The Emporia City and Lyon County commissions had a joint meeting Wednesday evening during which they discussed topics ranging from a possible food policy council to housing issues.
Teresa Briggs, Daphne Mertens and Hannah Crowl of Healthier Lyon County addressed the commissioners about the need for a food policy council. Briggs cited information from the Centers for Disease Control which reports life expectancy is growing shorter rather than longer.
“Just let that sink in,” she said. “Whereas, here in the United States, we like to think that we are progressive enough and realize what we need to do to keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy, but we’ve gotten into some bad habits as far as what we eat, the amount of time that we don’t exercise and so the lifespan is actually reducing rather than growing. So, I think that’s a powerful statement and something that we want to try to address with a food policy council.”
The council, if formed, would be a joint city-county effort and would be modeled after the one between Lawrence and Douglas County. It would include members from several sectors, including food producers, grocers, consumers, educators, representatives of nonprofits and others throughout Emporia and Lyon County.
(Read more: Emporia Gazette)