Agenda Abstract - 01-30-2018 Assembly of Governments

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27 these forums, held in Chapel Hill and Cedar Grove. The workgroups have convened community members and area partner organizations (including groups like TABLE and the Inter -Faith Council) to help inform the workgroup action plans. For example, the Food Access Workgroup is creating an educational campaign that will inform people about, among other things, the alarmingly high rate of food insecurity among students in the CHCCS and Orange County public school systems. Already delivering on its mission to provide food policy advice to local government, the OCFC recently responded to a request from the Carrboro Board of Alderpersons to comment on a potential ordinance regulating animal processing within town limits. As to the organizational structure, three possible avenues emerged. The OCFC could continue as is - -not an official 501(c)(3) but using a fiscal agent for banking and fundraising purposes; it could convert to a 501(c)(3); or it could pursue the possibility of recurring local government funding, possibly multijurisdictional funding, while finding a home within local government. The fiscal agent model was deemed unsustainable in the long term. It provided several barriers to funding, not least the fact that the OCFC is not a direct services organization. The majority of the organizations and agencies that receive funding through the Orange County /Carrboro /Chapel Hill Outside Agency /Human Services funding mechanisms provide direct services (hours of mentoring, number of meals etc...). A food council does not do so. This has proved confusing for advisory board members, staff and elected officials when determining whether the food council should receive these funds. Though we were able to convince the county and the towns to fit the square peg in the round hole for two grant cycles, the OCFC recognized that was not likely a sustainable funding option. The Town of Hillsborough, which no longer provides direct services grants, has also directed funds to the OCFC for the last two fiscal years. Forming an official 501(c)(3) was deemed undesirable for several reasons: the creation of a new nonprofit is an enormous task, and there was concern that all the momentum the Council had gained would be lost after months of the grind of forming a nonprofit. The Council is also cognizant of the sizeable array of local nonprofits related to food (and doing great work) and did not want to be perceived as competing with those groups, which the Council actually seeks to convene and have as partner organizations. Seeking collaborative governmental support from the County and the municipalities emerged as the most desirable choice. Though farming and food production are primarily rural pursuits, the local economies and cultures of the towns in Orange County are very much dependent on the success of rural Orange. A number of interdependent factors, including the following shared goals, suggest the appropriateness of a multi - jurisdictional approach to funding: