Friends, there has been a lot of discussion on this list about growing food in the
City and local food systems generally in the last few weeks. In 1987, the City of
Saint Paul passed a Municipal Food Policy. The committee charged with keeping the
City moving forward with the policy was disbanded several years ago. The language in
the policy is amazingly forward thinking. It includes a provision for encouraging
residents to raise a portion of their own food supply. This was 17 years ago and yet
the issues addressed by the policy are not only in the news today, but increasingly a
concern of cities around the country. Perhaps it's time to resurrect the committee
and put some time, energy and resources into implementing this policy.
Here is the full text of the policy:
SAINT PAUL FOOD & NUTRITION COMMISSION
MUNICIPAL FOOD POLICY
November 19, 1987
Room 365 City Hall
Saint Paul, Minnesota
(612) 298-4323
SAINT PAUL MUNICIPAL FOOD POLICY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Food and Nutrition Commission
Membership.....................................................................................................................................
i
Preamble...........................................................................................................................................
ii
Goals................................................................................................................................................
1
Statements of
Policy..........................................................................................................................
2
Objectives.........................................................................................................................................
4
CITY OF SAINT PAUL
FOOD AND NUTRITION COMMISSION
Jim Scheibel, Chairperson
City Councilmember
Katheryn M. Anderson
Jim Blaha
Sherman Eagles
John Flory
Richard Goebel
V. Beate Krinke
Shova Vang
Robert E. Wilson
Consultants
Minnesota Food Association
Margo Stark
Ken Taylor
PREAMBLE
People, regardless of where they live, have certain basic needs-the need for shelter,
for food, for health and for a sense of security. In the democratic community, these
values are expressed as rights or entitlements accorded its citizens and deemed to be
in the best interests of the total community.
Values are made real in the life of the community through the development of policies,
the enactment of implementing laws and the adoption of practices which reflect those
values. (Systems for fire and police protection are the most familiar of these
arrangements.)
Most major cities have not taken responsibility for the development of policies
addressing the basic need for food of their citizenry. The post World War II changes
in the system which brings food to our table insulated the consciousness of urban
leaders and citizens alike. The ongoing availability of safe, nutritious and
affordable food was assumed.
This is no longer the case. The emergence of persistent hunger as an urban issue,
expanding awareness of the connections between diet and disease, between agricultural
production practices and the contamination of food products found on the grocer's
shelves and the retreat of the Federal government from its role in the food
policy-making process, are all factors contributing to a growing concern among urban
dwellers for the security and fairness of their food system.
The Saint Paul Municipal Food Policy is an attempt by government leaders and citizen
interests to provide a framework within which the City can take action to address the
range of food policy and program issues identified during the life of the Food and
Nutrition Commission. This policy is, in the final analysis,
a.. a statement of values,
b.. a declaration of responsibility,
c.. a call for action.
The primary value statement is that food, as a basic need for survival of the human
community, is a right and a responsibility of the citizens of this City; the City
declares that it will assume the responsibility to provide the leadership and
direction required to give life to this value, and it proposes to establish the
cooperative framework within which the City, as a government entity and as a community
of people can take action to achieve the policy objectives set forth in this document.
SAINT PAUL MUNICIPAL FOOD POLICY
GOALS
1) Assure that all Saint Paul citizens have access to safe, affordable and nutritious
food.
2) Protect and strengthen the region's capacity to supply safe, nutritious and
affordable food to Saint Paul citizens.
3) Assure that the Saint Paul Municipal Food Policy is implemented upon its adoption
by the City Council and that it is periodically reviewed and updated as appropriate.
STATEMENTS OF POLICY
GOAL 1:
Assure that all Saint Paul citizens have access to safe, affordable, and nutritious
food.
I. ISSUE: GEOGRAPHIC ACCESS TO FOOD
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to assure that all of its citizens,
regardless of where they live in the City, their income, physical disability, or
ownership of private transportation, have to food outlets offering competitively
priced, nutritious foods.
II. ISSUE: ECONOMIC ACCESS & FOOD AFFORDABILITY
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to assure that all of its citizens have
their basic nutrititional needs met without persistent dependence on the emergency
food system.
III. ISSUE: FOOD SAFETY
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to eliminate the exposure of its citizens
to hazardous substances and to substantially reduce its citizens' exposure to
potentially hazardous substances employed in the production, processing and
preservation of food.
IV. NUTRITION & HEALTH
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to promote and support the dietary
recommendations made in "Healthy By Choice, the Minnesota Plan for Nutrition and
Health" to raise awareness, increase knowledge, and improve overall food choices made
by its residents.
V. ISSUE: COOPERATION
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to work cooperatively with its citizens,
voluntary associations, regional farmers, the private food business sector, county and
regional governments and government units concerned with the local resource base to
realize the objectives of the City's food policy.
GOAL 2:
Protect and strengthen the region's capacity to supply safe, nutritious and affordable
food to St. Paul citizens.
I. ISSUE: RESOURCES FOR FOOD PRODUCTION
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to pursue and support development policies
that protect and enhance the capacity of St. Paul citizens to produce a portion of
their own food supply, and of regional farmers to produce food for consumption in the
City.
II. ISSUE: ENVIRONMENTAL & CITIZEN PROTECTION IN THE PRODUCTION OF LOCAL FOODS
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to assure that the environment is not
degraded, nor its citizens exposed to environmental hazards in the production or
processing of local foods.
