Title
Ordinance in the Amount of $473,980 Amending State, Federal and Other Grants Fund Budget for the Appropriation of the 2016 Local Food Promotion Program Grant
Body
Department: Planning
Council District: all
Public Hearing: N/A
Advertising Date/By: N/A
Contact 1 and Phone: Sue Schwartz, 336-373-2149
Contact 2 and Phone: Hanna Cockburn, 336-574-3876
PURPOSE:
Amend the budget to accept the USDA Local Food Promotion Program Implementation Grant award in the amount of $473,980. In September 2016, Greensboro was awarded this grant to support implementation activities identified in the Fresh Food Access Plan, adopted in 2015. Implementation of this plan is one of the proactive strategies the City has undertaken to address the food disparity issues in the community.
City Council approved submittal of the grant application on May 17, 2016.
BACKGROUND:
Grant funds will be used to support shared use kitchens, outreach and training programs geared to new, non-restaurant food businesses that focus on value-added products sourced from locally produced foods. The City has partnered with the Guilford County Agricultural Extension Office, the Greensboro Farmer’s Curb Market, Out of the Garden Project and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro to execute these programs over a three-year period.
Grant supported activities will include:
• Access to a shared use kitchen for production and training programs in safe-food handling for entrepreneurs and local farmers through the Guilford County Agricultural Extension Office;
• Access to a shared use kitchen and demonstration space at the Greensboro Farmer’s Curb Market for business training and production, with access to the market and local produce;
• Access to a shared use kitchen for production and neighborhood outreach programs through the Out of the Garden Project in the Folk Center; and
• Program assessment and tracking by the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
BUDGET IMPACT:
These funds supplement City resources already in use. The required match is being met with in-kind existing City expenditures at the Farmer’s Curb Market and the Folk Center, totaling $346,320. This ordinance establishes appropriations and expenditures equal to the amount of the grant award and the in-kind match.
RECOMMENDATION / ACTION REQUESTED:
Staff recommends approval of the attached budget ordinance to accept the $473,980 grant award.