Econ Dev Advisory Board minutes 091819

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD September 18, 2019 Orange County Economic Development Office 131 W. Margaret Lane Hillsborough, NC 27278 Minutes Members Present: Sharon Hill, Barbara Jessie-Black, Anthony Carey, John Morris, Paige Zinn, Kristen Young, James Watts, John Anderson Orange County Staff: Steve Brantley, Amanda Garner, Mike Ortosky Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Paige Zinn at 11:52 a.m. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by John Morris and seconded by Sharon Hill to approve the minutes from the July 17, 2019 meeting. The motion passed unanimously. New Business Economic Development 101 Mike Ortosky presented to the committee on the role of agriculture and food systems within the local economy. He shared that there are multiple components that make up the food system including production, processing, distribution, markets, and waste. He also shared about trends within the food system including: • Growing Demand For Local / Regional / Safe /Transparent/ Story-Based (Know Your Farmer) Food Systems • Demand Shift & Environmental Pressures Creating Disruptive Food Economy • Food System Increasingly Seen As One Thing Versus Separate Industries • Food Systems Increasingly Recognized As Economic Development Opportunity • Food Systems & Land Planning (urban ag, community & regional planning, food- oriented development, APA, etc.) • Food Systems And The Environment— Climate Change • Food Systems And Health (social determinants of health, present value of avoided costs) • Food Systems And Equity (access, food deserts, "power deserts") • Agriculture & Food Becoming Bigger/High-Tech While Demand For Smaller/Local Grows - Controlled Environment Agriculture - Value Chain & Food Technology Innovation • Funding & Food System as Asset Class "Harvesting Opportunity—The Power of Regional Food Investments to Transform Communities: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis & CDFA