckett

a. Key points from presentation: i. The Our Local Foods effort defines “local” as products produced within the counties of the Kaw River Valley. http://kawrivervalley.org/ ii. There are several levels of participation – from farmer to eater. iii. The Our Local Food label allows for consistent branding, and the local label to follow the product from farm to plate.

b. Next Steps: Mercedes asked the Food Policy Council to consider two opportunities for Food Policy council engagement:
i. A boilerplate letter of support – that we could circulate through our partner organizations so that when they ID grants that require a Food Policy Council to collaborate with, they have a letter from us describing our work and collaboration. EH NOTE: Is there a subcommittee who would take this on? ii. A Food Policy Councilmember to sit on the planning committee for the OLF networking events. These networking events are “speed dating” events that link producers with institutional food buyers and grocery stores. If interested, email Mercedes at: mercedes.taylorpuckett@gmail.com

IV. Committee Reports

a. Education/Outreach

i. The booth at the County fair was a huge success! Thanks to all FPC members (and their restaurants, businesses, etc.) that volunteered and donated prizes. ii. Plan for the “What is Local?” definitions: Education subcommittee will post a representative sample on WellCommons to spur discussion.

b. Policy/Infrastructure (a.k.a. Nuts ‘n Bolts Group)

i. Is working with the planning department to revise definitions in the A-1 agricultural district. This involves interviewing DG County producers about their experiences with zoning/codes – to ID any barriers to producing local food. ii. Has reviewed Chs 2 & 3 of the Food System Report.

c. DIRT (land preservation) i. Travers City Field Trip: aiming for a mid-October trip, depends upon availability of interested parties. 2 spots (at $800 apiece) remain unfunded. ii. B. Wulfkuhle suggested connecting with the Michigan Land Use Institute as part of that trip.

V. Douglas County Food System Study a. Study timeline: Rhonda and Ruth will attend Sept. 20th FPC meeting to prevent preliminary findings, receive direction from Council. Aiming for a final product in November. b. The full Council reviewed the study outline, identifying missing information, suggested edits, format. Eileen will email this feedback to researchers.
c. Rhonda and Ruth will provide draft chapters to subcommittees for review. As they come available, Eileen will email the links to the subcommittees. Chapter assignments: i. Nuts and Bolts: 2,3,5 ii. Dirt: 4, 6 iii. All: chapter 7 – policy and recommended next steps VI. Nomination of Vice Chair. a. B. Clark nominated Rita York. Rita accepted the nomination, no other nominees stepped forward. b. Motion to elect Rita York as Vice Chair – moved by B. Wulfkuhle, seconded by B. Wood. Vote was unanimous in favor (18-0).

Adjourn 9:15 PM

Next meeting: Monday, September 20th 7:00 pm Fire Station #5 (19th and Stewart)