Sedgwick County commissioners voted Wednesday to adopt a food master plan for the community. The Wichita City Council voted to adopt the plan last month.
The Health and Wellness Coalition of Wichita worked with the city and county and other agencies over the past year to develop the plan, and a 14-member steering committee was created to gather input and draft a final plan.
Sedgwick County Health Director Adrienne Byrne said the plan has three goals: to foster food system coordination and education, improve access to healthy food, and increase local food production. She said about 25 percent of the people in Wichita do not have access to healthy food. She said residents have an interest in developing a robust local food system for the city and county, but the community needs a road map to guide the process.
The city and county will create a Food and Farm Council to work on ideas and recommendations that will be taken to the Wichita City Council and the Sedgwick County Commission.