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Home My WebLink About2026-09-10 EEC Packet (Board Portal) Energy & Environment Commission Meeting Agenda September 10, 2026, 7:00 PM Edina City Hall, Community Room, 4801 W. 50th St. Accessibility Support: The City of Edina wants all residents to be comfortable being part of the public process. If you need assistance in the way of hearing amplification, an interpreter, large-print documents or something else, please call 952-927-8861 at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Meeting Agenda 4. Approval of Meeting Minutes 4.1. August 13, 2026 Meeting Minutes 5. Special Recognitions and Presentations 5.1. Bag Fee Analysis 6. Community Comment During "Community Comment," the Board/Commission will invite residents to share issues or concerns that are not scheduled for a future public hearing. Items that are on tonight's agenda may not be addressed during Community Comment. Individuals must limit their comments to three minutes. The Chair may limit the number of speakers on the same issue in the interest of time and topic. Individuals should not expect the Chair or Board/Commission Members to respond to their comments tonight. Instead, the Board/Commission might refer the matter to staff for consideration at a future meeting. 7. Reports/Recommendations 7.1. Work Plan Initiative 4: Food Security Assessment 8. Chair and Member Comments 9. Staff Comments Page 1 of 46 10. Adjournment Page 2 of 46 Item Report September 10, 2026 Energy & Environment Commission Item Number: 4.1 Department: Public Works Item Activity: Action Prepared By: Marisa Bayer, Sustainability Manager Item Title: August 13, 2026 Meeting Minutes Action Requested: Approve Meeting Minutes. Information/Background: Approve meeting minutes from August 13, 2026. Supporting Documentation: Documents marked with "Board Portal" do not meet ADA Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (URL) and are not included in the public packet. To request a board portal document, please submit a data request (URL). 1. 2026-08-13 Minutes Page 3 of 46 Energy & Environment Commission Meeting Agenda August 13, 2026, 7:00 PM Edina City Hall, Community Room, 4801 W. 50th St. 1. Call to Order Acting Chair Haugen called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. 2. Roll Call Answering roll call were Haugen, Budin, Olson, Bartholomew, LaCasse, Martinez-Salgado, and Tessman. Absent were Lukens, Schima, Tyshow, and Lassig. 3. Approval of Meeting Agenda Martinez-Salgado made a motion, seconded by Bartholomew, to Approve the Meeting Agenda. Motion carried. 4. Approval of Meeting Minutes 4.1. July 9, 2026 Meeting Minutes Bartholomew made a motion, seconded by Martinez-Salgado, to Approve the Meeting Minutes. Motion carried. 5. Special Recognitions and Presentations No special recognitions or presentations were received. 6. Community Comment No community comment was received. 7. Reports/Recommendations 7.1. Work Plan Initiative 3: Organics Outreach Commissioners discussed the work plan item, including how to engage residents to participate in organics and the need for champions in each neighborhood. The work plan leads anticipate launching the organics neighborhood context in Fall 2027. 8. Chair and Member Comments • LaCasse and Haugen are continuing their connections to the school district, including a goal to connect to the Superintendent soon. • Bartholomew expects to bring the draft food security assessment for approval to the September meeting and requested commissioners provide her comments on the draft. • Tessman requested staff present the bag fee analysis to the commission. Staff Liaison Bayer will bring this to the September meeting. 9. Staff Comments Staff Liaison Bayer reminded the Commission they signed on to an Advisory Communication with the Transportation Commission to request dedicated bike facilities on Wooddale Avenue be included in the mill and overlay project. The City Council voted on July 21 and there will not be new dedicated bike facilities along that corridor. 10. Adjournment Tessman made a motion, seconded by Martinez-Salgado, to Adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Page 4 of 46 Item Report September 10, 2026 Energy & Environment Commission Item Number: 5.1 Department: Public Works Item Activity: Information Prepared By: Marisa Bayer, Sustainability Manager Item Title: Bag Fee Analysis Action Requested: No action requested. Information/Background: Staff presented an analysis of the bag fee reporting data to determine if there is a decrease in the total number of bags being distributed in Edina. Staff presented their findings to the City Council on July 21, 2026. The Commission requested a review and discussion of this analysis and potential policy impacts. Supporting Documentation: Documents marked with "Board Portal" do not meet ADA Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (URL) and are not included in the public packet. To request a board portal document, please submit a data request (URL). 