Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

AUSTIN-TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 2026 AUSTIN-TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2026 The Austin-Travis County Food Policy Board (ATCFPB) convened on Monday, February 9, 2026 at the City of Austin Permitting and Development Center, 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr., Room 1406, Austin, TX 78752. Board Members in Attendance: Joi Chevalier - Chair, Lisa Barden - Vice-Chair, Andrea Abel, Marissa Bell, Beth Corbett, Nitza Cuevas, Seanna Marceaux, Natalie Poulos, Matt Simon, Andrew Smith Board Members Absent: Erin McDonald Staff in Attendance: Edwin Marty (City of Austin), Angela Baucom (City of Austin), Amanda Rohlich (City of Austin), Yaira Robinson (Travis County) CALL TO ORDER Joi Chevalier called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Kelly Nichols – Woolard Nichols Torres will be serving as the new lead for Food Plan Implementation. She shared two calls to action: 1) Register for the orientation session via Zoom on February 24th at noon; 2) Share events that are happening in March in April where WNT can connect to marginalized populations that may want to hear more about the Food Plan. Jodi Lane – Provided update on activity at Festival Beach Food Forest and asked the board for the following support: • That the Food Policy Board formally supports the City directing TxDOT mitigation funds passed to Parks and Recreation to be reinvested into Festival Beach Food Forest, including reimbursement for documented damages, so volunteers are not left carrying the cost of this failure. (Letter of support template to come soon) • That the board reactivate and elevate Recommendation 20250210-003 with the City Manager and Council, as well as City Department Directors because without real interdepartmental coordination, community-led food infrastructure will keep being harmed even when it is City-approved and grant-funded. • That an item be added to the next meeting agenda that allows for more discussion and collaboration on the above requests. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Board Member Lisa Barden motioned to approve the meeting minutes from the Regular Meeting on January 12, 2026, with Andrea Abel seconding the motion. Minutes passed on a 10-0. AUSTIN-TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 2026 STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. 3. Staff briefing regarding the Del Valle Food Co-op. Presentation by Donald Jackson, Austin Economic Development (see back-up materials for presentation). Question from Andrea Abel about pricing and ability of the store to accept SNAP/WIC. What is the role of members and what is involvement? Role of membership is as much or as little as they want. Being a member allows you to vote for Board of Directors and run as well. There is a goal to open the doors by October 2026. Is there an evaluation committee to see if the store is increasing access to community? Marissa Bell asked about the shipping container and site. There were permitting issues with first site and they are now looking for new location options. Having transportation and access to public transit and proximity to the neighborhood is a high priority. Lisa Barden had a question about funding. How much was received from Federal Grant and how much of the $500,000 of ARPA funding is still available. $300,000 was used on Phase 1. There was $200,000 set aside for the pilot launch. Additional Federal Grant is around $150,000. Andy Smith asked if there was exploration of bringing in additional food offerings to supplement the site. A lot of this will depend on final site selection. Marissa Bell asked about staffing for the pilot given they don’t have a site location. These staff are helping with member engagement, business development, etc. Joi Chevalier asked what some of the challenges with the first site. Staff briefing regarding Austin-Travis County Food Plan Implementation. Presentation by Edwin Marty, Food Policy Manager, Austin Climate Action & Resilience and Yaira Robinson, Assistant Director of Environmental Programs, Travis County (see back-up materials for presentation). DISCUSSION ITEMS 4. 5. 6. 7. Report out from Joint Sustainability Committee on January 28, 2026. Andy Smith was unable to attend the last meeting and so there was no report out. Report out from the working group to expand access to nutritious foods through improvement to existing materials and resources and explore alternate or expanded hours for existing resources. Natalie Poulos provided a report out. The group is meeting every other Friday. They are not planning on putting a budget recommendation forth in March. They are identifying potential policy recommendations that might improve healthy food access including possible changes to SNAP qualifications for college students, how SNAP retail requirements are changing, and what the requirements around mobile markets, and expanding summer meal access. Report out from the working group to participate in the USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) application for funding for conservation easements as a regional partnership. Andy Smith provided an update. Hill Country Conservancy received some funding for easements and this working group has been in conversation to learn more about their process and approach. A report was recently released from BEATF on their initial ideas around the bond. Report out from the working group to explore revenue generators such a sugar sweetened beverage tax, a surplus food donation requirement for events, and/or a percent conservation fund from all land purchases or new developments. Lisa Barden reported out. She is AUSTIN-TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 2026 focusing on sugar-sweetened beverage This will not be a budget recommendation this year but rather a focus on policy. Andrea Abel was curious if any other regional food policy boards have this on their legislative agenda. Review Board Member Assignments. feasibility. 8. a. Staff will share Del Valle Co-op newsletter, website, and membership information b. Staff to share information about registering and attending SXSW Food Tank Future of Food c. Natalie Poulos will reach out to County Clerk regarding next steps for finalizing appointment d. Staff to share 2026 Bond Initial Draft Project Recommendation e. Staff to share recommendation for Urban Ag Coordinator referenced by Jodi Lane f. Send out dates for BEATF g. Cancel March 9th meeting and move to March 23rd DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 9. Discuss and take possible action on the Joint Sustainability Committee liaison appointment. No action was taken. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Travis County Appraisal District on Ag Evaluations Capital Services Delivery Update on Food Forest and Remediation and Reimbursements to Food Forest for lost plantings ADJOURNMENT Joi Chevalier adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m. Minutes were approved at the March 23, 2026 special called meeting on Board Member Andy Smith’s motion with Board Member Andrea Abel seconding. Minutes passed on a 8-0 vote.