Comment to City Council by April 16

A new policy to strengthen our local food system is needed in Seattle, City Council President Richard Conlin told Tilth members and friends in introductory comments at the 30th anniversary event at Town Hall on March 13. An initiative proposed by Conlin will be considered by the Council this spring, and he asked for citizen action to raise awareness of the issue. “We need to convince people this is a priority,” he said.

Comments will be taken in an evening meeting of the Council’s Environment, Emergency Management and Utilities Committee on Wednesday, April 16, and written comments may be sent in advance of the meeting. Details on commenting can be found at http://www.seattle.gov/council/attachments/2008food_initiative.pdf.

The Local Food Action Initiative would create a “policy framework” that brings together issues of local agriculture, community gardens, urban-rural community connections, public health and greater food self-sufficiency, he explained. City goals of race and social justice, environmental sustainability, economic development and emergency preparedness would also benefit, he said.

Currently, an ad-hoc interdepartmental city team is working with the Acting Food Policy Council, of which Tilth is a member, to identify issues and opportunities around food security and a sustainable local food system.

Conlin’s initiative, Resolution 31019, can be found at www.seattle.gov/council/conlin. He said he hopes to vote the resolution out of committee on Earth Day, and bring it before a full council vote in late April or May.

Editor’s note: A version of this article, originally printed in the April/May Seattle Tilth Newsletter, was inadvertently cut off. We apologize to readers for the error.