1. Bag Fee Analysis Staff Report 2. Bag Fee Analysis, Business List Page 5 of 46 Staff Report Date: 06/02/2026 To: Mayor and City Council From: Marisa Bayer, Sustainability Manager Subject: Carryout Bag Fee Analysis Introduction & Overview To understand the impact of the carryout bag fee, a comparison analysis focused on 34 businesses (three grocery stores and 31 retail stores) who submitted data both years to provide a more representative sample of year-to-year changes and observations of operational and customer behavior changes. For the grocery stores and retail stores in the analyzed data set, the estimated total monthly number of bags and average monthly number of bags distributed per store decreased from 2024 to 2025. These decreases demonstrate there is likely some change in store operations (e.g., prompting customers if they would like a bag) and customer behaviors (e.g., bringing a bag). Assuming the data is directionally accurate, there is a high variability in the reporting data and low confidence in the accuracy and completeness of the data: • The accuracy of the reporting data is affected by the data being self-reported. Self-reported data lacks reliability and can be impacted by reporting biases like social desirability, where a business submits data because they are expected to even if inaccurate, or submits data that shows a decrease in bags distributed assuming that’s the desired outcome of the reporting. Examples of unreliable data in the data set include businesses reporting distributing zero or one bag, reporting the same value both years or reporting values that show almost a 100% decrease in bags distributed. • The accuracy of the reporting data is also affected by the lack of ordinance enforcement, where businesses might not consistently adhere to the ordinance (i.e., tracking and charging for each carryout bag), so may be under-reporting the actual number of bags distributed. This has been observed in anecdotal conversations with City staff, City commissioners and residents who have shared that businesses did not charge for their carryout bag(s) during a transaction, either because they were never prompted to or were advised that the policy did not apply to their transaction (e.g, thinking the fee does not apply to paper bags). • The completeness of the reporting data is affected by the low number of businesses reporting. Several retailers who are assumed to distribute a high number of carryout bags did not submit data, such as Target and Walgreens, which would influence the monthly bag distribution numbers. In addition, most retailers at Southdale Mall and the Galleria did not submit data. Of the estimated 300 retailers in Edina, only 69 submitted data (23% reported). Page 6 of 46 Data Analysis To understand the impact of the carryout bag fee, the analysis focused on 34 of 43 businesses who submitted data both years to provide a more accurate year-to-year change and observation of operational and customer behavior changes. Because of anomalies in the self-reported data, such as reporting the same value each year or a 100% increase in bags distributed, nine retail businesses who submitted data for both years were not included in this analysis. Grocery Store Trends Three grocery stores submitted data both years, providing a more consistent look at changes to in-store operations and customer behaviors. Both the total monthly bags distributed and the average monthly bags distributed per store decreased from 2024 to 2025. Looking at each individual store, two grocery stores saw a decrease from 2024 to 2025 for monthly bags distributed, and one saw an increase from 2024 to 2025. Table 1. Bag Fee Reporting Data and Comparison for Grocery Stores with 18 Months of Data (n=3) Grocery Stores 2024 2025 2024 to 2025 Change Total Monthly Bags Distributed 166,526 150,506 -10% Average Monthly Bags Distributed per Business 55,509 50,169 -10% Retail Store Trends Thirty-one retail stores submitted data both years in the analyzed data set. Similar to grocery stores, both the total monthly bags distributed and the average monthly bags distributed per store decreased from 2024 to 2025, but at a higher rate than grocery stores. Table 2. Bag Fee Reporting Data and Comparison for Retail Stores with 18 Months of Data (n=31) Retail Stores 2024 2025 2024 to 2025 Change Total Monthly Bags Distributed 13,333 8,412 -37% Average Monthly Bags Distributed per Business 430 271 -37% Staff completed an additional task to scrub the data for retail stores because of the range of values and annual changes in the dataset of 31. Staff removed retail businesses whose monthly estimated bags distributed increased or decreased more than 25% from 2024 to 2025. This resulted in 17 retail businesses being removed. This smaller dataset (Table 3) still shows a decrease from 2024 to 2025 in the monthly bags distributed, but at a smaller rate than the dataset with 31 stores (Table 2) that is more consistent with the grocery store sector (Table 1). Page 7 of 46 Table 3. Bag Fee Reporting Data and Comparison for Retail Stores with 18 Months of Data, Scrubbed (n=14) Retail Stores 2024 2025 2024 to 2025 Change Total Monthly Bags Distributed 5,096 4,641 -9% Average Monthly Bags Distributed per Business 364 331 -9% Page 8 of 46 Submitted Carryout Bag Fee Data This list includes all businesses who self-reported bag distribution data. “2024 Bags” represents July 1–December 31, 2024, and “2025 bags” represents January 1–December 31, 2025. To estimate the count of monthly bags distributed, the 2024 values were divided by 6 and the 2025 values were divided by 12. The monthly change was only calculated for businesses who submitted data for both reporting cycles. “Yes” in the “Included in Analysis” column indicates a business was included in the comparison analysis summarized in the June 2, 2026 Staff Report. An asterisk (*) denotes businesses removed during the secondary scrub for retail stores with a 25% or higher increase or decrease in monthly bags. Business Name Business Address Business Classification 2024 Bags 2025 Bags Monthly Estimate, 2024 Monthly Estimate, 2025 2024 to 2025 Monthly Change Included in Analysis Advanced Skin Therapeutics 6525 Barrie Road Retail 83 149 14 12 -10% Allure Intimate Apparel 3400 Galleria Edina MN Retail 5,000 - 833 - - Anderson Dentalcare 3925 W 50th St, Suite 104 Retail 124 - 21 - - Art Frame of Edina MN 5111 Gus Young Lane Retail - 250 - 21 - Aveda 1855 Southdale Center Retail - 2,553 - 213 - Bean Plus Ro, LLC 4506 Valley