When the Missouri House of Representatives ended its most recent session, Rep. Beth Low immediately transitioned into her new role as the director of the Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition.
In that capacity, she flew to Detroit last week to attend the 5th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference. Now back in Kansas City, Low tells Fat City about her first full week at the coalition and her decision not to run for a fourth term in the Missouri House.
What is the food policy coalition working to change right now?
The
mission of the organization is to
support and promote public policy which will lead to a food system that
is sustainable, affordable and accessible to all people in our region.
An
example of that is the work that is currently going on to change the
codes governing urban agriculture in Kansas City. There are not farmer's
markets and full-service grocery stores in the most economically
depressed parts of Kansas City. The poorest people in our community
don't have access to the freshest food. Getting changes to the code is a
critical part of addressing food deserts in our community.
What's on your agenda in your first month at the coalition?
It's
exciting and a bit intense right now. The key is getting the structure
of the coalition formalized. We then need to establish clear policy
priorities for the coalitions' work for the future.
I'm looking
to have the steering committee and bylaws in place by mid-to-late
summer. The steering committee will help to establish our policy
priorities, so I don't want to jump the gun on talking about the issues
we're going to be involved with going forward.
Who will serve
on that steering committee and who are the coalition's members?
We
have a nine-county region and it's bi-state, which means there
are an almost endless number of projects to tackle. There will be 21
slots on the steering committee. Two are unsubscribed, but the other 19
represent specific areas of the food system -- farming, gardening,
higher education, health care, food retailers, restaurants, and
environmental groups.
We don't have a formalized membership
system yet. It's just been the people and organizations that have been
involved with the coalition's development over the past three years. But
after we adopt by-laws, then we can have a formalized membership
process.
You went from the Missouri Legislature to your new position. What prompted the move?
I'm excited to be back in the non-profit world [while in the Legislature, Low worked for four years at Hope House], but I still have a bit of cognitive dissonance. I wasn't looking for another job, but a friend passed on this job description. And it seemed like it was written for me. It wasn't what I planned on doing -- man plans and God laughs. You shouldn't pass up opportunities in life just because something doesn't come at the right time. And so this was the right choice for me and I'm excited to get to serve my community in this way.
Did the current climate in the Legislature impact your decision?
In the era of term limits this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. I didn't feel that it was fair to run for a 4th term because I felt I couldn't do both positions.
If I had been in the majority and passing legislation, moving forward, I think there might not have been such a lure to come home to Kansas City. When you're not in the majority, the work is still incredibly important -- but nobody runs for office to have a policy agenda that they would like to promote as a member of the minority party. The decision to leave was certainly made easier by the climate.
Image courtesy of the Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition.
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