III. ISSUE: MARKETING OF LOCALLY GROWN FOODS
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to pursue and support policies that
maximize the percent of locally-grown foods in the City's food supply.
IV. ISSUE: EDUCATION ON THE FOOD SYSTEM
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to assure that its citizens have access to
information and educational programs about the system of production, processing and
marketing that supplies food to the City.
V. ISSUE: NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to include small-scale, neighborhood-based
food production, processing and marketing businesses in its development plans.
VI. ISSUE: COMPOSTING/RECYCLING
It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul to cooperate with its citizens and with
regional farmers to maximize re-use of yard and food waste generated in the City, and
to minimize the generation of non-recyclable materials by the City's food system.
OBJECTIVES
GOAL 1
I. ISSUE: GEOGRAPHIC ACCESS TO FOOD
OBJECTIVES
A. Increase the accessibility of competitively priced full service grocery stores to
low income and disabled St. Paul citizens who do not have such stores in their
neighborhoods.
B. Increase the opportunities for lower income and disabled St. Paul citizens without
access to private transportation to purchase groceries without leaving their homes.
II. ISSUE: ECONOMIC ACCESS & FOOD AFFORDABILITY
OBJECTIVES
A. Create a competitive climate among food retailers regarding their pricing of
'basic' food items.
B. Increase low income and limited mobility St. Paul citizens' access to direct or
wholesale buying.
C. Reduce the number of St. Paul citizens routinely requiring emergency food
assistance.
D. Create and support economic opportunities for low income City residents, enabling
them to afford to pay for basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing.
III. ISSUE: FOOD SAFETY
OBJECTIVES
A. Increase the information available to consumers at point of sale regarding know
and potentially harmful practices used in the production, processing and preservation
of foods sold in the City.
B. Reduce the availability of foods sold throughout the City that have been exposed
to known or potentially hazardous substances and processes.
C. Increase the availability of foods sold throughout the City that have not been
exposed to known or potentially hazardous substances or processes.
D. Increase consumer awareness of known and potentially harmful practices used in the
production, processing, preservation and handling of foods sold in the City.
IV. ISSUE: NUTRITION & HEALTH
OBJECTIVES
A. Improve the nutritional status of St. Paul citizens. Indicators of poor
nutritional status include anemia, low birth weight and short stature among infants
and children. By 1995, the following goals should be met: Reduce anemia among
pregnant WIC (Women, Infants and Children Program) mothers by 40 percent; decrease low
birth weights; and reduce short stature among infants and children entering nutrition
program services from 13.8 percent to five percent (the normal percent found in the
population at large).
B. Reduce the incidence and prevalence of disease related to diet among St. Paul
citizens.
V. ISSUE: COOPERATION
OBJECTIVE
A. Provide incentives for individuals, organizations and institutions to take actions
that contribute to realizing the goals of the City's food policy.
GOAL 2
I. ISSUE: RESOURCES FOR FOOD PRODUCTION
OBJECTIVES
A. Provide neighborhood residents access to open space, water and light for purposes
of raising food.
B. Encourage City residents to raise a portion of their own food supply.
C. Eliminate unnecessary legal barriers to City residents' raising plants and animals
for food.
D. To enhance individuals' ability to provide their own food supply, increase the
availability of appropriate equipment and knowledge regarding processing and storage
of home-grown foods to citizens throughout the City.
E. Work with other appropriate public bodies to assure the continued availability of
Metro area farmland for potential production of food consumed in the City.
II. ISSUE: ENVIRONMENTAL & CITIZEN PROTECTION IN THE PRODUCTION OF LOCAL FOODS
OBJECTIVES
A. Reduce soil loss from agricultural production methods to *T* (the rate at which
soil is naturally replaced) in the Metropolitan Area by the year 2000.
B. Eliminate agricultural and lawn chemical pollution of surface and ground water in
the City and in the Metropolitan Area.
C. Increase the research and information available to Metro Area farmers and food
processors on production and processing techniques that minimize use of synthetic
chemicals.
D. Increase the research and information available to St. Paul citizens on how to
maintain healthy yards and gardens without use of synthetic chemicals.
E. Protect St. Paul citizens from exposure to synthetic lawn spray chemicals.
F. Eliminate the exposure of St. Paul citizens to toxic levels of lead
in home and community gardening soil.
G. Protect St. Paul citizens from Dioxin and other toxic residues that can filter
into the City's soils.
III. ISSUE: MARKETING OF LOCALLY GROWN FOODS
OBJECTIVES
A. Increase the number and variety of outlets for locally-grown food in the City.
B. Increase the number of regional and state farmers selling locally grown food
within the City.
IV. ISSUE: EDUCATION ON THE FOOD SYSTEM
OBJECTIVES
A. Increase the elementary/secondary students' exposure to information about the
structure and process of the food and agriculture system through school curriculum and
work/study opportunities.
B. Increase adults' understanding of the food system.
V. ISSUE: NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT
OBJECTIVES
A. Increase the number of neighborhood-based small businesses related to the
production, processing and/or marketing of nutritious, safe, affordable food in the
neighborhood and the City.
VI. ISSUE: COMPOSTING/RECYCLING
OBJECTIVES
A. Continue City support for, and seek opportunities to expand the composting of yard
waste and other materials generated in the City that would make appropriate farm
inputs.
B. Reduce the use of non-recyclable food packaging materials in the City and increase
the percent of recyclable food packaging that is actually recycled.
Anna Wasescha
the Lexington-Hamline neighborhood
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