View Rd Retail 1,200 - 200 - - Blick Art Materials 3867 Gallagher Drive Retail 6,341 12,764 1,057 1,064 1% Yes bluebird boutique 3909 W 50th Street Retail 500 1,000 83 83 0% Chuck & Don's 6821 York Avenue S Retail - 2,635 - 220 - Coccinella 4946 France Ave S Retail - 1,701 - 142 - Cos Bar Edina 3905 W 50th St Retail - 4,184 - 349 - Cub Foods Southdale 6775 York Avenue S Grocery 380,162 651,560 63,360 54,297 -14% Yes CVS Pharmacy 6905 York Avenue S Retail - 35,500 2,958 - Dalana Space, LLC 6804 Cheyenne Trail Retail 20 - 3 - - Dermatology Specialists 3316 West 66th Street Retail 147 69 25 6 -76% Droolin' Moose 4545 77th Street West Retail - 1,560 - 130 - DUGO 3939 Market St Retail 839 1,773 140 148 6% Yes Page 9 of 46 Business Name Business Address Business Classification 2024 Bags 2025 Bags Monthly Estimate, 2024 Monthly Estimate, 2025 2024 to 2025 Monthly Change Included in Analysis East West Girl 3933 Market St Retail 1,936 2,970 323 248 -23% Yes Edina Skin Care Specialists 7450 France Ave, Suite 230 Retail 130 - 22 - - Evereve Incorporated 6800 France Ave S, Suite 700 Retail 3,450 1,232 575 103 -82% Yes* Faribault Mill 3922 W 50th Street Retail - 1 - 0 - Fashion Avenue 4936 France Ave S Retail 1,762 3,563 294 297 1% Yes Fawbush's 3585 Galleria Retail 2,047 4,533 341 378 11% Yes Finish Line 2120 Southdale Center #A Retail - 9,505 - 792 - Flirt Boutique 3927 Market Street Retail 1,800 1,600 300 133 -56% Yes* Games by James 1930 Southdale Center Retail 3,167 5,252 528 438 -17% Yes GEAR Running Store 4406 France Ave S Retail 127 - 21 - - goGLOW 7493 France Ave S Retail 200 200 33 17 -50% Goodnight Moon 4388 France Avenue S Retail - 1,000 - 83 - Great Clips 5125 Gus Young Lane Retail 158 126 26 11 -60% Yes* grethen house 4930 France Avenue S Retail 4,786 4,556 798 380 -52% Yes* Harriet and Alice 3922 W 50th St Retail 762 1,470 127 123 -4% Yes Hobo 3490 Galleria Retail 838 1,450 140 121 -14% Yes J Crew 1150 Southdale Center Retail 2,677 5,154 446 430 -4% Yes JB Hudson 3555 Galleria Retail 2,520 3,000 420 250 -40% Yes* Jerry's Do It Best Hardware 5115 Vernon Avenue S Retail - 6,060 - 505 - Jerry's Foods Edina 5101 Vernon Avenue S Grocery 469,730 822,100 78,288 68,508 -12% Yes Jett Beauty 3940 West 50th Street Retail 23 61 4 5 34% Jos A. Bank 6380 Rogerdale Road Retail 3,750 2,420 625 202 -68% Yes* Kowalski's Edina Market 324 Southdale Center Grocery 149,263 332,408 24,877 27,701 11% Yes lululemon 10 Southdale Center, Suite 2585B Retail - 70,000 - 5,833 - lululemon 50th & France 3914 W 50th St Retail 4,800 5,000 800 417 -48% Yes* Page 10 of 46 Business Name Business Address Business Classification 2024 Bags 2025 Bags Monthly Estimate, 2024 Monthly Estimate, 2025 2024 to 2025 Monthly Change Included in Analysis LUNDS & BYERLYS (LUND FOOD HOLDINGS, INC.) 7171 France Ave S Grocery 172,777 - 28,796 - - LUNDS & BYERLYS (LUND FOOD HOLDINGS, INC.) 3945 W 50th St Grocery 180,457 - 30,076 - - Lush Handmade Cosmetics 3915 W 50th Street Retail 1,490 2,787 248 232 -6% Yes Madewell 1562 Southdale Center Retail 2,114 7,636 352 636 81% Yes* MADEWELL 3510 Galleria, Space 3464 Retail 7,052 7,838 1,175 653 -44% Yes* Mainstream Boutique of Edina 7523 France Ave S Retail 322 654 54 55 1% Yes Massage Envy 7101 France Ave S Retail 1,080 75 180 6 -97% Melly 3327 Galleria Retail 1,000 7,000 167 583 250% Oliver Taylor & Company 3939 W 69th St, Suite #28 Retail 5 - 1 - - Pacifier 4942 France Ave S Retail 1,050 3,462 175 289 65% Yes* PARACHUTE HOME INC 3165 Galleria Retail 138 - 23 - - Pathway Books and Music 6901 Normandale Road Retail 264 326 44 27 -38% Yes* Pumpz 3511 Galleria Retail 326 - 54 - - PXG 10 Southdale Center, Suite 2180C Retail - 0 - 0 - Ragstock 10 Southdale Center, #2015 Retail - 485 - 40 - SENTi 3922 West 50th Street Retail 756 1,296 126 108 -14% Yes Serge + Jane 4532 France Ave S Retail 750 700 125 58 -53% Yes* shop in the city 3921 Market St. Retail - 39 - 3 - Sloane's on 44th 4388 France Avenue S, #100 Retail 318 202 53 17 -68% Yes* Spalon Montage 3909 Market Street Retail 6 2,200 1 183 1,8230% Talbots 3936 W. 50th Street Retail 1,748 - 291 - - The Men's Wearhouse 6380 Rogerdale Road Retail 12,500 2,491 2,083 208 -90% Yes* The Metropolitan Clinic 7300 France Ave S Retail 161 212 27 18 -34% Yes* Tiffany and Company 10 Southdale Center, Suite 2754 Retail - 791 - 66 - Page 11 of 46 Business Name Business Address Business Classification 2024 Bags 2025 Bags Monthly Estimate, 2024 Monthly Estimate, 2025 2024 to 2025 Monthly Change Included in Analysis TimeScape USA LLC 6800 France Ave S, Suite 173 Retail 150 - 25 - - Trail Mark 3265 Galleria Retail 4,380 7,072 730 589 -19% Yes Twill, Inc 3295 Galleria Retail 3,257 4,950 543 413 -24% Yes Vernon Avenue BP 5209 Vernon Avenue Retail 100 100 17 8 -50% Victoria's Secret 10 Southdale Center Retail - 11,777 - 981 - Vivront 4948 France Ave S Retail 2,153 2,179 359 182 -49% Yes* Walgreens 4916 France Ave S Retail 5,400 - 900 - - Whole Foods Market 7401 France Ave S Grocery - 427,200 - 35,600 - Yeti Coolers 3510 Galleria Retail 1,800 2,273 300 189 -37% Yes* Page 12 of 46 Item Report September 10, 2026 Energy & Environment Commission Item Number: 7.1 Department: Public Works Item Activity: Action Prepared By: Marisa Bayer, Sustainability Manager Item Title: Work Plan Initiative 4: Food Security Assessment Action Requested: Approve draft report. Information/Background: Commissioner Bartholomew will present the Food Security Assessment Report. The Commission has the opportunity to present their findings to Council and should determine who will present. Staff Liaison Bayer will coordinate scheduling the presentation after approval. Supporting Documentation: Documents marked with "Board Portal" do not meet ADA Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (URL) and are not included in the public packet. To request a board portal document, please submit a data request (URL). 