Agenda - 06-02-2015 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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13 1 Commissioner Jacobs said that there are more ways to do incentives. He said getting 2 locally produced foods into the local schools has been a goal for years, and it has proved 3 difficult. He suggested a pilot project to help local producers to get certification so that their 4 foods can go into schools. He suggested workig with just one school, or school system, initially. 5 He said Orange County could view it as an economic development tool and provide an 6 economic incentive by helping to provide the difference in the cost between what would be paid 7 to someone like Aramark versus paying someone locally. He asked if this concept had been 8 seen elsewhere. 9 Mike Ortosky said he has not seen specific examples, but there is a long list of incentive 10 possibilities. He said that not only Public Schools but also local colleges and universities are 11 interested in buying locally. He said everyone runs into the same problem of how we get 12 enough quantity. He added that the economic incentive would not have to last forever as 13 eventually the practice would become part of the fabric of the way food is accessed. 14 Commissioner Jacobs said trying to get someone in Orange County to start an 15 aggregating business may be difficult. He said he calls it a food broker. He said grants had 16 been sought previously to create to such a position. He said the government does not have to 17 do it but can encourage it, support it and commit to it. He asked Mike Ortosky to get a vision of 18 how the economic department can enable someone in the private sector to do the aggregation. 19 Mike Ortosky said he agreed with the use of the private sector. He said that direction 20 was pursued that Orange County would not have to subsidize for very long. 21 Commissioner Jacobs asked if the Sheriff has been spoken with about changing some 22 of the ways the jail purchases their food. 23 Mike Ortosky said it is on his agenda to meet with all who purchase foods. He said that 24 US Foods has a grant to work with several interns from NC State to figure out how to source 25 more locally. He said they are motivated economically but also by the demand for locally 26 sourced food. 27 Commissioner Rich said the Orange County web site indicates that there are Food 28 Coordinators in every county in North Carolina. She asked if there is contact with the Food 29 Coordinator in Orange County. 30 Carl Matyac said the Food Coordinator is Mike Lanier in Cooperative Extension, and he 31 is actively involved in the Breeze Farm program and currently his job has been expanded into 32 Caswell and Person Counties. 33 Commissioner Pelissier said she liked all of the recommendations. She asked if 34 different zoning and land use be required when a food hub or a food enterprise district is 35 mentioned. She said she wants the County to encourage this process to move forward. 36 Mike Ortosky said some of this could happen in Economic Development Districts 37 (EDDs). He said that two existing buildings, one County owned and one not, are being viewed 38 this Thursday as possible locations. He said he is unsure how much would have to be changed 39 through planning. He said there are a lot of innovation clusters being formed around the 40 Country. He said they are typically formed around biotech or IT, and occasionally around food 41 systems. He said the smaller version is food enterprise district, which is all of an economic 42 development district. He said even smaller version is the food hub. He spoke with developer in 43 Baltimore who is building a food hub. He said this is a campus with all of the collaborative 44 facilities on site. He said a part of that would be the rural aggregator, who could be out of town 45 or part of the economic district. He said the goal is to build a market for growers. 46 Commissioner Jacobs said Mike Lenier was originally hired for Mike Ortosky's position. 47 He said he appreciates the amount of effort going into this process. He said it is a refreshingly 48 aggressive opportunity. 49 Commissioner Price said the farmers would need a guarantee that someone is going to 50 buy their product. She said it will be important to start small. She said the aggregator models