In late April, by a vote of 7-2, the Seattle City Council passed the Local Food Action Initiative.  The initiative was "crafted to help develop stronger ties between local agriculture and regional consumers and institutions" according to reporter Cookson Beecher in an article in the Capital Press, the West Coast's premier agricultural publication.  The initiative seeks to strengthen local farmers' markets, expand resources for food banks, and set up plans to reduce the cost of food and to secure food supplies during emergencies and disasters.  Underlying the entire initiative is the goal to promote local food sustainability and security and to link regional food systems as much as possible.  Beecher says:

"Proposed by Council President Richard Conlin, the initiative will strengthen local farmers' markets; secure their locations; expand resources for food banks; develop solutions to reduce the cost of food for urban consumers; and plan for a secure food supply during emergencies and disasters."

Beecher discusses how the initiative came to be:

The initiative grew out of the work of the City of Seattle Food System Interdepartmental Team and the Acting Food Policy Council for Seattle and King County.

More than 20 groups, including Washington State University King County Extension, University of Washington, Seattle Tilth, Cascade Harvest Coalition and Public Health Seattle and King County, have been involved in the effort.

Beecher notes in another article in Capital Press that the initiative includes a provision to work on a Regional Food Policy Action Plan that will bring Seattle and King County together to develop policies that will "strengthen community and regional food systems by linking food production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste management to further, as much as possible, the city's reliance on food produced in the region."

The councilmembers together paint a big picture of intent behind the initiative.  In a post on the Seattle City Council's website, several of the City Council members talked about why the initiative was important:

Council President Richard Conlin, who is also chair of the Environment, Emergency Planning and Utilities Committee, said, “Access to food is one of the most fundamental needs of our community. This new initiative will bring together the work that is being done in the community and the City to create a framework for ensuring that Seattle residents have access to a healthy and sustainable food resources.”

Councilmember Tim Burgess said, “We made some changes suggested by citizens to clarify and strengthen the resolution, and made its intent clearer and more focused. I believe it is a reasonable effort by the city to plan for emergencies, continue our work toward greater sustainability, and strengthen locally-owned businesses.” Councilmember Jan Drago noted that, “This initiative will support food banks and meal programs by strengthening connections between our p-patch network and food banks to provide more fresh food for those who are hungry and in need and by helping the food banks to reduce their costs for managing food waste.” Councilmember Bruce Harrell commented that, “This legislation will provide opportunities to create local economic development related to local food production, processing, and distribution. That will be a win for our economy and for our community’s health.”

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen said, “Today’s action will help focus the City’s effort to use surplus city property for local food production. Seattle owns land all around the City that could be used for community and market gardens. We don’t want property that could be productive to lie fallow.” Councilmember Sally Clark said, “Neighborhoods love their local farmers’ markets. This measure will help the City find permanent locations for these urban agricultural oases.” Councilmember Nick Licata said, “The reality of climate change means that the City must do its part to help create a food system that is not so reliant on fossil fuels. The food system creates some 17% of carbon emissions, and we have to start thinking systematically about reducing its impact.”

However, others are not ready to see such a holistic picture yet. 

In an article by Angela Galloway in the PI, she pokes fun at the initiative, calling it a liberal manifesto with lofty goals without the funding that would back up the recommendations. 

The mayor and his staff haven't been rushing to support it either.  If Mayor Nickels and his staff don't support the initiative, he can direct the city departments not to do what the City Council is asking of them.  Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis says,

"We'll look at it and determine whether or not we can with (the requests) within existing budget and resources," Ceis said. "There are lots of other big drivers on the budget for the city right now. We'll want to look at any new ideas like these in the context of overall (budget) demands that are out there.

This appears to be an issue that the City Council is leading on.  It may require some time and public support to get the mayor and some in the media to recognize the place that Seattle can play in supporting and developing a rural-urban coalition community of people who want healthy and sustainable food.