1. Food Security Assessment Draft (Board Portal) Page 13 of 46 Accessing Grocery Stores in Edina: A Preliminary Analysis using Census and Zoning Data Brooke Bartholomew, Mateo Frumholtz, Tom Tessman Page 14 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 2 Table of Contents 1. Background..................................................................................................................................3 3. Key Findings and Conclusions...................................................................................................7 4. Maps............................................................................................................................................10 4.1 Edina Grocery Stores...........................................................................................................10 4.2 Edina Grocery Stores and SNAP.........................................................................................12 4.3 Edina Grocery Stores and Age............................................................................................14 4.4 Edina Grocery Stores and Vehicle Access...........................................................................16 4.5 Edina Grocery Stores and Walkability..................................................................................18 4.6 Edina Grocery Stores and Bikeability...................................................................................19 4.7 Edina Grocery Stores and Public Transit.............................................................................21 4.8 Edina Grocery Stores and Land Use...................................................................................23 Table 1. Existing Land Use (Total Acres), Edina 2016...............................................................24 Table 2. Demographics and grocery store access by mode, Edina...........................................26 5. Strategies for Improvement......................................................................................................27 6. References..................................................................................................................................31 7. Appendices.................................................................................................................................32 Appendix A.................................................................................................................................32 Appendix B.................................................................................................................................33 Page 15 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 3 1. Background The City of Edina Climate Action Plan (CAP) was developed and approved as a roadmap for the City to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and to increase climate resilience. The Energy and Environment Commission (EEC) took on multiple items from the CAP for its 2026-2027 Work Plan, including Item #4: Food Security Assessment. The EEC was charged to Study and Report to the council its findings on the state of food security among Edina residents, and recommend strategies to increase food security, including identifying areas within the city for improvement. The guiding CAP sections, strategies, and actions are as follows: Section 06: Local Food and Agriculture Strategy LF2: Increase access to local food, particularly serving low income and food insecure individuals. Action LF2-1: Conduct a detailed Food Security Assessment to determine food insecurity conditions within the city, areas with limited access to full service grocery stores and markets (particularly within areas of higher vulnerable populations), identity areas within the city for improvement, and establish detailed strategies to increase food security within city. Another relevant strategy is: Strategy LF1: Increase production of local food and its resilience to climate shocks, particularly serving low income and food insecure individuals. Page 16 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 4 Scope of the Study This report analyzes food security for residents living within the city of Edina, using the latest publicly available census data (2023 American Community Survey - ACS) and zoning data. The primary questions of inquiry centered on 1) geographic access to full-market grocery stores (stores with fresh produce and/or culturally appropriate foods such as Halal), 2) whether the most vulnerable populations in Edina are being served by the current location of grocery stores, and 3) whether all residents of Edina can access fresh food using transportation that is more climate-friendly and equitable, taking into account mobility and income restraints. The study uses data such as Supplementary Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) (Min-Fang, 2024) and vehicle access (Keyes, 2025) as indirect markers for income level, and looks more closely at vulnerable populations such as seniors over the age of 60 (Tohit, 2025). All licensed grocery stores or markets that sell fresh produce within the Edina city limits were included in the study, as well as licensed grocery stores less than one mile outside the Edina city limits. Grocery stores or markets that do not sell fresh produce were excluded from the study, as were the Edina Farmer’s Market and Community Garden due to the seasonal nature of their produce availability, and the existing Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), due to the requirement of a subscription to access the produce. While the typical definition of a “food desert” uses a uniform 1 mile