Explanation
This ordinance authorizes the City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with Franklinton Farms in support of the Youth Garden Education Expansion and Lettuce ‘N Joy Franklinton Food Truck.
Franklinton Farms’ (FF) mission is to nourish neighborhood wellbeing and connection through farming, gardening, and education. FF is a neighborhood provider of fresh food access, therapeutic gardening education, safe natural spaces, ecological beautification, workforce development, and connections across culture groups. Their work supports a thriving Franklinton, advances workforce preparedness for young neighbors (starting with academic and social-emotional wellbeing of preschool participants and up to the hard-agricultural or STEM skills of apprentices), and supports food sovereignty alongside an accessible fresh food culture in a USDA-classified Food Desert.
While Franklinton is rich in history and ingenuity, many struggle with poverty and the accompanying effects, culminating in the neighborhood having the lowest life expectancy rate for the state of Ohio-just 60 years old (Health Policy Institute of Ohio, 2021). FF proposes to expand the Youth Gardening Initiatives (YGIs) to reach all schools in Franklinton, including on-site gardens-serving Starling STEM PreK-8 (100 students reached), Avondale Elementary (100), CCA Dana (100), CCA State Street (50), and Franklinton H.S. (50). Older students can enroll in Farming Apprenticeship incorporating life skills and hard-skill workforce readiness. FF will also hire one Apprentice for full time summer work in 2023 at $15/hour, advancing their career readiness.
In addition, FF will leverage city support to acquire a food truck for community programming. The truck will host both free community outreach events (produce and prepared meals) and revenue generating events selling prepared foods (at locations such as Gravity or 400 Square). The former will serve to spread awareness of other offerings (garden education, food delivery program, home gardening, etc). The latter will generate connections between high-income, new residents and low-income, historic residents, because the menu offerings will be designed around the food culture of vulnerable community members. With the truck, FF believes that they can increase our low-income customers by 300 individuals and serve an additional 150 at the Farms two annual festivals.
Emergency action is requested in order to provide Franklinton Farms with the resources necessary to initiate and expand programming in advance of the warmer spring and summer months.
Fiscal Impact: Funding is available within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund.
Title
To authorize the City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with Franklinton Farms in support of new and expanded community programming; to authorize an appropriation and expenditure within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund; and to declare an emergency. ($60,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, Franklinton Farms’ mission is to nourish neighborhood wellbeing and connection through farming, gardening, and education; and
WHEREAS, their work supports a thriving Franklinton, advances workforce preparedness for young neighbors, and supports food sovereignty alongside an accessible fresh food culture in a USDA-classified Food Desert; and
WHEREAS, Franklinton Farms proposes to expand the Youth Gardening Initiatives to reach all schools in Franklinton, including on-site gardens; and
WHEREAS, Franklinton Farms will leverage city support to acquire a food truck for community outreach events; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Clerk's Office in that it is immediately necessary to authorize a grant agreement in order to provide Franklinton Farms with the resources necessary to initiate and expand programming in advance of the warmer spring and summer months; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the City Clerk is hereby authorized to enter into a grant agreement with Franklinton Farms in support of new and expanded community programming.
SECTION 2. That the Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate $60,000.00 within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund, fund 1000,subfund 100018, to Columbus City Council in 03-Services, per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 3. That per the action authorized in Section 1 of this ordinance, the expenditure of $60,000.00 within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund is hereby authorized per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 4. That the City Auditor is authorized to make any accounting changes to revise the funding source for all contracts or contract modifications associated with this ordinance.
SECTION 5. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.