Local Policy Brief
The
Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council (SFPC) is a group dedicated to
implementing policies in order to improve the local food system in the city of
Denver. According to the SFPC, a local
food system “is a structure in which food production, processing, distribution,
and consumption are combined to improve the environmental, economic, social and
nutritional health of a particular place.”[1] The SFPC was founded by then Denver Mayor
Hickenlooper in October of 2010 in order to address several perceived problems
with Denver’s local food system.[2] One goal is to increase the amount of food
that is produced within the city of Denver.
Currently, “less than 1% of the food that is consumed in the
metro-region is produced within Colorado.”[3] Primarily, this hurts Denver economically as
producing more food locally will enhance Denver’s economy and it reduces the transport
of food over long distances causing logistical and environmental concerns. Another issue that the SFPC wants to address
with food policy is the growing obesity epidemic. The council believes that moving to locally
sustainable food policies will help Denver residents become healthier by having
greater access to better quality food.
Another aspect of this is changing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) and food stamp policies to allow those in need to use these
benefits to purchase locally grown food.[4]
With
Senate Bill 12-048, the state of Colorado passed the Colorado Cottage Food Act 2012,
which was a step toward allowing local unlicensed food sales.[5] At the state level, this law allows people
who produce food to directly sell it to consumers. This would include products such as home-made
baked goods and jams and also includes a limited number of egg sales from
backyard chickens. While requiring no
licenses, there are restrictions upon sales, such as limiting profit to $5000
annually.[6] At this time, the city of Denver’s local
policies do not fully conform to the state law.
Denver implemented its first policy change with regard to this law in
2011 when it passed an ordinance that allowed Denver residents to raise chicken
and goats on their properties.[7] However, Denver currently restricts residents
from selling home-grown produce and goods directly to the consumer, only
allowing sales “on school or church sites, at a farmers’ market or restaurant.”[8] This is one item where the SFPC wants to
implement policy change by adding an amendment to the Denver Zoning Code that
would allow people to sell items they grew in their garden or made themselves
out of their homes.[9] Currently, Denver zoning laws forbid
something as seemingly innocuous as selling a jar of jam someone made to their
neighbor. Proponents of the amendment
believe that this would increase the availability of locally grown foods, while
those who oppose the amendment believe that it would clutter up residential
neighborhoods with signs advertising the sale of home-made food goods. The SFPC assures that this would not happen
as provisions are built into the amendment that disallows obtrusive
advertising. [10]
Another
goal that the SFPC is focusing on is a 2020 sustainability goal, which states,
“Acquire at least 25 percent of food purchased through Denver’s municipal
government supply chain from sources that are produced (grown or processed)
entirely within Colorado.”[11] The SFPC proposes a local purchasing
ordinance to meet this goal. The council
sees the first step in this process as a voluntary one, where guidance is
provided to local agencies on how to more easily work with local vendors to
purchase locally sourced items.[12] In the future, they recommend amending the
policy to allow a “percentage price preference for vendors which source higher
amounts from local farmers”[13] To go along with this, the SFPC recommends
reworking contract language to make local procurement easier for both
institutions and food vendors. On the
vendor side, the ordinance would support local food producers by providing
training on how to work with local municipalities as well as providing
incentives for local food producers.
A
third policy goal of the SFPC is increasing the ability for people using SNAP
benefits to use their benefits in a wider variety of ways. Currently, it is not easy for those using
SNAP benefits to purchase healthier food alternatives at places like Farmer’s
Markets. The USDA has noted that
municipalities should allow people to use SNAP at farmer’s markets as well as
local farmers in order to include “more fresh fruits and vegetables in their
diet.”[14] At the federal level, the USDA has
implemented several policies to make it easier for farmers to qualify to accept
electronic benefit transfers (EBT).
Currently, the USDA will provide vendors with free point-of-sales
machines that can accept EBT cards only (versus other types of credit cards).[15] The SFPC wishes to allocate more funding to
this effort locally in order to “ensure that all farmers’ markets in Denver
have the means to acquire current and supporting technology, such as EBT
machines.”[16] A main reason to expand the acceptance of
SNAP benefits is to allow this in danger of malnutrition to have access to
healthier foods. The Denver Department
of Environmental Health states that the “obesity rate of low-income
preschoolers is increasing; the highest rates are among children who are
Hispanic (16%) or African American (19%).
Among children in Denver, 16% are overweight and 15% are obese.”[17] The SNAP initiatives are a step in helping
address these issues by increasing the availability of healthier foods to those
with the most need.
The
SFPC also wishes to enact policy to “support a broad range of food outlets from
traditional grocery store models to alternative methods such as food hubs,
mobile produce markets, and food co-operatives.”[18] This would address the problem of “food
deserts”—areas in a city where at least a third of a communities population is
“more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store.”[19] City Kitchen, a project based on a HUD grant consisting of local leaders from both the public and private sector, proposes a food hub
for West Denver to address such concerns, states that,
“With urbanization of the world
population and price volatility in global food supplies due intensification of
climate change (crop failures from drought, floods and other natural disasters)
and diminishing oil reserves (leading to higher transportation costs) comes the
need for greater food system resilience.”[20]
The SFPC believes that the creation of food hubs
within Denver will not only improve the health of Denver citizens but also
support economic development. According
to the USDA, a food hub is “a centrally located facility with a business
management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing,
distribution, and/or marketing of locally/regionally produced food products.”[21] Currently, Denver is lacking distribution
centers of this type, but the concept has worked well for other cities, such as
La Montanita in New Mexico. Their food
hub “buys from over 700 local farmers and producers, and warehouses and
processes over 1,100 local products that are sold through the La Montanita
retail co-op locations and other retail markets across the state.”[22] This allows for locally grown food to be more
accessible to everyone.
