$850 Contracts That Include Food: HACA's perspective, and Mine

[Hannah Frankel]

Talked to Kevin Harrington at the Housing Authority today.  He told me that as we are a private market vendor, in order for us to charge $850 for our units to Section 8 recipients, we simply have to start the precedent by charging a couple of non-Section 8 recipients this rate at some point before we start charging this rate to any Section 8 tenants.  Can even be the day before, we just have to prove that we are treating everyone the same.

 

He doesn't think it's any of HACA's beeswax whether food happens to be a service that's provided as part of that rent rate or not.  He's going to run it by his supervior just to be sure, though.  However, it sounded like the food program needs to be equally mandatory or equally optional (either way) for both Section 8 recipients and non. 

 

I'm leaning towards proposing (at a meeting near you!) an $850/per unit or $450/room rent rate for all new tenants (from this point on) that includes the food program we've talked about:  that is, one that requires 2 extra hours of labor a week, serves 3 prepared meals a week, and provides limited staples and grocery items bought in bulk for personal consumption.  Tenants who live at La Reunion already can continue their lease without the food program and for $50 cheaper indefinitely.  There was as much support for this option as any of the others presented at the meeting on Sunday. 

 

A possible point of compromise: Ryan has mentioned that ICC will exempt its members from food costs at its co-ops on a case-by-case basis.  You are in until you opt out, but the option is there if that's the difference between someone being able to afford the co-op or not.  I like this idea and would be open to thoughts on how it should be implemented, and a friendly amendment if someone wants to refine it into sound policy language. 

 

What do you all think?