Lake County supervisors approve Food Policy Council bylaws, MOU with community foundation and clear membership to reopen applications

The Lake County Board of Supervisors on June 12 approved bylaws for a newly reorganized Food Policy Council, authorized a revised memorandum of understanding with the Lake County Community Foundation to serve as fiscal agent, and voted to vacate the council’s current membership in order to reopen the application process.

Rebecca Harper, introduced to the board as representing the Farm Bureau, described the council’s purpose in a presentation: “The purpose of the Food Policy Council is to advance sustainable solutions for Lake County's local food and farm economies so that growers and eaters can thrive.” Harper outlined a strategic plan emphasizing local production, processing, distribution and resilience in the face of emergency events such as wildfire.

The board approved three related measures: the council bylaws, the MOU with Lake County Community Foundation (version 2, as amended), and a motion to vacate the current membership and reopen applications. Each motion passed with an affirmative voice vote; the record shows the motions carried without recorded opposition.

Greg Damron of Blue Zones Project — which he described to supervisors as a company providing coordination and technical assistance — told the board Blue Zones and Adventist Health have provided substantial in-kind support. “Through the generosity of Adventist Health, we’re able to provide probably over a hundred thousand dollars of technical assistance and in-kind dollars,” Damron said, describing Blue Zones’ role as the council’s…