Santa Fe City and County Advisory Council on Food Policy

Santa Fe City and County, Advisory Council on Food Policy Thursday, June 12, 2025 9:00AM-11AM In Person: Santa Fe Teen Center 6600 Valentine Way, Santa Fe, NM 87507 A. CALL TO ORDER 9:10am​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ B. ROLL CALL​ Nate Crail - Present Maria Sanchez-Tucker - Present Eric Renz-Whitmore - Excused David Sundberg - Excused Susan Perry - Present Emigdio Ballon - Excused Tejinder Ciano - Not excused Said Assali - Excused Jasmine Meyer - Present Peter Ives – Present Sergio Mata-Cisneros - Not excused Staff: Pam Roy Helen Henry Guests: Hvtce Miller, Intergovernmental Outreach Coordinator, Santa Fe County JoDee Powers Coy Maienza, Coy Maienza, Health Care Assistance Admin Program Manager, Santa Fe County Michelle Stizza, Family and Consumer Agent at NMSU County Extension for Santa Fe County Santa Fe County Commissioner Camilla Bustamante Adam Elbeck, SFFMI, Americorps Vista Member, NM Food Pathways Project We do not have a quorum. C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA –June 12, 2025 [ACTION]​​ ​ ​ ​ Prioritization and Agenda Order​ No quorum​ ​ ​ ​ D. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES – May 8, 2025 [ACTION]​ No quorum​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ E. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE FLOOR​ None ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ F. INITIATIVES AND ACTIONS​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1. Federal Farm Bill and other Federal Updates-group round robin 2. Discussion on potential response to funding gaps regarding food access.  ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Hvtce: The interim committees are starting so we’re getting updates, he will compile this information and share with us. The Federal Impacts Committee has done a good job of summarizing what the impacts of the federal cuts will be and how this will affect us at the state level and where the state can fill in some of the gaps. The cuts to school meals will be a large need for the state to fill in ($161M/year). Pam: Roadrunner Foodbank has a monthly meeting to address these issues. Pam handed out an infographic about the impacts of federal cuts on nutrition programs that Sen Lujan asked her to put together. This breaks out information by schools and adult programs, families and households and producers, food hubs and distributors. They include programs that support conservation efforts. Pam is working with the Water and Natural Resources Interim Committee to be included intheir work plan and so that NMFAPC can get onto their agenda for their meetings. Peter: We will work to keep city and county officials apprised of new developments. He suggested reaching out to Senator Trujillo. Peter will reach out to her and invite her to our next meeting. Peter can also provide an update on one of the city’s homeless initiatives. Peter said that the desalinization and brackish water legislation will be important in the next session. The adjudication of the middle Rio Grande Conservation District water management plan in light of the settlement agreement is also something that will be coming up. Jasmine: Inquired about how we should honor the passing of Ralph Vigil? It was noted that this is usually done at city council meetings. Com. Bustamante said the county is honoring him. Sen Heinrich has also honored him on the Senate floor. Commissioner Bustamante presented her request for support: In the 1990’s, there was a discussion about transfer development rights (TDR), but this has not gone anywhere. She believes in the ability for people to grow food locally. TDR is a way to protect the development rights to protect agricultural land. This allowed more denser development in certain areas, but this has ended up favoring the developers, and hasn’t worked in the way that it was intended. She is looking for support from this group to make this work properly. Valuation is a challenge. Putting houses on arable land does not serve the population in the long run. Local food matters. The Council was supportive of working on this effort. Commissioner Bustamante asked for a letter from the Council and is willing to support a proclamation. Peter said that the valuation is something that can be solved so that the rights can be transferred so that the land can be put into agricultural production. JoDee: In addition to shorter term planning, we need to look at the future cost of not having access to local food (health, economic impacts, etc.) Sue shared that in Hawaii there is an example of how the prioritization of growing food was able to change the equation around having local food and growing export crops. Jasmine said that she wants to understand better how we can work at the policy level to make these kinds of changes. She said that when Presbyterian did an assessment a while back, growing their own food was highlighted a priority for people who responded. Pam said that we have worked on the TDR through the work of the food plan, so we should look at how this was framed and see if there is any guidance. We can also work with