最新杏吧原创

Rustic Roots Sanctuary, a 7-acre farm in the middle of this area鈥檚 small ranch homes, sells vegetables, fruits, eggs, jam and other products. Its founder, Janett Lewis, says the money will help her and five other farms expand their capacity for serving people who otherwise wouldn鈥檛 have access to fresh, local food.

鈥淲hen we invest in local farms and food hubs, we鈥檙e not just supporting farmers,鈥� Lewis said at a council meeting last month. 鈥淲e鈥檙e ensuring that fresh, nutritious food reaches the tables of the families who need it the most.鈥�

But uncertainties surround the council鈥檚 plan: There has been no competitive bid for the service, as county rules usually require. The council has not set requirements for spending the money. And Rustic Roots has been at odds with county rules in the past.

Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, who introduced the legislation, said the money will go to the farm in the form of a grant. Rustic Roots, she said, has a proven track record of providing fresh fruits and vegetables to the community.

鈥淭hey have the credentials and the credibility and have been successful,鈥� Webb said.

Lewis, the Rustic Root founder, declined an interview request.

But the farm did in a social media post last month. In addition to helping other farms expand, Rustic Roots will create an 鈥渁gri-village鈥� for educational residencies for farmers. And the post says the organization bought a commercial property on the corner of Trampe Avenue and Larimore Road where it will open a natural food store. The property 鈥渋s going to require a complete rehab,鈥� the Facebook post dated March 16 said.

Webb鈥檚 bill requires a contract between Rustic Roots and the county, and Webb said it would include details 鈥渙n how to award the money.鈥� The legislation calls for the contract to be signed within 60 days and for the county Department of Human Services to oversee it. It also requires Rustic Roots to report annually to the council.

Meanwhile, no one else is stepping up to provide fresh produce to people in North County, Webb said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want the county to slow walk or drag this out,鈥� Webb said.

The bill is up for a final vote at Tuesday night鈥檚 council meeting.

Grant 鈥榞ives me pause鈥�

In 2021, the federal government granted the county $193 million in money.

The county used $143.5 million for COVID-19 vaccinations, public health, boosting pay for emergency workers and other expenses. Some of that money also went to a handful of nonprofits, including Rustic Roots, which got $250,000 for salaries and a food insecurity project. Two other North County community development nonprofits 鈥� A Red Circle, and Refuge and Restoration 鈥� also got money for food insecurity.

The council wanted to spend the last $50 million on six projects: stormwater infrastructure, derelict properties demolition, early childhood education, the University of Missouri-最新杏吧原创鈥� south campus redevelopment, the Police Athletic League 鈥� and more to address food insecurity.

But the council and Page couldn鈥檛 come to terms on the six. And with a federal spending deadline fast approaching, the council moved the money to the general fund to avoid losing it.

In March, Webb introduced a bill to send some of that money to Rustic Roots.

The federal projects came with stringent reporting requirements, said the county鈥檚 chief administrative officer, Kyle Klemp, who oversees pandemic relief spending for County Executive Sam Page. The county has kept every receipt and documented every expense in case the feds come for an audit, Klemp said.

But when the council moved the last $50 million to the general fund, the federal reporting requirements dropped off those projects.

Klemp said some of that money will directly pay for projects: The county will bid out the stormwater work and the property demolition, for instance.

But a bill that sends money directly to an organization, as Webb鈥檚 does to Rustic Roots, 鈥済ives me pause,鈥� he said. He thinks it might need to be bid out.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to write a blank check to someone and trust they鈥檒l use the funds with a pinky promise that this is how they鈥檙e going to spend them,鈥� Klemp said.

Webb argues the grant for Rustic Roots is much like the grants for the university and for childhood education programs.

But the university isn鈥檛 providing a service to the county, Klemp says, so it鈥檚 not subject to competitive bidding rules.

鈥淚f a service is being provided for the county, it must be offered competitively,鈥� he said.

Raw milk donations

Lewis founded as a nonprofit in 2020 to provide fresh produce to the Spanish Lake area, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture 鈥� a large number of residents have lower incomes, don鈥檛 have cars and aren鈥檛 near a grocery store.

The farm provides food delivery to seniors and tours for local schoolchildren. It also hosts garden-growing classes, herbal wellness workshops and sound bath meditation in a yurt, among other events.

Paying farmers directly is a new idea for addressing a frustrating issue. There鈥檚 a Schnucks and an Aldi near Spanish Lake, but several Shop 鈥榥 Save stores have closed in the area. Too many residents have to drive miles to grocery stores or are stuck with the corner shops and liquor stores in the area, said Webb, a Democrat from the Old Jamestown area of North County.

And she hasn鈥檛 been able to convince new grocery stores to open in her district, Webb said. Her bill, instead, seeks to pay farmers more directly. There are a handful of them in North County 鈥� an urban area nonetheless dotted with stretches of forest and field.

But Rustic Roots hasn鈥檛 always followed county rules.

Last summer, the health department stopped Lewis from running her Spanish Lake Farmers Market at the farm. Lewis said on social media that she suspected the county was retaliating against her for criticizing Page publicly over his handling of pandemic relief money.

But county officials said it wasn鈥檛 that at all. Farmers markets weren鈥檛 allowed under the property鈥檚 zoning, according to county planning director Jacob Trimble. Moreover, some structures on the farm 鈥� including at least one she advertised as a short-term rental 鈥� weren鈥檛 permitted under county occupancy rules. She needed to bring the property into compliance in order to host events and grow food.

Lewis hired a design professional to address the permitting and zoning issues and stopped using the structures back in the fall, Trimble said. The county granted her a temporary use permit in November so she could keep a community garden and host events, and she is working on bringing the structures into compliance. Short-term rentals, however, are not allowed in unincorporated 最新杏吧原创 County, Trimble said.

鈥淩ustic Roots did act in good faith to stop the use of those structures until she has completed occupancy,鈥� Trimble said.

On Tuesday, Webb introduced a new version of her food insecurity bill at the County Council.

The bill sends the $3.2 million to Rustic Roots, and tasks the county鈥檚 human services department with overseeing the project. It does not give many further instructions.

But Julianna Campbell, the owner of Willowick Farm, said the plan is for her farm, Rustic Roots and four others 鈥� Odds & Ends Farm, Confluence Farms, Heru Urban Farming and Coahoma Orchards 鈥� to share the cash.

Campbell sells unpasteurized goats milk from her farm, which she said is set to receive $60,000. She wants to add a Grade A dairy facility that meets state regulations for sanitary practices with raw milk. Campbell also wants to produce cheese there to sell to the community.

Normally, she sells her raw goats milk for $15 a gallon, plus a one-time $6 jar deposit, but she plans to donate 40% of her milk free for three years with the county funding.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to open North County to a lot of opportunities,鈥� Campbell said.