Item 2. Staff briefing on Del Valle Food Co-op - Feb 2026 — original pdf

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Del Valle Food Co-op Staff Updates Austin Economic Development | 2.9.2026 Background ▪ Purpose: Support the development of a cooperative and/or non-profit grocery store in an underserved area of Austin. ▪ City Council Direction: “The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Spending Framework allocated $3.0 million ARPA funds to food assistance. Council also included direction to staff to consider using ARPA funds for planning, designing, and beginning operations of at least one new community-owned and/or community-controlled grocery store in an area lacking healthy food retail. City staff anticipate utilizing $500,000 of the $3.0 million ARPA funds dedicated for this planning, designing, and beginning of operations.” ▪ Work initiated in Winter 2022 with a consultant team led by Go Austin/Vamos Austin! (GAVA), Austin Co-op Business Association, and national experts in co-op and grocery development and business planning 2 Phase 1: Organizing and Business Planning Major Milestones ▪ Leadership Development ▪ Steering Committee + Board of Directors Elected ▪ Over 350 hours total in leadership trainings ▪ Multicultural leadership developed across 4 languages (Spanish, Pashto, Arabic, and English ▪ SC and Board arecommunity members who bring variety of lived experiences and expertise ▪ Community Organizing and Engagement ▪ Major engagement including community meetings, one-on-ones and house meetings, surveys, and block walking ▪ > 450 individuals engaged + 500 houses from block walking; 360 Pledged memberships ▪ Business Planning ▪ Completion of business plans for both pilot store and longer-term, full service grocery by Steering Committee, reviewed by City experts from CDFI sector ▪ Includes capital campaign plan, market study, co-op bylaws, financial pro-forma, and community engagement plan 3 Phase 2: Pilot Launch and Continued Planning ▪ Major Milestones for transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2 approved January 2025 ▪ Focus on Phase 2 is launch of a pilot store ▪ Current accomplishments: ▪ Identification of a store plan and model ▪ Acquiring store shell through “shipping container” model ▪ Hiring Staff ▪ Establishing vendor relationships ▪ Receiving additional competitive Healthy Food Financing Initiative grant (federal) ▪ Initial site encountered challenges, which have caused delays ▪ Next Steps: Working with City and County staff to identify other site and grant opportunities; Revising pilot plan if needed; Continuing Capital Campaign Plan for full-service store ▪ Goal to launch pilot program in 2026 4 Next Steps ▪ Working with City and County staff to identify other site and grant opportunities; Revising pilot plan if needed; Continuing Capital Campaign Plan for full-service store ▪ Goal to launch pilot program in 2026 Membership Sign Up form: https://forms.gle/GF9amorjt7jDzp8v9 ▪ We encourage the Food Policy Board and members of the community to join and share out with your networks! ▪ Membership share is $50 and grants voting rights, ability to run for the board, and member only events and discounts ▪ The DVFC Board has a goal of 1200 members by October 2026, and these membership shares go towards additional funding for the pilot store ▪ Board is actively recruiting members with a goal to hit 1,200 members by October 2026 5 Questions?