distance from a grocery store paired with low income status (Ver Ploeg, 2011), this study uses various modes of transportation and the duration of transit on their existing routes (i.e. public transit lines, cycling or pedestrian infrastructure) to determine which areas may be more vulnerable to food insecurity and where improvements can be made. A more thorough food security assessment would involve a survey of residents, but that was outside the capabilities of this commissioner. This study also did not include prices at grocery stores, although that is an important feature of access and food Page 17 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 5 security, as that often fluctuates and would require more in depth cost data from grocers and income data from residents to determine affordability of groceries related to their cost. Page 18 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 6 2. Data and Methods We primarily used data from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS), collected and distributed by the US Census Bureau. We accessed this data using the tidycensus package in R. We also relied on zoning and parcel data, and transportation route and stop data provided by the city of Edina. We mapped the location of grocery stores within the Edina city limits as well as those within one mile of the municipal borders. We extracted data from the 2023 ACS at the block group level and overlaid it onto the grocery store maps. Rather than relying on a circular distance or time radius to estimate physical accessibility to a grocery store, we created isochrones which more closely resemble real-world travel distances and times. Isochrones are geometric polygons that capture the distance or time it takes to travel to one location using roads and trails, rather than direct lines. Isochrones are irregular shapes precisely because they take into account the accessibility, or often inaccessibility, of navigating certain urban planning landscapes. For example, an isochrone might identify that neighbors living 100ft from a grocery store do not fall within a 10-minute walking distance if there is a highway in between them and their grocery store, while a standard circular radius would omit that analysis. We created these isochrones in 5 and 10 minute walking efforts as well as 8 minute biking efforts. We used the mapboxapi package in R to create these isochrones. We then intersected all the census block group centroids with the isochrone polygons to identify the demographics of residents that live within certain travel times of grocery stores. We repeated this process for transit stops as well to estimate how many people might reasonably rely on public transit when accessing grocery stores. Page 19 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 7 3. Key Findings and Conclusions Food is a necessity, and in a fully-developed city such as Edina with no subsistence agriculture and very limited local food production at scale (i.e. community gardens, urban farms, etc.), this means residents must travel to a grocery store to access food, regularly if not frequently. Transportation is one of the largest sectors contributing to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions locally and globally, and encouraging mode-shift is one of the goals of the EEC and of the City of Edina. However, when options for alternative transportation modes are limited, or do not provide adequate access for regular trips to key destinations, such as grocery stores, residents may find it difficult to make a habit of shifting away from traveling via private vehicle to more climate-friendly modes. Alternatively, a significant percentage of residents (>10% in some areas) have no access to a private vehicle at all (see Map 4.4), and more still may have limited access to a private vehicle, meaning they have no other choice than to either navigate the limited transit options, or seek support from a nonprofit such as VEAP (Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People) or Help at Your Door - these organizations make deliveries of food and essentials to residents in need, while VEAP operates stationary and mobile food pantries - which have constraints on available funds and volunteer/staff capacity. In 2024, 3,180 unduplicated Edina residents were served by VEAP, including 1,778 who accessed their mobile food pantry (see Appendix A). VEAP’s stationary food pantry is located in Bloomington, 5 miles from Southdale center and around 12 miles from the Northwest corner of Edina, distances that are inaccessible to those without reliable transportation or limited funds. Also in 2024, 1154 deliveries of food and essential household items were made by Help At Your Door (see Appendix B). These residents need to be part of our calculations when Page 20 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 8 deciding on issues such as zoning and multimodal infrastructure to ensure they have adequate access to the necessities of life. The city is roughly divided into four quadrants by two highways - highway 100 running North-South, and highway 62 running East-West. Using this segmentation, the Southeastern quadrant of the city provides much more access to groceries than the rest of the city (see Map 4.1), based on several metrics: the total number of grocery stores, plus grocery stores within a short walking or biking distance, and public transit lines serving residents that stop near grocery stores. The Southeastern quadrant also has higher rates of SNAP recipients (indirect low income marker) (see Map 4.2), seniors over the age of 60 (see Map 4.3), and households without a vehicle (see Map 4.4) - all indicators of populations who may be more vulnerable to food insecurity - making this quadrant a