Passing with a vote of 9-0-1, with District 9 Council Member Sydney J. Harrison (D) abstaining, THE Healthy dining program will be a voluntary initiative to which restaurants apply. Participation in the program would be require offering a menu with at least 40% healthy food options and one or more plant-based meals. As an incentive, participating restaurants will receive interest-free loans from the Economic Development Corporation and financial assistance from the county to pay for menus labeling healthy food options, along with other perks.
But funding for the program has not been secured, leaving the implementation of the plan in question. The bill’s main sponsor, vice chairman and District 6 council member Wala Blegay (D), requested $250,000 from the county budget to fund the program, but Alsobrooks (D) denied the request .
The question of how the program would be funded was scrutinized by many county agency representatives at the meeting, many of whom doubted the sustainability of the program, the likelihood of success, and the lack of specificity, reflecting some of Alsobrooks’ concerns.
Blegay said she was disappointed that Alsobrooks did not approve funding for the program during this year’s budget season, but said passing the bill was a significant investment in the county. She added that the bill is intended to change the perception of what Prince George residents want and diversify options for a county with a majority non-white population.
“We don’t just want to eat fatty chicken,” she said, pointing to the number of unhealthy fast food chains and takeout restaurants throughout the county. “We want the salads. We want the smoothies. We want healthy, creative, plant-based meals. We eat them, and there is a market for them.
Alsobrooks administration said in a statement that it has made efforts to address some of the concerns that spurred the bill through the Health Convenience Store Initiative and community gardens.
“We believe that the legislation passed today is not the most effective way to address these issues and will not lead to increased access to healthy food,” the statement said. “We look forward to working with this Council to find programs and initiatives that will have a real impact on the health disparities and food insecurities experienced by all Georgian princes.”
Prince George’s is in the “second-worst” quartile of Maryland counties for fast-food restaurant density and is among the “worst” 25% of counties nationwide for the same category, according to 2016 data from the Prince George’s County Health Department. There was 779 fast food restaurants in 2016 compared to 309 full-service restaurants in the same year.
That data is one of the reasons the county needs the legislation, Blegay and his supporters said.
Sky Jordanoprogram associate for the Prince George’s County Food Equity Council, told the council that her organization supported the bill because of the county’s lead in poor health indicators, such as diabetes, hypertension and d other health problems.
“In Prince George’s County, food swamps cluster in the inner ring road in low-income communities of color,” she said. “If this bill is passed, Prince George’s County will become a leader in providing incentives that create healthy food environments in restaurants.
Others in favor of the bill, including Duane and Tori King, co-founders of the healthy restaurant fresh greenalso highlighted poor health outcomes in the county, personal health battles and the need to travel outside of Prince George’s County to find healthy options.
However, opponents of the bill such as Ebony Stocks, executive vice president of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation, called the program “well-intentioned” but added that it failed to recognize the practicalities of running a business. Stocks said the effort could cause restaurants to hold onto menu items that may not be profitable, resulting in an overall less profitable business.
Leslie W.GravesPresident and CEO of Experience Prince George’s, the county’s official destination marketing organization, said she supports the effort but not the bill as written, arguing that the the legislation duplicates some of his office’s efforts and that the funding pool is questionable.
“If you focus on government money and the government changes its priorities – and … it will because it has to – you are now destitute,” she said.
A lively discussion among council members followed the testimony, with some of the most passionate words coming from District 7 Council member Krystal Oriadha (D). Oriadha said she was “puzzled” by statements of opposition to the bill from government and quasi-government agencies, adding that it had caused her to question their commitment to meeting community needs. She pointed to developer incentives as examples of similar programs being offered across the county.
“I hope the administration will extend it, because $250,000 is all we asked for – $250,000,” she said. “To say we can’t afford it is just laughable and it’s a lie, and it’s not true because we can afford it. You just don’t want to.
Council Member Mel Franklin (D-At Large) suggested that a simpler solution could have been achieved with a grant program.
Harrison said he abstained from voting because passing legislation without clear funding is “bad practice”.
“I support it from a point of view of principle, but the issue of funding has really discouraged me because we can pass laws, but if we don’t have funding, what good is legislation”, a- he declared. “I don’t want to create a false reality until we have that real funding.”
Tuesday was the last day of council meetings until the council returned from recess in September.