Food Policy

Vancouver's Food Strategy

 

How do I get involved?

Talk food with us! Tell us what you think. What are your favourite food sources in your community? What’s missing? Do you have local food stories, memories or experiences to share? How should Vancouver’s food future evolve?

• Attend City of Vancouver food strategy events in your community, or invite us to an event that you’re holding.
• Attend a Vancouver Food Policy Council meeting.
• E-mail us your ideas and feedback on your food system priorities.
• Ask us about our Food Engagement Toolkit to start conversations with your neighbours, friends, family or community.

Contact us at: foodpolicy@vancouver.ca
Twitter: twitter.com/CoVFoodPolicy
Blog: vancouverfoodpolicy.tumblr.com

Background information about the Vancouver Food Strategy (PDF, 1.09MB)

 

What’s a food strategy?

A food strategy is an official plan that will help Vancouver focus on specific goals and actions to improve our food system. It will look at policies that affect how food is produced, processed, distributed, accessed, consumed and recycled. The strategy will build on policies that already exist and address gaps where needed. Goals of the Vancouver Food Strategy could include:

• ensuring that neighbourhoods have grocery stores or farmers markets within walking or cycling distance
• improving access to nutritious, local and affordable food (e.g. through community kitchens, fresh produce stands)
• creating more opportunities to grow food in the city (e.g. community or rooftop gardens, urban farms, community orchards)
• reducing the distance between food production and consumption (e.g. policies supporting farmers markets, “buying local” campaigns)
• nurturing citizen-based groups to advise on food policy issues (e.g. Food Policy Council and Neighbourhood Food Networks)
• supporting food celebrations that reflect the diversity of our city
• improving the ways that we manage our food waste (e.g. medium and large-scale food composting, community composting programs)
• integrating food policies into city-wide and neighbourhood plans

 

Why is city government involved in food?

The City can support and change our food system for the better through many activities where we have responsibility and leadership including: zoning or by-law changes; updating land regulation policies; grant programs; public outreach; and partnerships with other levels of government and community organizations.

Dozens of city governments across Canada and the United States have become directly involved with food issues over the past two decades. The City, the Vancouver Food Policy Council* and community organizations have been working together since 2003 on food issues.

This collaborative approach has produced some important outcomes such as more community gardens and farmers markets, support for Neighbourhood Food Networks, and the creation of a Vancouver Food Charter.

 

Why do we need a strategy?

The ways that we produce, access, prepare, eat and dispose of food is directly linked to the sustainability of our city and the vibrancy of our neighbourhoods.

A food strategy will build on the work already underway to improve our food system, integrate new ideas, and create a vision for the future.

It will look at all aspects of the food system from field to table and back again. The system covers everything from growing, to the manufacturing and packaging of food. It also includes the transportation, sale and distribution of food, and the waste it generates.

Making nutritious and locally produced food easily accessible is a hallmark of an inclusive community. A vital food system needs strong links between food policy, planning, and on-the-ground activities.

 

What does this mean to me?

We all have a stake in our food system, whether it’s having more opportunities to grow our own food; having a local food market within walking or cycling distance; helping improve access to affordable food; participating in community composting programs; or taking part in community food celebrations.

 

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