Minutes 05-10-2022 Budget Public Hearing and Work Session

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24 Ashley Heger said that the slide in the packet was the wrong slide and the one on the screen is correct. She apologized and said not to consider slide #9 in the packet. She said they created a category called "multiple" to include the Inner Faith Council and others that provide wraparound services. Slide #10 Expanding Local Food Markets Pilot Project At the reconiinen-Oii(w of the chair of the Onmge Couuty Boud of County Cornmis3ioners, the Foal Counoil anti Cooperative Extension have been exploring options for a pilot program to expand r=kets for Orange County goawers and increase acaess to lacol foods far reeanal buyers. a Stakeholder iutenkievrs • 18 nwntb pilot pragram a Support 6-8 growers in an aniline sellimg/mwketing platform to connect to regional buyers e Pilot participants will help advise pragram implem mtatian and evaluation e Data collection and 2-4 staff reports annually a Intended timeline, July 2022 to December 2023 Ashley Heger said that in Spring 2021, Chair Price recommended that the Food Council work with Fresh Fire. She said they asked for feedback from stakeholders, including the Black farmer group they've worked with, and asked them what they think about this. She said that she has worked with Cooperative Extension to complete those stakeholder interviews. She said they chose from a wide spectrum of food producers in the county, and they selected a diversity in product, size, and how long they have been around. She said they said they were already engaged in wholesale markets or looking to do so. She said that five years ago, the Board had created a gap fund for farmers, and they thought there would be a line out the door to help get them certified but farmers in the county were doing direct sales and said there was no desire to move beyond that. She said that now there has been a switch and there is a higher demand here for local goods. She said that this pilot program will help small local growers expand into wholesale. She said they are proposing an 18-month pilot that would start in July. She said the funding would support eight growers in the county to become able to participate in online wholesaling. She said this would cutout the middleman and allow more local engagement. She said they hope they can also supplement the buyers, but they are not quite sure what they buyer side looks like at this point. She said that the third portion of funding will be for more frequent and more detailed data on the local food system. She said that the Fresh Fire specialized in data collection and can do customized reports, help interview, and give them key information on how program is working or if it is not.