City withdraws from Food Policy Advisory Board in administrative ‘cleanup’
Martin Kidston
(Missoula Current) Members of the Missoula City Council on Wednesday voted to remove the city from the formerly joint City-County Food Policy Advisory Board and terminate any city appointments moving forward.
The administrative “cleanup” had already been approved by Missoula County, which will now have the full responsibility of administering and supporting the board and its mission.
“I'd frame it as a cleanup resolution more than anything else,” said Bryce Christians, director of Missoula County's Office of Ecology and Extension. “The board will still be representing both city and county residents.”
The Food Policy Advisory Board was created in 2020 and early on, discussions were held on how the board and its mission would be supported. That support initially fell to both the city and county, but since then, the county has revamped a number of departments, including ecology and extension.
The department works in areas surrounding horticulture, agriculture, land management, weed management, ecosystem management and other things. The Food Policy Advisory Board works under that umbrella to increase access to affordable, nutritious food.
Christians said the board also covers sustainable agriculture and supports small to mid-sized business in the farming sector to sustain a strong, local food system. Bringing the board solely under the county's purview made administrative sense, he said.
The county will have sole authority to appoint members to the board.
“This resolution puts that under the purview of the county. It also reaffirms the duties and responsibilities of the board. It looks to bring attention to high-priority issues,” Christians said.
The City Council's Public Health, Safety and Operations Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to withdraw the city from the board and pass future responsibilities to the county.
“It does make sense administratively to clean this up,” said council member Stacie Anderson. “There will still be lots of crossover and opportunities.”
Council member Bob Campbell added, “Any chance we have to streamline local government, I'm all for that.”