On December 16, 2020, I received a request from Environmental Committee Chairman, Dell deChant, to present the attached resolution to City Council.  The proposed resolution expresses the City's support of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council's Regional Resiliency Action Plan (RRAP) and incorporates comments/concerns raised by the Environmental Committee.

The RRAP will include strategies and actions that are based on sound science and technical data which will aid in the coordination for regional preparation and adaption to a rapidly changing global environment based on mapping of projected sea-level rise and resulting amplification of localized impacts of hurricanes and tropical storms.  The RRAP will also identify funding strategies at the local, state and federal levels for mitigation and adaptation actions to deal with those impacts. The RRAP is estimated to be developed over a 15-month process to effectively engage a diverse audience throughout region.

The Environmental Committee discussed this issue at their regularly scheduled meeting on December 14, 2020 and would like to submit the following comments/concerns to be included in the RRAP to the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council for their consideration :

• A lack of attentiveness to food security as a serious regional concern.
• Food policy strategies were not listed as a high enough priority on the RRAP’s action items.
• The temporary Governor’s Executive Order allows the local governments to feed any child, 18 and under, until funds are depleted. In Pasco County, these funds will be depleted in December 2020.  The RRAP should take into consideration the likelihood of future natural disasters and pandemics that can cause massive disruption to food systems.  What is the RRAP plan to feed these children after December 2020?
• Too low of a level of significance for explicit food system security needs.  A much higher emphasis is needed regionally.
• Local food production needs to be preserved and encouraged, especially in urban areas of the region. 
• Increased involvement of food system stakeholders in the development of RRAP Plan priorities is needed.
• RRAP needs to elevate food system security, resiliency, and food access to a higher level of prioritization;
• Lack of acknowledgement that food affordability and inaccessibility are still prescient issues in Pasco County and other Tampa Bay communities.
• Food policy advocates within the Tampa Bay region should be invited to TBRPC Resiliency Coalition meetings, sub-committee meetings and trainings to ensure food security matters are addressed in the RRAP.  Existing Food Policy Advisory Councils should be invited to send a council member representative to future trainings, summits, coalition meetings, committee and sub-committee meetings.