possible model for how the rest of the city could improve its access to food. The main downsides of the Southeastern quadrant are the lack of bicycle infrastructure, and presence of large parking lots that may make pedestrian access uncomfortable and potentially unsafe. Currently there is only one protected bike facility, the Nine Mile Creek Trail, and one unprotected bike facility, both of which still require cyclists (or those who are otherwise rolling) to leave the bike facility to actually reach the grocery store itself (see Map 4.6). Some areas west of highway 100 could be categorized as food deserts, given the lack of grocery stores (1 in each quadrant) (see Map 4.1), lack of accessibility by any of the transportation modes assessed, and income levels as represented by SNAP recipients. While the rates of SNAP recipients are lower than the Southeastern quadrant of the city, each quadrant west of 100 has areas where 3-6% of the residents receive SNAP (see Map 4.2), as well as areas where 40-60% of residents are over 60 years of age (see Map 4.3) - populations vulnerable to food insecurity. The Northwest quadrant also has areas where 5-10% of households have no vehicle (see Map 4.4). The areas west of highway 100 show a lack of alternative Page 21 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 9 transportation modes: limited bikeability even with arguably more existing bike facilities than the other quadrants, extremely limited walkability to grocery stores because of the distance, and extremely limited public transit infrastructure (see Map 4.5, Map 4.6, Map 4.7). Commercially-zoned land parcels are low across the entire city, except the Southeastern quadrant (see Map 4.8). A glaring absence from Edina’s grocery store selection is culturally-appropriate foods such as Halal (see Map 4.1) - none of the grocery stores within Edina’s city limits are marketed as Halal, meaning residents who desire those foods may have to travel farther and opt for vehicle-based travel to access them. A survey of residents asking about income, transportation mode for groceries, frequency of travel for groceries, mobility issues, etc. would be helpful to explore the depth of food insecurity in the city, as well as cost of groceries at the existing stores, and information on whether and how much residents grow food in backyard or frontyard gardens. The lack of that data is a weakness of this assessment, which is based on census tracts, existing infrastructure, and zoning. Page 22 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 10 4. Maps 4.1 Edina Grocery Stores There are 8 licensed grocery stores or full-service markets that sell fresh produce within Edina city limits. None of those stores are marketed as Halal. . Page 23 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 11 The majority (5) are concentrated in the Southeast quadrant of the city. The remaining 3 are each in a separate quadrant of the city (SW, NW, NE). There are 10 licensed grocery stores or full-service markets that sell fresh produce outside the city but within less than one mile of Edina city limits. Out of those, 3 are marketed as Halal. Page 24 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 12 4.2 Edina Grocery Stores and SNAP The highest concentrations of SNAP recipients live in the Southeast quadrant of Edina. The census tract with the highest concentration (>6%) has two grocery stores. Also in the SE quadrant Page 25 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 13 are tracts with 3-6% SNAP recipients, and 3 grocery stores. A tract with 3-6% SNAP recipients in the NW quadrant has only one licensed grocery store. The two remaining grocery stores are in census tracts with 0 or 0-1% SNAP recipients. Page 26 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 14 4.3 Edina Grocery Stores and Age Senior residents may have limited mobility, fixed incomes, health concerns, or other factors that make them more vulnerable to food insecurity. Edina’s senior residents (60+) live in higher concentrations in the SE corner of the city, with one area in the Southdale area containing over 60% of residents over 60 years of age; this overlaps with the highest concentration of grocery Page 27 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 15 stores (3). The grocery stores in the SW and NW quadrants lie on the edge of tracts that have 40-60% of residents over 60 years. The grocery store in the NE quadrant is in an area with 30-40% of residents over 60 years. While the highest concentration of Edina’s senior residents are in close geographic proximity to grocery stores, other senior residents across the city are far from the nearest grocery store. Page 28 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 16 4.4 Edina Grocery Stores and Vehicle Access Most Edina households have access to a vehicle, but many do not. Households with no vehicle access may rely on other forms of transportation, such as public transit, biking, or walking, or rideshare in order to access food. Page 29 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 17 The highest concentration of Edina households with no access to a vehicle is in the SE quadrant, overlapping with the highest concentration of grocery stores (5). One grocery store in the SW quadrant is in an area with 100% household access to vehicles. The other two grocery stores are in locations where 2-5% of households do not have vehicle access. Two areas where 5-10% of households do not have a vehicle do not have grocery stores within them. This data does not appear to include households with a vehicle deficit, meaning there are fewer vehicles than driving-age adults in the household. Vehicle deficits, similar to no vehicle, can affect transportation for members of the household