Title
Community Engagement Services for 2025 Phoenix Food Action Plan (Ordinance S-45842)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into a contract with Insite Consultants to provide consulting services to conduct equitable community engagement in the South Mountain and Maryvale Village Planning areas to gather input for inclusion in the Citywide 2025 Phoenix Food Action Plan. Further request to authorize execution of amendments to this contract as necessary within the Council-approved expenditure authority as provided below, and for the City Controller to disburse all funds related to this item. The fee for services will not exceed $49,000.
Report
Summary
In 2016, the City Council adopted the 2050 Environmental Sustainability goals, which include a Local Food System goal to maintain a sustainable, healthy, equitable, thriving local food system. The City's comprehensive general plan, PlanPHX, also includes goals for increased access to healthy food. Achievement of local food system goals results in reduced rates of hunger, obesity, and diet-related diseases through elimination of food deserts, increase in healthy food assets, improving consumer education, and adopting policies, zoning, and land use guidelines to improve the food system. A food desert as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an area without ready access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. Of the 55 food deserts in Maricopa County, 43 are in Phoenix and encompass nearly half the Phoenix population, with the majority of food deserts located in the southern and western portions of Phoenix.
Development of the 2025 Phoenix Food Action Plan
The Office of Environmental Programs (OEP) is the Local Food System goal leader and has been working diligently in this arena through collaborative efforts with residents, government, nonprofits, and local businesses. The development of a 2025 Phoenix Food Action Plan (Plan) is the first step toward achieving the 2050 goal. The Plan will identify concrete actions to establish or improve policies, programs, and individual actions around every aspect of the food system, including production, harvesting, distribution, sales, consumption, and composting.
Community Engagement
In 2017, OEP began gathering input for the Plan from food system stakeholders, including local growers, community members, health organizations, retail, food banks, schools, and other government agencies. Additional input has also been gathered through nonprofit organizations including; the Maricopa County Food System Coalition (MarCo), Valley of the Sun United Way (VSUW), and the Health Improvement Partnership of Maricopa County (HIPMC), all of which are focused on making improvements to healthy food access. Stakeholders provided valuable information on the draft framework and stressed the importance of equitable community engagement.
Integral to development of the Plan is input from residents impacted by food insecurity and hunger, residents living in foods deserts and affected by other social determinants of health that make access to healthy food difficult. To date, community engagement has included localized efforts with residents and food system partners in South Phoenix. Through a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Local Foods, Local Places Program, OEP conducted a Community Food Conversation and Workshop in late 2018 with South Phoenix residents to understand food access challenges and identify opportunities to improve the South Phoenix food system. South Phoenix engagement resulted in preparation of a hyper-local South Phoenix Food Action Plan that is focused on the needs of the South Mountain Village community. Insite Consultants will be contracted to complete the work in South Phoenix to expand community involvement and to co-create the South Phoenix Plan, to create better connections among community members, and to initiate activities that address the issues identified in the plan.
OEP plans to conduct a community engagement process like that completed in the South Phoenix Local Foods, Local Places project for the West Phoenix/Maryvale Village area. OEP will contract with Insite Consultants to establish a resident Community of Practice centered on the food system, conduct workshops with residents to discuss equitable access to healthy food, facilitate meetings between the Community of Practice, OEP, and other food system partners, and conduct a Community Food Conversation and workshop following the Local Foods, Local Places model.
Procurement Information
OEP followed requirements in Administrative Regulation 3.10 for informal procurements not to exceed $100,000. Insite Consultants was the successful vendor.
Contract Term
The term of the award is six months from issuance of a Notice to Proceed. Provisions of the contract may include an option to extend the term up to 3 months, which may be exercised by the City Manager or designee.
Financial Impact
The total expenditure will not exceed $49,000. Funding is available in the OEP FY2018-19 budget for consultant services. The Budget and Research Department will separately review and approve funding availability prior to execution of any amendments.
Location
The services will be provided in the South Mountain and Maryvale Village Planning areas.
Council District(s): 4, 5, 7, and 8.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Office of Environmental Programs.