What are the opportunities and challenges that you see related to strengthening food security in the Capital Region?
What should our highest priority actions be to build greater food security in the Capital Region?
These are the questions that were put forward to 78 participants from across the Capital Region in two forums hosted by the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable (CR-FAIR) and the CRD Roundtable on the Environment Healthy Communities Subcommittee (RTE HCSC) over the past year.
The two working sessions were held on March 6, and March 13, 2006, as part of a project called “Putting Food and Food Policy on the Table”. The goals of the project are to:
1. Better link community needs and initiatives with local decision making and build supportive governance frameworks
2. Bring a wider circle of community members and decision makers into the process
3. Identify the key action planning areas and related action planning goals that would be the “Base” from which to begin a Food and Health Action Plan for the Capital Region in 2006
The people who participated in the forums came from a wide range of sectors with a stake in a healthy local food system: emergency food distribution organizations and networks, neighborhood houses, community associations, food distribution businesses, retail food outlets, restaurant owners, farmers, processors, community gardeners, planners, staff and Councilors from Municipal government, staff and Board members of the CRD, Food Policy Consultants, school Parental Advisory Committee members, educators, Faculty and researchers from the University of Victoria, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Vancouver Island Health Authority, Community and Social Planning Council, Canadian Cancer Agency and many other local community organizations).
We would like to thank everyone involved in the work that was done last year!
A solid foundation of information and analysis as well as a host of ideas were put forward around the proposed questions.
What did we learn?
What are the opportunities and challenges that you see related to strengthening food security in the Capital Region?
Land:
In the Capital Region there is excellent potential to grow food due to available and protected land, excellent climate, and a good supply of quality water. However, existing land is underutilized, unaffordable for many farmers to purchase, under constant development pressure, and continues to be excluded from the Agriculture Land Reserve.
Farming:
There is a vibrant and talented farming community, as well as young people who want to farm, and considerable training and support programs for new farmers. However, there are not enough farmers and not enough new farmers attracted to the field, farmers do not have access to land for farming due to availability and cost, farming often does not generate a sufficient income, and there is a shortage of skilled on farm labour.
Food processing and distribution infrastructure for small to medium scale food and farm operations:
Some participants expressed that due to regulatory regimes put in place by higher levels of government, trust has been replaced by regulation and as a result smaller, local operations are squeezed out, and their ability to respond creatively at the community and government level is diminished. There were especially pressing concerns about the introduction of the Meat Enhancement Strategy and its consequences for on-island meat processing facilities.
Consumer market for local high quality foods:
Interest in local food is growing due to health, environmental, and cultural interest, as well as culinary tourism. However, local food producers have a difficult time competing within a heavily subsidized global “cheap” food economy, there is still a disconnection between our food buying choices, what we are eating, and effects on our health, our communities and our environment, there is still a lack of research and education in regards to the economic, social and environmental benefits of eating locally produced foods, and poverty and low income levels adversely affect accessibility of healthy, nutritious food.
Governments at various levels are adopting policies in regards to healthy living and food security.
Provincial:
Regional and Local:
Challenges in the Public Sector:
What should our highest priority actions be to build greater food security in the Capital Region?
In order to increase consumption of local food and meet the demands of a growing population, participants suggested that we not only need to grow more food, but we need the infrastructure to store, process and distribute it. We need to protect our land base and also support the viability of farming.
· Restrict/prohibit removal of agriculture land from ALR
· Develop government land use and growth strategies and urban containment boundaries
· Develop demonstration development project where cluster housing protects farmland
· Support farmer training programs and improve farmers’ opportunities to access farm land
· Develop/support a Community Abattoir (that will comply with changes in regulations of the Meat Enhancement Strategy)
· Develop a local wholesale operation that will buy from small farms and processors to better meet the needs of the retail sector
Urban food production was consistently identified as a way to enhance our ability to produce food and improve access to fruits and vegetables for low income populations.
· Bring community garden awareness/support to people (e.g. via a mobile teaching and mobilization unit).
Continue to Build Access
Income levels often determine our ability to access a healthy diet. With over 50,000 people living in poverty in the Capital Region there is a need to build access for people living on low income.
Education/Awareness
The need for education on many levels was identified by all three groups. This includes educating the consumer on why buying local is important (health, environmental, economic, social and cultural), as well as to what is available and where. Some opportunities for action include:
· Institutions and local government create policies that give preference to buying local product where and when available.
Forum participants consistently recommended that work continue on a Regional Action Plan and Regional Food Charter/Policy, and that this work be done collaboratively by individuals, organizations, institutions and government. The idea for an Interdisciplinary Food Council was also put forward.
Suggestions were made by councilors on ways community groups could work more effectively with local decision makers which included:
The evaluations of the forums by the participants concluded that it was a very useful exercise and that we need to continue to build this initiative and in particular move to the next steps of fleshing out some of the actions suggested into community and political strategies. It was suggested to take this initiative forward for support at the CRD Board level as well as move forward action items identified on Council agendas.
It was also suggested to look at other successful models we could learn from and build on. There was a call to include more decision makers and representatives from some groups that were missing (First Nations and School Boards in particular) as we continue in this process.
To see the official report on the process and the findings please follow the following link