who do not regularly have access to the household’s vehicles. Page 30 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 18 4.5 Edina Grocery Stores and Walkability Only a small minority of Edina residents can walk to grocery stores within 10 minutes, and an even smaller amount within 5 minutes. The SE quadrant of the city has a larger area where residents can walk to a grocery story within 10 minutes. Most residents in the SW, NW, and NE quadrants of the city are not within 5-10 minutes walking distance. Some grocery stores outside of Edina’s city limits are within a 10 minute walk of Edina residents. Residents in these areas may choose to give business to a grocery store outside of Edina’s city limits. Page 31 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 19 4.6 Edina Grocery Stores and Bikeability More areas of Edina are within a 5 minute bike ride of a grocery store. Gaps still remain in the NW and SW quadrants, as well as the central part of the city along highway 62 and particularly near the intersection of highway 62 and highway 100. Page 32 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 20 The majority of existing bike facilities are not protected. The one major protected bike facility - the Nine Mile Creek Trail (9MCT) - provides a safe route to at least one grocery store, with two others nearby. However, many residents who have access to that trail would have to bike farther than 5 minutes on that trail to reach a grocery store. Page 33 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 21 4.7 Edina Grocery Stores and Public Transit Where public transit lines exist, every grocery store except one (7 total) are within a 5 minute walk of the nearest bus stop. Most of the existing public transit routes are concentrated in the eastern part of the city. Many of the residents in this area are within a 5 minute walk of a bus stop that Page 34 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 22 would take them within another 5 minute walk of a grocery store. There is a lack of public transit routes across the entire NW and SW quadrants of the city. Page 35 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 23 4.8 Edina Grocery Stores and Land Use Small areas of Edina are zoned for commercial and retail use, with those areas concentrated in the SE quadrant of the city. Commercially zoned parcels are sparse in the NW, SW, and NE quadrants of the city. City-owned land is more evenly distributed across the city. Page 36 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 24 Table 1. Existing Land Use (Total Acres), Edina 2016 Use 2016 Acres Percent Total Acres (2016) Single Family Detached 5,419 53% Park, Recreational or Preserve 972 10% Golf Course 666 7% Institutional 444 4% Major Highway 442 4% Multifamily 433 4% Office 395 4% Retail and Other Commercial 313 3% Industrial and Utility 299 3% Single Family Attached 272 3% Open Water 269 3% Undeveloped Land 216 2% Mixed-use Commercial & Other 51 1% Mixed-use Industrial 17 0% Page 37 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 25 Mixed-use Residential 17 0% TOTAL 10,225 100% Data Source: Edina 2018 Comprehensive Plan, Metropolitan Council The largest category of land use in Edina is Single Family Detached, with 53% of total acreage. Retail and Other Commercial, Mixed-use Commercial & Other, and Mixed-use Residential - areas where grocery stores could exist - make up only 4% of total acreage. Page 38 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 26 Table 2. Demographics and grocery store access by mode, Edina Mode Time (minutes) Percent of 60+ Residents Percent of Total Residents Walking 10 32% 27% Biking 8 69% 65% Data Source: 2023 American Community Survey An estimated 27% of total Edina residents and 32% of senior residents (age 60+) can walk to a grocery store within 10 minutes. Around 65% of total Edina residents and 69% of senior residents can bike to a grocery store within 8 minutes, although there may or may not be existing or protected bike facilities to ensure safe bikeability (see Map 4.6). Page 39 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 27 5. Strategies for Improvement For any of the following strategies, the city should focus on these priority areas of greatest need: - Areas in the Northwest quadrant, particularly near neighborhoods such as Presidents, Rolling Green, Todd Park, Birchcrest, and Melody Lake. - Areas in the Southwest quadrant, particularly near neighborhoods such as Creek Valley, Normandale Park, Brookview Heights, and the Heights. - Areas in the Northeast quadrant, particularly near neighborhoods such as Creek Knoll, Chowen Park, and Strachauer Park. Potential strategies the city can pursue are as follows: 1. The city can explore increasing commercial or mixed used zoning to priority areas. a. The city could incorporate this into the Comprehensive Plan process or other zoning code updates, in order to allow new grocery stores to enter the priority areas. This would also aid the effort to increase public transit across Edina, as the Metropolitan Council stipulates having more economic destinations in order to expand transit routes. Lack of public transit routes across the city contribute to difficulty accessing food, particularly for residents who do not own a vehicle or have a vehicle deficit household. 