SeaTac - Tukwila Food Innovation Network (FIN)

SeaTac - Tukwila Food Innovation Network (FIN) What is the Food Innovation Network (FIN)? The Food Innovation Network is a governance structure for accomplishing the goal of promoting increased local food sector investment and employment opportunities through the coordinated collaboration of community organizations, businesses, education institutions and local government. A key strategy for this network is to develop a Food Innovation District, or a food business cluster, in the SeaTac - Tukwila area. We will anchor the district with a multipurpose facility that includes a commercial kitchen to serve as a culinary incubator for foodrelated businesses and to offer training, consulting and support to low-income community members interested in starting their own food-related businesses. The kitchen space will serve as a food incubator program for catering or small-scale food processing, training space for culinary arts programs, and community cooking space for community members or not-for-profit agencies. The educational spaces will be programmed by the community college system or other post-secondary educational partners to provide classes in the technical aspects of food delivery, preparation, production, nutrition, ESL and business skills classes, and other postsecondary degree offerings. Workforce development training opportunities will be developed and coordinated with food service, manufacturers, distributors and other food-related business located in or near the district. Service agencies supporting immigrant services, resume writing, job skills, small business development, and child care will be co-located in the district to provide a comprehensive program offering nearby. Figure 1 A food innovation district (see Figure 1) is a geographic concentration of food-oriented businesses, services, and community activities that local governments support through Adapted from Regional Food Solution s Food Innovation Districts: An Economic Gardening Tool (2013) April 2014 Page 1

planning and economic development initiatives in order to promote a positive business environment, spur regional food system development, and increase access to local food. 1 A district could include a food hub facility 2 as an anchor for producers, and it can attract food manufacturers, suppliers, buyers and programs that serve the community and make the district an attractive destination point. A district s business-oriented elements, which can include infrastructure such as processing facilities and commissary kitchens, for example, also often serve community-oriented elements such as nutrition education and community kitchens. Similarly a food innovation district s place-oriented elements, such as restaurants and foodrelated events (e.g. farmers markets), benefit from and support the local food producers and community activity that districts bring together. 3 Why does it matter? The SeaTac-Tukwila area is one of the nation s most diverse communities in terms of country-oforigin and socioeconomic circumstance. There are more than 70 distinct linguistic groups represented in the area and residents include political refugees seeking asylum, secondgeneration immigrants, and longtime residents. Communication and effective translation barriers exacerbate challenges around education, employment, and health access. These cities have twice as many people (39%) living below the federal poverty line and higher mortality rates than the rest of King County, with over 90% of students on free and/or reduced lunch. This community lacks access to healthy food; obesity affects a quarter of the residents. The population experiences 1.5 times the number of diabetes-related deaths as compared to the County average, and 1.2 times the rate of heart disease. The food industry is a key area in which we can make headway in enterprise and job development and training, providing economic opportunities for the community and a trained workforce, as well as access to healthy foods. Food hubs offer local farmers increased access to a range of local market streams. While more of this kind of regional infrastructure is certainly needed across the country, careful assessment of the demand of the regional agricultural economy is recommended to determine what kind of food hub would serve the community well. Much of the work around food sector development has been focused on local farmers and direct sales through farmers markets, CSAs and the like. In the SeaTac-Tukwila area, attention has grown toward providing opportunities to urban food producers, processors and other 1 (Cantrell, 2013) 2 Food hub facilities provide a space for local producers to aggregate and distribute their goods and typically allow producers to use shared resources for some light processing (e.g. washing, cooling, re-packaging produce), for transportation needs, and for marketing local goods. As a stand-alone project, the food hub facility offers important support for producers looking to reach new markets. 3 (Cantrell, 2013) April 2014 Page 2