Santa Fe Conservation Trust. It would be good to look at the Food Plan and see if there is a need for updates and also review the Urban Agriculture Ordinance. Peter brought us up to date on the plan for the Urban Development Code. There is still room for changes to the Urban Agriculture Ordinance. Maria mentioned Heather Lamboy, Director of Land Use and Planning for the City as someone we could invite to a meeting. We need to know what the timing is for the Urban Agriculture Ordinance so we can connect with her. Action Items: •​ Hvtce will will compile information from the interim committees meetings and share with us. •​ Peter: We will work to keep city and county officials apprised of new developments. He suggested reaching out to Senator Trujillo. Peter will reach out to her and invite her to our next meeting. Peter can also provide an update on one of the city’s homeless initiatives. •​ Follow up on recognition of Ralph Vigil by the city. •​ Look at the TDR issue - doing a draft letter from the Council, Pam will follow up with Commissioner Bustamante •​ Review the Food Plan •​ Decide if we want to suggest changes to the Urban Ag Ordinance. •​ See if Heather Lamboy would like to attend one of our meetings •​ Pam will send out the infographic about the impact of federal cuts, •​ Pam and people who are going to the Governor’s Office Legislative Strategy meeting on June 16 will share out about this at the next meeting. •​ We will develop action items and a timeline for getting these things done. •​ Michelle from NMSU has information about Arrowhead and Landlink; will send information. NM Food Pathways presentation by Adam Elbeck, SFFMI, Americorps Vista Member, NM Food Pathways Project (See separate presentation slides) NM Food Pathways is a five organization partnership Goal: Increase access to perishable and staple foods in NM Adam is working on training navigators to bring them into the system. His contract goes through November. He is in the process of creating a resource list which is something that can be shared. Looking to bridge local agriculture with retail opportunities. They haven’t looked at distribution yet, except for farmers’ markets. and some of the smaller local markers. Michelle Stizza has information about Arrowhead and Landlink; will send information Pam gave some background on the history of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. G. PRESENTATIONS: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1.​ Tour of Santa Fe Teen Center - Maria Sanchez-Tucker​ ​ Notes from Ground Up at the Teen Center This spring, our enthusiastic teens took the initiative to design, build, and plant their very own garden, complete with five raised beds. Their curiosity and excitement were truly inspiring as they dove into this hands-on project, demonstrating a real investment in nurturing this program. Students are diligently tending to their garden, seeing the fruits (and vegetables!) of their labor through to harvest. And the growth doesn't stop there! Spring of 2026 marks an exciting expansion for GroundUp! as we begin to build out a farm on the adjacent plot of land, offering even more opportunities for learning and growth. Through GroundUp!, we're not just growing food; we're cultivating essential life skills. Youth are collaborating, problem-solving, planning, and creatively engaging with every aspect of the project. These hands-on experiences foster curiosity, critical thinking, and communication skills, empowering our participants as they witness their ideas blossom into reality and learn the magic of bringing food from a tiny seed to a delicious meal. Furthermore, GroundUp! addresses vital issues of food security, from providing fresh produce for our students and the Teen Center to building long-term community resilience by equipping teens with the knowledge and skills to grow their own food at home. This after-school program offers a unique opportunity for students to ground themselves in community, creativity, and practical, hands-on skills they can carry with them for a lifetime. Stay tuned for more updates as GroundUp! continues to flourish! ​ ​ H. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS ​ None​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ I. ITEMS FROM THE COUNCIL​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Member check-in Skipped because of the tour​ ​ ​ ​ ​ J. ITEMS FROM THE CHAIR​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1.​ New member update​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2.​ Next Meeting: July 10, 2025: Vote for Hybrid [Action]​ ​ It was determined that a vote is not necessary - we will have a hybrid meeting for the next meeting which has already been approved. Discussion about meeting possibilities. 3. Topics for future presentations K. ADJOURNMENT These notes were taken contemporaneously and may contain errors and omissions. Signed by ___________________________ Helen Henry. I verify that these notes have been approved by a quorum of members of the Santa Fe Food Policy Council. Signed by Susan Perry, Co-chair or, Peter Ives, Co-chair _____________________________________________________