The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners and the Gainesville City Commission updated each other on plans for a cultural arts center and food systems initiatives at a joint meeting on Wednesday.  

Neither board took action on the topics, but both city and county employees are working on the topics for future votes and funding.  

Gainesville Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker has pushed the city to create a cultural arts center for youth. The concept, along with many potential locations, was supported by both boards. Questions remain about funding and the exact organization, but Duncan-Walker said the commissions’ commitment will help those other details fall into place.  

“We’re at the beginning of this creative process, so as much as my colleagues at the City Commission are willing to dream with me, that will determine what the city’s involvement in this is,” she said.  

Duncan-Walker said a lot of energy exists in the community around the idea, with some at the point of forming a nonprofit to help move it forward. But for now, she said stakeholders are still in the visioning stage.  

The county presented information on food systems in Alachua County, which has 1,712 farms according to 2022 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  

 Spearheaded by Commissioner Anna Prizzia, the county wants to create a food hub where local farms can send produce that gets bought by local restaurants, grocery stores and institutions.  

The county launched a miniature version in response to food insecurity and the suspension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Hosted by Frog Song Organics, the farm is providing its own produce and that of other local farms to community resource centers around the county.  

A true pilot program will launch in March and run for 10 months. The county is currently seeking proposals to run this food hub program and will test the feasibility of scaling up for the future.  

“It is, in a way, going back to the way things used to be and trying to create new systems that can help our small farmers compete in a largely globalized food system at this point,” Prizzia said.  

County Chair Ken Cornell said Gainesville’s largest part will be on the eating side as the population center. He said using the Eastside Health and Economic Development Initiative (EHEDI) would be a good partnership as well.  

Prizzia said her goal is for a successful pilot program followed quickly by phase two and state and federal funding requests to build the permanent infrastructure.