Food Policy Council updates guidelines; board discusses grant-seeking language and staff role
Summary
The Johnson County Food Policy Council brought updated organizational guidelines to supervisors Aug. 6; edits remove obsolete references, add a public-health ex officio seat and an events chair, and prompted board discussion over whether the council should be required or merely encouraged to identify outside funding sources.
The Johnson County Food Policy Council presented updated organizational guidelines to the Board of Supervisors on Aug. 6 that remove outdated references, add clarifying membership language and make other housekeeping changes. Ilsa DeWald and Maddie McCabe, staff liaisons, said the council approved the edits in July and staff reviewed the packet for presentation. Key changes in the draft include: removing references to the now-inactive Iowa Food Corridor and Agricultural Coalition; updating references to Iowa Valley RC&D’s changed role; adding “food business” to preferred membership wording; designating a board of supervisors member and a public-health staff person as ex officio seats; adding an events and outreach chair; and making leadership elections annual. The guidelines also clarify that the council typically submits an annual budget request through county staff rather than bringing budget requests directly to the board. A portion of the discussion focused on budget language and whether the council should retain a responsibility to “identify potential sources of additional funding” (language some supervisors wanted to keep) versus removing or softening that duty. County staff and supervisors debated whether “identify” would create expectations that unpaid volunteers perform competitive grant-writing or program administration. Supervisors agreed to retain looser language ("may" rather than "shall") in budget-related sections and to retain a responsibility line under council duties while noting staffing and grants-team support for pursuing awards. No formal adoption occurred Aug. 6; supervisors directed staff to incorporate agreed edits and return the document for formal consideration in the coming weeks.
