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BACKGROUND In 2010, the Human Services Commission conducted a series of roundtable discussions with local service provides to better understand the community's human service needs, barriers to services and to identify emerging trends and opportunities for collaboration. One of the needs that was identified was a centralized refrigerator/freezer storage unit in the Tri-Valley area that would facilitate agencies the ability to purchase or accept donations of food in bulk and then storing it for a longer period of time thus reducing their overall cost of providing food related services. At their regular meeting on March 2, 2011, the Human Services Commission recommended that the City Council allocate $11,973 in grant funding as part of the FY 2011/12 Housing and Human Services grant process toward a regional food storage project. DISCUSSION Upon the City Council's approval on May 3, 2011, the Human Services Commission, Linda McKeever, Executive Director of Open Heart Kitchen of Livermore, Inc. (Open Heart Kitchen) and City staff developed a proposal to bring a centralized food storage facility that would meet the storage needs of the local non-profit food service providers and organizations in the Tri- Valley area. Food Storage Units and Site Location Through the Human Services Commission's endorsement and input from non-profit food service providers, staff has worked with a vendor (Polar King) to design the three (3) food storage units and site location. The regional food storage project will be comprised of three (3) food storage units (dry, refrigeration and freezer). The fiberglass units are approximately 14'8" x 7'11" in size and may include features like refrigerated cooling systems, remote thermometers, interior lighting, non-skid floors and/or shelving. The City's Operations Service Center (OSC) at 3333 Busch Avenue has been identified as the location that best meets the project's specifications which include accommodating all three (3) food storage units, ADA requirements, site accessibility and centrally located within the Tri-Valley area. Having met the project's criteria, the three (3) food storage units will be installed and located on the west side of the Administrative Office building at the Operations Services Center (Attachment 1). Funding On May 3, 2011, the City Council approved $11,973 in funding for a Regional Food Storage Project through its FY 2011/12 Housing and Human Services Grant (HHSG) process allocation and another $10,000 was appropriated through the City's FY 2012/13 HHSG. Along with the City of Pleasanton, Ms. Linda McKeever, Executive Director of Open Heart Kitchen of Livermore, Inc., has been instrumental in securing additional funding for the project. Ms. McKeever has raised $105,000 through a combination of donations Page 2 of 4