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Committee recommends creating a food-systems division under Human Services instead of chartering an Office of Food Systems
Summary
After public comment urging a charter-level Office of Food Systems, the committee voted 12—or and 7 against to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners create a division of food systems within the Office of Human Services & Community Partnerships (HSCP), rather than send a charter amendment to voters.
Leon County—harter review committee members heard more than a dozen public comments urging a durable, countywide approach to food access and then split on how to proceed.
Public commenters representing community groups, faith-based organizations and farmers urged Option 2, which would place an Office of Food Systems in the charter and require a countywide food-systems plan and annual reporting. "An Office of Food Systems would bridge these gaps," said Susan Robinson of the Capital Area Justice Ministry during public comment, advocating central coordination and accountability.
County staff told the committee HSCP already manages food-security efforts, citing recent work with Second Harvest, FarmShare and local partners. Staff said the county has invested roughly $7.5 million over the last five years and helped deliver nearly 55,000,000 meals through partner programs; staff recommended a policy approach rather than a charter amendment because the charter cannot compel independent partners to participate.
Committee member Bruce Strobel moved to forward the staff raft charter amendment (Option 2). A substitute motion from committee member Joey Davis asked instead that the Board of County Commissioners be asked to create a division of food systems within HSCP (Option 3), with a focus on reorganization rather than creating a separate office in the charter. The substitute was seconded and, following a roll-call vote, passed with a tally reported in the meeting transcript as 12 yes and 7 no.
The substitute motion recommends that the county dministrator or commission consider reorganizing existing functions to create a division that will coordinate county programs, convene the food council being developed by FAMU and produce an annual plan and report to improve transparency and reduce duplication.
Next steps: The committee will forward the policy recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration; staff said commissioners would determine funding and implementation. The committee emphasized the importance of community engagement and of the county—ontinuing to leverage partnerships such as the food council being organized by FAMU.
