DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Leon County Commission is preparing to hold a workshop to discuss ways to address food insecurity in the community, including a recommendation to establish a new Division of Food Systems.
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The initiative follows a recommendation from the Citizens Charter Review Committee for the County to create the new division. Dr. Bruce Strouble, who is behind the effort, said he has heard from community members that people are unsure where they can find food.
"They're telling us there is an imminent and a pending food crisis issue that we have to address, and what we've been trying to get people to understand is we want to address the food system, not just emergency response," Strouble said.
Strouble wants the division to examine the food system in the community, identify hurdles to accessing food, and generate routine reports to highlight issues affecting the local food system and advance food justice.
"So what we're saying is that there may be a need for a coordinated effort by the County, and the County is best situated to provide that service. This is not something we could just leave to our non-profit sector to handle independently, nor can we leave it to our universities," Strouble said.
According to a 2024 report from Feeding America, more than 30,000 Leon County residents are food insecure.
Leon County Commission Chairman Christian Caban, whose district includes rural areas like Woodville and Fort Braden, voted in support of the workshop.
"The sad fact of reality is that there are kids right here in Leon County, in our backyard, in our neighborhoods, that their sole source of food sometimes is at school," Caban said.
Caban said he wants the workshop to be an opportunity to examine data surrounding food insecurity in depth and explore whether the county could step in to fill gaps.
"What families are really struggling when it comes to food security? And how can we fill those gaps?" Caban said.
The proposal to establish a Division of Food Systems has faced some pushback. County staff have noted that work is already underway within the county to address food insecurity, including a dedicated staff position to help residents access resources and work being led by a council through Florida A&M University.
Commissioner Rick Minor has said he would rather support the work already being done by community partners, including Second Harvest of the Big Bend, than create a new division.
"What we need to do is continue working with the partners that are on the field, on the ground, every single day, working to get food into people's hands," Minor said.
ABC 27's Maya Sargent asked Caban whether a new division could be established without duplicating services the county already offers.
"Yeah, listen, I don't want to duplicate services. I don't think that is in the best interest of taxpayers. However, at Leon County, I think there's a possibility where we could look to fill gaps, right?" Caban said.
At the Commission's last meeting, the County Administrator said a budget item would need to come back to commissioners if the Division of Food Systems moves forward, to determine how it would be funded. As of now, county staff say a date has not yet been set for the workshop.
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