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Civic Academy Presentation July 28th, 2014

East Baton Rouge Parish Food Access Policy Commission Food Access in EBR & Recommendations for Action. Made possible by:. Civic Academy Presentation July 28th, 2014.

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Civic Academy Presentation July 28th, 2014

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  1. East Baton Rouge Parish Food Access Policy CommissionFood Access in EBR & Recommendations for Action Made possible by: Civic Academy Presentation July 28th, 2014

  2. More than 75,000 EBR residents live in neighborhoods the USDA as having “unacceptably low access” to grocery stores and other healthy food options. Baton Rouge, we have a problem ... • 17% of EBR • population • 8% of • population • National average: • 39% of EBR residents in low food access areas are in poverty. • Nearly 17,000 are children.

  3. Why does food access matter? #1) Our Health 34.7% of Louisiana adults are obese Louisiana has the highest adult obesity rate in the nation: $1.2 million in 2008. (will rise to $4.5 million by 2018.) Obesity-related healthcare costs in Louisiana: Residents in neighborhoods without supermarkets within 1 mile: • are 25 to 46% less likely to have a healthy diet. • have obesity rates between 52% and 90% higher. Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future” (2013).

  4. Why does food access matter? #2) Cost of Food & Travel Food costs at corner stores vs. grocery stores 7% to 25% higher/ • Milk: between 5% and 16% more expensive. • Bread: 10% more expensive • Cereal: 25% more expensive. Residents least able to afford it are paying more for food. Travel time and cost significantly higher

  5. Why does food access matter? #3) Economic development Grocery stores are anchors for neighborhood vitality. Strong correlation between lack of grocery stores and decreasing property values, slower housing market and slowing down of other commercial activity. "The place that I call home is a dying community." Growth and prosperity of Baton Rouge as a whole is held back by stagnation in low-income communities.

  6. Baton Rouge, we have a problem ... Now what are we going to do about it?

  7. February 2013 TBR and Mayor’s Health City Initiative launched “Food Access Policy Commission”

  8. Commission Mandate #1) Problem Analysis To examine the causes and consequences of low food access in East Baton Rouge Parish. #2) Best Practice Analysis To analyze national best practices to attract retail and other high-quality food providers to low-income, low food-access communities. #3) Recommend Solutions To develop concrete policy and practice recommendations to address low food access in East Baton Rouge Parish.

  9. Commission Members Rev. Jesse Bilberry, Pastor, Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church; Moderator, 4th District Baptist Association Mr. Chip Boyles, EBR Redevelopment Authority, Vice Pres of Admin & Programs Dr. Stephanie Broyles, Pennington Biomedical, Assistant Professor Dr. Adell Brown, Jr., Southern University AgCenter, Vice Chancellor for Research Mr. Edgar Cage, Together Baton Rouge, Food Access Team Co-chair Mr. Clint Caldwell, Supervalu Incorporated Mr. David Gray, Louisiana Budget Project, Policy Analyst Mr. Ty Harvison, Latter & Blum, Commercial Real Estate Mr. Ed Johnson, Wal-mart Dr. Kenneth Koonce, LSU Dean, College of Agriculture, LSU Agricultural Center Mr. Mike Manning, Greater BR Food Bank, President & CEO Mr. Jared Smith, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Director of Business Development Mr. Leroy Watts, Liberty Bank, Executive Vice President / CFO Plus others who have joined since the launch!

  10. Where are the low food access areas in EBR? Areas within 1 mile of grocery store 1 4 6 5 Low-income census tracts 2 7 3 Katy Drazba, MPH & Stephanie Broyles, PhD; Pennington Biomedical

  11. 3 Categories for Food Access Areas#1) Areas where the food retail market is functioning well already. (No food access problem.)#2) Areas where there is a market for grocery stores, but development has not happened. (Likely can attract grocery stores.) #3) Areas where population decline and low demand makes a full-service grocery store unlikely in short term.(Need for solutions other than grocery stores.)

  12. Market analysis shows retail potential in many low-income, low-access neighborhoods Retail “BrandScore” MapDiscount grocer model

  13. Market analysis shows retail potential in many low-income, low-access neighborhoods

  14. These areas have a higher potential to attract a grocery store. Retail “BrandScore” MapDiscount grocer model

  15. 5 proposed recommendations from Food Access Policy Commission Recommendation #1 Create and fund the "EBR Fresh Food Financing Fund", a financing initiative to attract grocery stores and other retail that increase access to fresh food in target areas in East Baton Rouge Parish. 

