A city food security office could be Philly's next charter question. Its hearing is Nov. 18

Two days after Philadelphia voters approved two changes to the city's Home Rule Charter, City Council has scheduled a hearing on the next proposed one. The Committee on Law and Government will take up Council President Kenyatta Johnson's plan for an Office of Food and Nutrition Security at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, according to the posted agenda for that meeting.

If it moves forward, residents would vote on it in the spring. The ballot bill sets the question for the May 18, 2027 primary, the same election in which voters will choose nominees for mayor and all 17 Council seats (our 2027 explainer).

What's on the agenda

Two pieces of Johnson's "Philly Food Affordability Act," introduced Oct. 8 (our explainer):

• Resolution 260845 proposes the charter amendment itself.
• Bill 260829 would put it on the ballot.

A third piece, Bill 260833, which would write the office's detailed duties and the advisory commission's makeup into the city code, isn't on the Nov. 18 agenda.

What the amendment says

From the resolution text:

• It creates an Office of Food and Nutrition Security, led by a director the mayor appoints with the consent of a majority of Council.
• The director needs at least five years of senior leadership experience in food policy, public health, nutrition, human services, government, nonprofits or a related field.
• The charter would set the director's salary at $175,000.
• It creates a Food and Nutrition Security Advisory Commission. Council would decide by ordinance how many members it has, how they're chosen and what it does.
• The office would collect and publish data on food and nutrition security and the local food system.
• The changes would take effect Jan. 1, 2028.

The ballot bill spells out the question voters would see. It asks whether the charter should create the office and commission to "promote citywide access to sufficient healthy, affordable, nutritious, safe, and culturally appropriate food."

Johnson tied the package to federal SNAP changes that took effect Oct. 1, the Inquirer reported. Nothing in it would change food aid for households right away, the Inquirer and PhillyVoice noted.

What our records add

• The vote count. Under the state law governing Philadelphia's charter, proposing an amendment takes a resolution approved by two-thirds of Council, which is 12 of 17 members, as the resolution itself notes. Our record lists nine sponsors on both pieces: Johnson, Anthony Phillips, Jim Harrity, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Mike Driscoll, Nicolas O'Rourke, Nina Ahmad, Quetcy Lozada and Rue Landau. Sponsorship isn't a vote, and other members may support it without signing on.
• Not on the list: Mark Squilla, Jamie Gauthier, Curtis Jones Jr., Jeffery Young Jr., Cindy Bass, Brian J. O'Neill, Isaiah Thomas and Kendra Brooks.
• 41 days to a hearing. Both pieces were introduced and referred to committee Oct. 8.
• How Tuesday's questions got there. Both charter changes approved Nov. 3, on small-business contracting and Creative Philadelphia, went through the same two-step process of a resolution and a ballot bill (what passed).

What's next

• Nov. 18, 10 a.m.: Law and Government hearing, Room 400, City Hall, with public testimony usually taken.
• If the committee approves both, the resolution and bill would return to the full Council for votes. Council's remaining 2026 sessions are Nov. 19, Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.
• Separately, Council has approved hearings on city-supported grocery stores and on algorithmic grocery pricing, which have no dates on our calendar yet.