Purpose: To increase consumption of locally produced, organic produce to promote public health and minimize resource consumption and negative environmental impacts.

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
o 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 their targets, 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 the communities where their food comes from. The City conducts community outreach to educate the public about the impact of their decisions, and encourage better purchasing habits. The Office of Sustainability and Environment has sponsored events at the City’s annual festival, farmers’ markets, the Sustainable Quality Awards, the “Diet for a Hot Planet” book launch, a green business certification mixer, a Buy Local campaign mixer and throughout Sustainability Week to educate residents about food sustainability. To amplify the impact of their outreach, the City 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, which was incentivized with a free reusable bag or water bottle, and a wallet-sized Cool Foods reference pamphlet. The Pledge encourages eating organic foods, reducing meat and dairy consumption, avoiding processed foods, buying locally grown foods and saying “no” to packaging. The City also worked with the Grace Foundation to promote Santa Monica food providers on the Eat Well Guide. The Office of Sustainability and Environment webpage links to the Eat Well Guide, which lists restaurants, grocers, caterers, etc. that serve sustainable food. The City’s outreach program also promotes taking part in Meatless Monday in an effort to reduce the amount of meat consumed by residents. 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.

*The Cool Foods Campaign has shifted focus to solely recruiting consumers to sign the Cool Foods Pledge; it is no longer engaging municipalities.

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. Organic and low chemical produce sales are generally increasing, with a notable shift in preferences from organic produce to low chemical produce over that same period. 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.

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