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Sacramento Hunger Commission: December 2003 Minutes

1. The meeting was called to order by Sharon Eghigian, Vice Chair.
2. November 18, 2003 minutes approved (Ernie Brown/Lisa Tadlock).
3. Brief reports and announcements
   • Health and Human Services Institute-Peggy Roark reminded Commissioners of the retreat on Jan. 27 and CSPC's Health and Human Services Institute on Jan. 15.
   • Community Gardens-Bill Maynard announced that the Stone Soup/ACT garden in North Sacramento officially opened last week, a new community garden at the Florin Reservoir is getting underway, the 5th and W garden site is now owned by the City and will be the first Parks and Rec Dept. garden, and finally, he has just become a board member for the national American Community Garden Association.
   • Lisa Tadlock thanked Commissioners who helped assess grant applications to Cal/Neva.
   • Ernie Brown reported that he recently made a presentation on the Hunger Commission to the Human Services Coordinating Council (HSCC), and that he had pushed for the Commission to become connected in some way (he currently serves as a Community Rep on HSCC).
   • Senior Nutrition Services-Rebecca Fuller reported that Senior Nutrition Services would likely suffer cuts, and needed more volunteer drivers right away. Volunteers are need for a two-hour route once a week; they hope that organizations will adopt a route and supply five volunteers each driving on one day.
   • Sacramento Food Charter-Juan Yniguez briefly discussed the draft Sacramento Food Charter, and also a draft conceptual outline and timeline for the next six months, leading up to a Food Summit. Rebecca advocated for the inclusion of Food Stamps and other federal food assistance programs in the Charter. The next meeting of the Food Charter task force is January 6 at noon.
   • AB 231-Sharon Eghigian reported that the Food Stamp Improvement bill, AB 231, though signed by Gov. Davis, is being held up by the new Governor freezing its funding and the reluctance of state Social Services Dept. to send official instructions to the counties. Advocates are considering legal action.
   • Judie Wilson thanked everyone involved in the very successful Hope Awards event.
4. Discussion of the results of the Commission self-evaluation - Eighteen out of 27 members completed the survey. A handout was distributed that included a compilation of responses to several key questions. There was time for only a brief discussion of the results, but this will be a topic at the Jan. 27 retreat. It was suggested that Commissioners be encouraged to elaborate on their responses to these questions in writing prior to the retreat, by saying why they responded as they did, or other comments.
5. Special awards were presented to the three Commissioners who are rotating off the Commission after five years: Sharon Eghigian, Rebecca Fuller, and Ernie Brown. A special gift was also presented to the Program Manager, and then the meeting was adjourned for a sumptuous holiday lunch (later shared with many SETA Head Start staff members as a way of saying "thanks" for the use of their new building).

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