2. The city can undertake a feasibility study on municipal grocery stores. a. Municipal grocery stores could provide meaningful access to locally grown produce at affordable costs and with attention to culturally appropriate foods. The three Edina Liquor stores are a great example of a municipal operation that has provided quality service and benefits to residents since 1948. Undertaking a feasibility study Page 40 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 28 on municipal grocery stores would allow the city to explore different schemes, learn about operating costs, potential budget needed, and evaluate the benefits or drawbacks of municipal grocery stores. The next phase, if deemed feasible, would be to select a property to establish a pilot. The city should ensure that this is placed in a priority area accessible via pedestrian and bike facilities and/or public transit. b. If the city were to open a municipal grocery store, the city can build relationships with local farms, following Climate Action Plan action LF 2-4: Analyze existing Municipality purchasing and procurement policies and explore creating a policy preferring purchasing locally grown foods - thereby increasing local resilience as well. 3. The city can partner with local community groups to open food pantries or open municipal food pantries. a. Edina currently has no food pantries. The city could partner with trusted local community-based groups to open and operate non-means-tested food pantries within the city limits, acting as a stopgap to address the immediate food insecurity that residents may face, especially as inflation climbs and food prices become more unaffordable. Food pantries can include refrigerators to keep fresh produce. The city should ensure that these are placed in priority areas accessible via pedestrian and bike facilities or public transit. Alternatively, the city could explore opening a municipal food pantry. 4. The city can take actions from the Climate Action Plan designed to increase local food production. (Note that this strategy should be taken in concert with other strategies, as local food production is seasonally dependent and does not necessarily guarantee equitable access to food.) Page 41 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 29 a. LF 1-1 Review ordinances and development regulations to remove barriers to and promote urban agriculture and sustainable foraging practices. b. LF 1-2 Support existing school and community gardens and expand community growing spaces with a focus on locating garden infrastructure to serve youth, immigrants, and people with lower incomes or who are experiencing food insecurity. Provide on-going promotion, communication, and education of the sites and opportunities including translated and accessible content when appropriate.* c. LF 1-6 Establish a public Food Forest by adding edible trees, shrubs, and planting regionally native vegetables to existing public landscaping including boulevard and right of way areas. Select an existing property for a pilot project. (This has been operationalized by the City Forester, with pilots at Weber and York Parks. The upcoming food forest is part of Fred Richards Park Master Plan.)* d. LF 1-8 As part of the 2025 zoning code update and/or the 2050 comprehensive plan process, allow community gardens or urban farms on vacant land in all zoning districts, except industrial, to increase the availability of locally produced food for all residents.* e. *In order to make sure these are equitable, the city should prioritize placing food forests and new community gardens in priority areas accessible via pedestrian and bike facilities or public transit whenever possible. 5. The city can educate residents on public transit options for accessing food. (Note that this strategy should be taken in concert with other strategies, as public transit is not spread equitably throughout the city and will not currently address food access by itself.) a. Public transit in the Southeastern quadrant of the city provides easy access to several grocery stores for residents who live in the area (Map 4.7). This should be highlighted for residents in the area who may not have a vehicle or other reliable mode of transportation. The city could provide residents with additional education Page 42 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 30 and support to utilize public transit for groceries, such as sharing information on best practices for carting groceries on the bus, or promotional campaigns mapping out which grocery stores are along bus routes. Such a campaign might also help increase mode shift generally for residents who live near public transit, in line with CAP Item TL 2: Double public transit commuter ridership from 3.3% to 6.6% by 2030. The city is already expanding its pedestrian and bike facilities, which will greatly help improve access once more grocery stores or food pantries are established. Page 43 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 31 6. References 1. Keyes, Laura M., Jintak Kim, Sowmya Balachandran, Sara Kuttler, and Simon Andrew. 2025. "Missing Meals and Missed Rides: Transportation Barriers to Food Access for Vulnerable Populations" Urban Science vol. 9, no. 6: 198. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9060198 2. Min-Fang Wei, Craig Gundersen, “Income and food insecurity among SNAP recipients: a consideration of the SNAP benefit formula”, European Review of Agricultural Economics, Volume 51, Issue 1, January 2024, Pages 157–184, https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbad039 3. Tohit, Nor Faiza Mohd, et al. “Seniors and Sustenance: A Scoping Review on Food Security in the Elderly.” Advances in Human Biology, vol. 15, no. 1, Jan. 2025, pp. 47–65, https://doi.org/10.4103/aihb.aihb_201_24 4. Ver Ploeg, M., Nulph, D., & Williams, R. (2011, December 1). Mapping Food Deserts in the United States. Mapping Food Deserts in the United States | Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2011/december/data-feature-mapping-food-deserts -in-the-u-s Page 44 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 32 7. Appendices Appendix A Page 45 of 46 ACCESSING GROCERY STORES IN EDINA 33 Appendix B Page 46 of 46