Item:
Title
Discussion of Possible Food Security Contributions and Contracts (20min)
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: May 11, 2020
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to discuss the attached proposals and, if it is their pleasure, to authorize the County Manager to execute contracts for some or all of the proposals.
Unemployment and economic hardship have increased steeply across the nation, the state of North Carolina, and here in Durham since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a community where food insecurity was already a significant issue before the pandemic, the County realizes that the economic recession caused by the pandemic can only exacerbate hunger-related issues in Durham.
Attachments for this item include more information on the following 3 proposals as well as additional analysis and information from the Food Security Task Force:
- A $60,000 proposal from End Hunger Durham to provide additional meals and nutrition to 900 high-risk, low-income seniors. Along with roughly matching contributions expected from the City and Duke University, this proposal would help keep these seniors fed through mid-August.
- A $69,000 addition to our current Meals on Wheels (MoW) contract to allow them to provide full weekly nutrition for the next five months to 100 high-risk, low-income seniors who cannot leave their homes and are currently on the MoW waitlist.
- A $36,000 addition to our current contract with El Centro Hispano to allow them to provide additional food aid through the end of July to 300 Latinx families experiencing economic distress in the current downturn.
Alignment with Strategic Plan: Appropriate food security support for high-risk portions of Durham County’s population aligns most strongly with Goal 2 of the Durham County Strategic Plan.
Resource Persons: Donna Rewalt, Director of Durham County Cooperative Extension (and Director of the Food Security Task Force in the Emergency Operations Center); Drew Cummings, Chief of Staff (and head of the Human Services Branch in the Emergency Operations Center)
County Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that the Board discuss the attached proposals and, if it is their pleasure, to authorize the County Manager to execute contracts for some or all of the proposals.
Signature
County Manager: ____________________________