retailers as well. The food processing and service sectors provide opportunities for entrepreneurs, especially in immigrant communities searching for culturally appropriate food products. Mobile food trucks, home-based bakers, and produce distributors serving specialized markets are all examples of food entrepreneurs with potential to expand their business and support or supplement their household income. The food innovation district aims to meet the local demand for more food-oriented development, using a culinary incubator and a complementary supply chain as the anchors. Engaging a range of stakeholders from institutional buyers, distributors and processors will help identify and facilitate workforce training and employment opportunities. Additionally, self-employment and small-scale entrepreneurship complement more traditional job training as a pathway to economic self-sufficiency in poverty communities. The food sector offers a particularly appealing and accessible economic opportunity given the importance of food from cultural, social and health promotion perspectives. A food entrepreneurship program with access to commercial kitchen facilities would enable us to offer to traditionally underserved communities meaningful, affordable and accessible industry-specific support to this growing industry cluster. A successful food innovation district would create a business cluster environment that spurs local and regional food system development and economic self-sufficiency while improving access to fresh, local food in a community with clear interest and deep cultural and culinary assets to contribute. The SeaTac-Tukwila Food Innovation Network is developing in order to reach the following goals and objectives: Goal 1: Create a business environment that spurs regional food sector development Objective: To increase investments and technical support for food system enterprises. Possible Indicators: 4 Number and type of food sector and business training programs (FIN members) Number of borrowers (for food-related establishments) from community lenders Allocation of grant funds or other economic incentives (FIN members) Number/percentage of people employed within job categories or supply chain segment Employment/unemployment rates within a given area Average daily/hourly wages by job category 4 Indicators in bold are recommended as most feasible to implement. April 2014 Page 3

Number of city offices a food business needs to seek approvals from to launch and keep business open Number of agencies working across multiple sectors with a multi-sector approach Increased economic activity and market access for small- and mid-sized producers Local food procurement (from SeaTac-Tukwila establishments) by institutional buyers Annual capital investment in food sector Number, square footage, product value of supply chain facilities Goal 2: Support economic self-sufficiency within the community Objective: To increase the number of establishments and livable wage jobs in the food system in SeaTac and Tukwila. Possible Indicators: Number of individuals who participate in food-related business training (FIN members) Growth in number of businesses still open after 3 years, 5 years (Public Health Seattle & King County; WSDA) Number of food system jobs (US Economic Census) Skill level and wage profile of jobs created Rise in household income Median wage by food enterprise compared to city Total wages to the community Number of full time/part time jobs created Potential for advancement within sector Number of food system establishments and annual growth Growth in net revenue for businesses Failure rate of locally owned businesses working in cluster Number of unemployed trainees placed Income to urban producers Goal 3: Improve access to fresh, local food where there is a disproportionately high incidence of chronic, diet-related disease Objective: To decrease the number of new cases of diabetes and the percentage of SeaTac- Tukwila residents considered obese and overweight. Possible Indicators: Rate of decline in diabetes and adult and child obesity rates in SeaTac and Tukwila (Public Health Seattle & King County) April 2014 Page 4

# of farmers markets, produce stands and other fresh food retailers (WA State Department of Social and Human Services) #/% retailers accepting SNAP and WIC benefits (WA State Department of Health and Department of Social and Human Services) Number and reach of nutrition education (FIN members) Change in Retail Food Environment Index (compares unhealthy to healthy food establishment) Measure of food insecurity for a given region (number of households/individuals enrolled in SNAP, WIC, free/reduced school lunch, summer lunch program, food banks, etc.) Increased articulation and understanding health-related outcomes. Retail square footage dedicated to healthy and/or local food Availability of healthy food, distance to grocery store, cost of getting to grocery store Who is involved and what are the roles? FIN provides a governance structure for the coordinated collaboration of community organizations, businesses, education institutions and local government. The network governance model developed by Re-Amp prioritizes the principles and values of shared responsibility, shared accountability, and distributed ownership of the work. For this effort to be successful it is vital that participants understand the need for collaborative energy focused on the broad vision for food systems change that this work is bigger than any one organization can manage on its own. The goal is to accelerate the pace of change by participating as network members, rather than as individual organizations focused on our own priorities. The proposed structure for the network is outlined below. Steering committee Provides overall guidance on network activities, convenes network members, advocates for change, identifies gaps in strategies, and develops processes for learning and for network organizing, reviews metrics, assists with fundraising. Working groups All network implementation efforts are coordinated through these groups, which focus on specific topics. Each working group takes responsibility for a set of goals, strategies and indicators to further develop, implement and monitor. Working groups also manage the data research needs that are identified for their areas of work. Network members Function as the boots on the ground and are responsible for implementing the strategies of the plan. Members agree to actively participate in at least one working group by sharing information, connecting to partners, developing project ideas, implementing projects, reporting on success and on metrics. They maintain their own organizational autonomy and are responsible for their own organizational needs. April 2014 Page 5

