Best Practices

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH BEST PRACTICE

Sustainable Food Commitment

Santa Monica, CA

Purpose

To increase consumption of locally produced organic produce, promote public health and minimize environmental consequences related to food choices.

Outcomes

An overall increase in farmers’ market annual produce sales has been documented through 2008, and it is assumed that this trend has continued. Total sales rose from $7.2M to $12.8M (a 78% increase) between 2001 and 2008. Over this period, organic and low chemical produce sales have grown faster than conventional produce sales. See the Farmer’s Market Sales Data document in the Resources section for detailed figures.

A 2003 survey gathered that 8% of Santa Monica’s population is vegetarian. The survey also reported that 16% of residents are not exclusively vegetarian, but eat animal-based proteins less than four times per week.  No trend has been established, as this data came from the first and only year that these preferences were surveyed.  See the Vegetarian Survey Data document in the Resources section for detailed figures.

It is difficult to measure some of the other food sustainability-related indicators in the Environmental Health and Public Health section of the Sustainable City Plan. No indicator has been developed to link restaurant purchasing patterns to municipal reporting, or track the amount of local, organic produce served in city facilities. Though progress has been made in these areas, success is difficult to quantify at this time.

Background & Summary

In 2008, the City Council approved a motion to elevate food sustainability as a priority focus of Santa Monica’s Sustainable City Plan. Recognizing the crucial role of food production in global climate change, a focus on implementation of food-related programs was initiated to achieve four targets from the Environmental and Public Health section of the Plan. An annual increase over the 2000 baseline was desired for the following indicators:

• Fresh, Local, Organic Produce
  Percent of fresh, locally-produced, organic produce that is served at City facilities and other Santa Monica institutions (including hospitals, schools, Santa Monica College, and City-sponsored food programs)
• Organic Produce - Farmer’s Market
  Total annual produce sales at Santa Monica farmers’ markets (specifically percent of annual sales that are organically grown and grown using low-chemical methods)
• Restaurant Produce Purchases
  Percent of Santa Monica restaurants that purchase ingredients at Santa Monica farmers’ markets
• Food Choices
  Percent of Santa Monica residents who report that vegetable-based protein is the primary protein source for at least half of their meals.

Public Outreach & Education:

To reach its target, Santa Monica relies on programs that enable individuals, businesses and city employees to spend their food dollars in a manner that improves the quality of life in their community, and in the communities where their food originates.  The Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) sponsors a number of events where residents are educated on making eco-conscious food choices.  To amplify the impact of this outreach, OSE has partnered with organizations and companies that focus solely on food sustainability issues. 

Santa Monica became the first city to join the Center for Food Safety’s Cool Foods Campaign in 2008.  This partnership was extremely successful in motivating 2200 residents to sign the Cool Foods Pledge.  The Pledge encourages eating organic foods, reducing meat and dairy consumption, avoiding processed foods, buying locally grown foods and saying “no” to packaging.  OSE created the Cool Foods Community Cookbook to help put these Pledge principles into practice with sustainable recipes by local chefs. The OSE webpage also links to the Eat Well Guide, which lists restaurants, grocers, caterers, etc. that serve sustainable foods.  Further, OSE promotes Meatless Monday.  By simply making residents aware of these pre-established movements, the City comes closer to its Sustainable City Plan targets with the help of free educational materials and online marketing.

Fiscal Impacts

The Office of Sustainability and Environment contracted out some of the graphics it developed for its outreach materials and dedicated a small amount of funding to putting on outreach events.

Contact for This Best Practice

Last updated August 7, 2012

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