In
conclusion, the policies that the SFPC wishes to implement in regards to local
Denver food policy seem prudent. In
addition to their own reasoning, there are many other factors that seem to warrant
a focus on local food policy improvement.
For instance, local food hubs naturally reduce the amount of carbon
produced by limiting the distance food has to travel to reach its destination. In addition, it empowers local communities by
decreasing their reliance upon corporate factory-farming operations. Instead, communities will have access to
better quality products, since smaller farms generally use less environmentally
damaging farming practices. As the SFPC
and USDA state, having access to locally grown food will also grant health
benefits and bolster the local community.
Works Cited
Barham,
Jim. "Getting to Scale with Regional Food Hubs." Blogs.usda.gov. United States Department of Agriculture, 14 Dec.
2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://blogs.usda.gov/2010/12/14/getting-to-scale-with-regional-food-hubs/>.
City
Kitchen. "West Denver Food Access Issues and How a Food Hub Can Address
the Challenge." (2015): 10-11. Denvergov.org.
2015. Web. 28 Oct. 2015. <https://denvergov.org/Portals/193/documents/DLP/City%20Kitchen%20small.pdf>.
Colorado
Department of Health and Education. "Colorado Cottage Food Act Becomes
Law." (n.d.): 1-2. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Colorado
Farm to Market. "Food Assistance Programs." Cofarmtomarket.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
Denver
Sustainable Food Policy Council. "About." Http://denversfpc.com. N.p., 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Denver
Sustainable Food Policy Council. "Local Food Procurement in the City of
Denver." (2015): 2. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Denver
Sustainable Food Policy Council. "Policy Issues." Http://denversfpc.com. N.p., 15 Oct.
2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Heirloom
Gardens & Sustainable Food Denver. "EatWhereULive." Http://heirloomgardens.blogspot.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Mason,
Mondi, PhD, MPH. "Food System Policies and Population Health: Moving
Toward Collective Impact in Denver." (2014): 4. Print.
Peters,
Marianne. "City of Denver Advances Local Food Policy With Public-Private
Partnerships." Seedstock. N.p.,
3 Apr. 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
United
States Department of Agriculture. "SNAP Benefit Redemptions through
Farmers and Farmers Markets Show Sharp Increase." Fns.usda.gov. N.p., 25 June 2015. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
[1] Denver
Sustainable Food Policy Council. "About." Http://denversfpc.com.
October 15, 2013. Accessed October 28, 2015. http://denversfpc.com/about-2/.
[2]
Heirloom Gardens & Sustainable Food Denver. "EatWhereULive."
Http://heirloomgardens.blogspot.com. Accessed October 28, 2015.
http://heirloomgardens.blogspot.com/2011/01/meet-denver-sustainable-food-policy.html.
[3]
Heirloom Gardens & Sustainable Food Denver. "EatWhereULive."
[4]
Heirloom Gardens & Sustainable Food Denver. "EatWhereULive."
[5]
Colorado Department of Health and Education. "Colorado Cottage Food Act
Becomes Law." 1-2. Accessed October 25, 2015.
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/Reg_DEHS_CottageFoodsAct_Brochure.pdf.
[6]
Colorado Department of Health and Education. "Colorado Cottage Food Act
Becomes Law."
[7]
Peters, Marianne. "City of Denver Advances Local Food Policy With
Public-Private Partnerships." Seedstock. April 3, 2014. Accessed October
28, 2015.
http://seedstock.com/2014/04/03/city-of-denver-advances-local-food-policy-with-public-private-partnerships/.
[8]
Peters, Marianne. "City of Denver Advances Local Food Policy With
Public-Private Partnerships."
[9]
Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council. "Policy Issues."
Http://denversfpc.com. October 15, 2013. Accessed October 28, 2015.
http://denversfpc.com/policy-issues/.
[10]
Peters, Marianne. "City of Denver Advances Local Food Policy With
Public-Private Partnerships."
[11] Denver
Sustainable Food Policy Council. "Local Food Procurement in the City of
Denver." April 18, 2015, 2. Accessed October 25, 2015.
https://denversfpc.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/15-5_19-localfoodprocurementadvisorymemo-final.pdf.
[12]
Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council. "Local Food Procurement in the
City of Denver."
[13]
Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council. "Local Food Procurement in the
City of Denver."
[14]
United States Department of Agriculture. "SNAP Benefit Redemptions through
Farmers and Farmers Markets Show Sharp Increase." Fns.usda.gov. June 25,
2015. Accessed October 28, 2015.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/pressrelease/2015/fns-0007-15.
[15]
Colorado Farm to Market. "Food Assistance Programs."
Cofarmtomarket.com. 2015. Accessed October 27, 2015.
http://cofarmtomarket.com/additional-information/programs/.
[16]
Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council. "Policy Issues."
[17] Mason,
Mondi, PhD, MPH. "Food System Policies and Population Health: Moving
Toward Collective Impact in Denver." December 2014, 4.
[18] Denver
Sustainable Food Policy Council. "Policy Issues."
[19] City
Kitchen. "West Denver Food Access Issues and How a Food Hub Can Address
the Challenge." (2015): 10-11. Denvergov.org. 2015. Web. 28 Oct.
2015.
<https://denvergov.org/Portals/193/documents/DLP/City%20Kitchen%20small.pdf>.
[20]
City Kitchen. "West Denver Food Access Issues and How a Food Hub Can
Address the Challenge."
[21]
Barham, Jim. "Getting to Scale with Regional Food Hubs." Blogs.usda.gov.
United States Department of Agriculture, 14 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
<http://blogs.usda.gov/2010/12/14/getting-to-scale-with-regional-food-hubs/>.