Network coordinator (currently Urban Food Link) Provides administrative support, communications support, convener/connector, coordinate information and referral to resources, report to steering committee, assists with fundraising. Figure 2 provides a list of organizations and agencies currently involved. Figure 2 Current Network Partners: Global to Local Bainbridge Graduate Institute City of SeaTac City of SeaTac What will the FIN do? City of Tukwila The network provides a space for members to connect, build partnerships, and strategically work together. To achieve the identified goals the network will help coordinate and support the following areas of work (see Figure 2) that are ultimately being carried out by organizations, businesses and government agencies: Community engagement ensure efforts are guided by community interests and needs and actively involve community participation. Health education and outreach ensure health-related resources, information and training are coordinated with FIN activities. Finance opportunities identify and develop a suite of finance opportunities (e.g. micro-loans, loans, lending circles, credit lines) for entrepreneurs, businesses scaling up and facility development. Food enterprise formation development and provision of resources and training for residents interested in operating a food-related business. Resources/training designed to address the unique needs of food sector operations (e.g. processing, distribution, retail, restaurant, catering, etc.) as well as a wide range of training levels (e.g. orientation, business plan development, scaling-up, etc.). General business support and training development and provision of resources and training for residents in need of a broad range of business development needs such as bookkeeping, tax/legal issues, ESL, marketing, soft skill training, etc. These services are not necessarily designed specifically for food-related businesses but are key for overall business stability. Current efforts are led by education institutions and business training/counseling organizations. Global to Local Lifelong Aids Alliance Northwest Agriculture Business Center Public Health - Seattle & King County Swedish Health Services Urban Food Link April 2014 Page 6

Workforce development coordinate, develop and implement workforce development opportunities in the food sector with local employers. Efforts can be coordinated with other training opportunities such as soft skills, ESL, etc. Supply chain development assess needs producers, processors and buyers and develop appropriate market channels. Local policy and regulatory support development and adoption of policies to support the formation of food enterprise district. This includes addressing potential regulatory barriers or implementing economic development incentives to spur to development. Relevant policies include city Comprehensive Plans, municipal zoning ordinances, and food safety regulations. The current phase of the project will largely focus on the formalizing the network itself and facilitating potential projects among the network members. The network infrastructure development tasks include: Infrastructure develop a workplan and network charter (vision, goals, roles/responsibilities, etc.); develop methods to track progress and overall network coordination Communications connect/convene partners to achieve goals and launch projects and develop communication plan and tools (i.e. listserv, talking points) Funding/financing assist with identifying funding and lending sources to implement the FIN workplan and launch projects. Research and Evaluation determine common metrics that will be used for evaluation of network progress; identify research needs and tracking methods Projects - identify potential projects and assist in catalyzing conversations among stakeholders How will the FIN do it? The members of this network will foster trust and accountability by weaving connections through their personal and business relationships. We will identify a shared platform that allows the network to communicate and track progress. We will connect resources to catalyze and spread innovation. The network will form a dense core of connections among people and organizations that have a shared purpose, and actively cultivate new connections to extend reach and influence and to foster innovation. April 2014 Page 7

This group, with support from Urban Food Link, will take on the responsibilities of filtering, processing and managing knowledge for the members. The network members will share responsibility for: Promoting dialogue, exchange, and learning among members; Shaping the agenda by amplifying little-known or little-understood ideas for the public; Convening organizations or people; Facilitating action by members and addressing global problems through knowledge of their local, national, and regional contexts; Building community by promoting and sustaining the values and standards of the group of individuals or organizations within it; Mobilizing and rationalizing the use of resources for members to carry out their activities; and/or Strengthening international consciousness, commitment, and solidarity. Figure 3 April 2014 Page 8