On Monday, April 29, the City Council unanimously adopted Seattle’s first formal Food Action Plan. The goal of the Plan is to increase access to healthy food, support local food production and strengthen the local economy. The Plan builds on my Local Food Action Initiative (LFAI), adopted by the Council in 2008 in response to [...]

GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON OPPOSED BY CITY, MURRAY, CANTWELL, AND SWINOMISH INDIAN TRIBAL COMMUNITY Earth Day, April 22, was a good day for a unanimous Mayor and Council to join Senators Cantwell and Murray and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in opposing a proposal before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would approve the commercial [...]

In 2012 my office began a new phase of our work on the Local Food Action Initiative (LFAI). We have completed many of the key initial land use and funding actions identified in the LFAI, and have made major progress in creating secure institutional homes for continued work on food policy. Seattle now has a [...]

On Wednesday, February 13, the PLUS Committee reviewed an ordinance I have introduced that will increase the amount of healthy options in vending machines operated on City property. The majority of these machines only serve city employees. The Committee will vote on the ordinance at our February 27 meeting, with Full Council action scheduled for [...]

Every once in a while there’s an unexpected positive in the midst of negative impacts like those of the current recession. Seattle’s gardeners will benefit because the City projected inflation rates that were higher than have actually been experienced when the Council developed the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy. A lower inflation rate associated [...]

The Regional Food Policy Council (RFPC) is housed at the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), the principal regional planning entity covering King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap Counties.  I led the effort to create the RFPC, and now serve as its Chair.  The RFPC first met in September 2010, and we have now completed our second [...]

The Local Food Action Initiative (LFAI) is designed to increase gardening and farming in the City, encourage farmers markets and other connections to local producers, and emphasize food as an important part of our economy.  We know that eating more locally can reduce the cost of transport, provide access to food that is healthier and [...]

Obesity continues to be a major public health challenge.  Too many Americans are overweight enough that their health is suffering, with diseases like diabetes rising dramatically.  In Seattle 50% of adults and 22% of youth are overweight or obese. The problem is that healthy food is often expensive and not widely available, while unhealthy food [...]

United Way of King County has boldly announced a goal of making King County a hunger free community.  The City Council applauds this goal, and on March 15, I was a plenary speaker at a Hunger Action Forum convened by United Way, the Seattle Food Council, and the Meals Partnership Coalition to look at strategies [...]

 While the City will be putting together a long-range plan for local food through a series of three workshops that began on March 13, my office will continue to work with City Departments and regional partners on actions to implement the Local Food Action Initiative in 2012.  Here is our list of planned activities: Support [...]