  16. What is an Fresh Food Financing Fund? • A pool of funding which can be used as regular loans, forgivable loans and grants to attract grocery stores and other food retail. • Typically “lives” at a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). • Can support a wide variety of food access endeavors: full-service grocery stores, food co-ops, online delivery initiatives, farmer’s markets, corner store initiatives, new start-ups, expansions, etc.

  17. Success of Fresh Food Funds: Pennsylvania • In 2004, State allocated $20 million, which attracted nearly $200 million in private funds. $73.2 million in loans and $12.1 million in grants have helped 88 food retail projects in underserved low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. • Developed 1.67 million square feet of commercial food retail space and created or retained 5,023 jobs throughout the state. Home values near new stores increased by 4 to 7% (in areas that had been declining). • 400,00 people have benefited from increased access to healthy food Program was so successful that it became the model for national legislation.

  18. Success of Fresh Food Funds: New Jersey • State Economic Development seed-funded the initiative in 2009 with $3 million. • In 2012, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation committed $12 million, which it expanded to $25 million. • Loans range between $200,000 and $450,000 • Grants range between $5,000 and $125,000. Program was so successful that it became the model for national legislation.

  19. Success of Fresh Food Funds: New Orleans • In 2010, City of New Orleans allocated $7 million in in seed funding. Public funding matched 1:1 by Hope Enterprise Corporation (a CDFI). • Combines regular and forgivable loans, totaling max of $1 million per project. Program implementation is partnership between City, HOPE and the Food Trust. • Fund already has resulted in five new grocery store starts in low-income areas, with more projects in the pipeline. (Includes a Whole Food project, with significant job training and community development components.)

  20. Why do FFFIs work so well? #1) They provide access to financing for food retail (but that’s only part of the reason) #2) They create an entity that has both the clear responsibility to attract food retail and the incentive tools to do so successfully. #3) They typically attract much larger pools of funding than is available locally: CDFI tax credit allocations, federal FFFI financing, support from national foundations, etc. #4) Creating an FFFI triggers technical assistance from national players (e.g. The Reinvestment Fund, Food Trust).

  21. 5 proposed recommendations from Food Access Policy Commission Recommendation #2 Create the "Grocery Express", a regular express route operated by the Capital Area Transit System, which will provide rapid transit service on a weekly basis from low access communities to full-service grocery stores designated by the community.

  22. 5 proposed recommendations from Food Access Policy Commission Recommendation #3 Make increasing healthy food access in low-income, low-access areas a priority that informs the planning processes of all city-parish economic development strategies and relevant departments of city-parish government.

  23. 5 proposed recommendations from Food Access Policy Commission Recommendation #4 Support and help assure the sustainability of community-based programs that improve healthy food access, such as: • BREADA Red Stick Mobile Farmer's Market (4 locations, thousands of pounds of produce sold) • RDA Healthy Corner Store Initiative: 4 stores, support for store improvements to sell fresh produce • TBR Mobile Food Pantries (nearly 500,000 pounds of fresh produce delivered to 30,000 people)

  24. 5 proposed recommendations from Food Access Policy Commission Recommendation #5 Advocate at the state legislature to secure an allocation to fund the already-existing, but unfunded, Louisiana Healthy Food Retail Fund to attract grocery stores and support farmer’s markets for low food access areas.

  25. Summary of Recommendations #1) EBR Fresh Food Fund #2) Grocery Express #3) Incorporate food access into planning and economic development #4) Assure successful local initiatives are sustainable #5) Advocacy for Fresh Food Fund statewide

  26. We’re making progress on awareness • The number of articles mentioning "food access" or "food desert" in the Baton Rouge Advocate archives from 1986 until 2012 (a 26-year period) 3 • The number of articles mentioning "food access" or "food desert" in The Advocate in 2012 and 2013 (a 2-year period) 44 Awareness is only a first step. Now it’s time we take action.

  27. Completing the feedback survey.

  28. Small Group Discussions1) Share a story about how the issue of food access affects you or your community?2) What do you think of the proposed recommendations?(Your group is the number in the top right of your agenda.)

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