Local and sustainable foods for City facilities
Purchasing local and sustainable food supports the City's and Park Board's goals to reduce greenhouse gases, increase food security, improve health and well-being, and create local green jobs.
As a food purchaser, we lead by example by encouraging local and sustainable products in our food choices.
We have been learning from stakeholders, industry experts, and pilot projects about how to best define, purchase, track, and report local and sustainable food.
How we define local and sustainable food
Local food
To the City of Vancouver, local food is raised, grown, produced, or processed within BC.
Sustainable food
We define sustainable food as food that is certified and labelled as at least one of the following:
- CFIA organic
- USDA organic
- Non-GMO Project
- Food Alliance
- Protected Harvest
- BC SPCA
- Fair Trade
- Fair for Life (Fair Trade)
- Rainforest Alliance
- Ocean Wise
- Sea Choice (green rated products)
- Marine Stewardship Council (Blue Eco-Label)
This list may vary as certifications change or new certifications are created.
How we track and report food procurement
City staff track and report to Council and the public on three main metrics:
- Local food purchased
- Sustainable food purchased
- Local and sustainable food purchased
How we procure local, sustainable food
We evaluate food procurement proposals on three sustainability-related qualities:
- Reduced carbon footprint
- Ecological, humane, and socially responsible
- Healthy and fresh
