jillumbach Food Security Action Group

Food Charters

The Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force briefly examined the Waterloo Region Food Charter (April 2013) at its 27 November 2013 meeting. The Group agreed that this was a good platform for starting/contributing to strategic change in the area.  It was agreed that this would be a key agenda item for the next meeting on January 8th, 2014.

Brendan Wylie-Toal, who serves as co-chair of the Waterloo Region Food Roundtable, says the charter is a “set of guiding values or principles. There’s nothing in there that’s going to force a municipal government to do anything. Our hope is that it’s a stepping stone to policies in the future that do have a little bit more teeth.”

The charter emphasizes that residents of the region must have access to affordable food, and encourages government policies that assist area farmers and prioritize “small and medium-sized” food processors and distributors.

Group members look at the following document:  Waterloo_Region_Food_Charter_final_Apr8

The Guelph-Wellington Food Roundtable has developed a toolkit for their Food Charter funded by the Healthy Communities/Public Health, The Research Group and The Trillium Foundation.  Specific sections of the toolkit are targeted to Eaters, Growers, Businesses and Institutions; Policy Makers and Community Food Projects.

GWFRT_Toolkit_Final_2013

Fifteen Ontario municipalities have already endorsed local food charters, including Guelph, London, Toronto and York Region.

 

1.  “How To” guides for creating a food charter

 

2. A sample of existing Food Charters:

 

 In March 2013, the provincial government introduced the Local Food Act, which aims to promote locally produced food and help more of it appear in restaurants and on grocery store shelves.

jillumbach Research, Resources

Best practices in local food: A guide for municipalities

“We all want to raise awareness, and to celebrate the good things that are grown, harvested and made in Ontario. Sharing best practices and building on good ideas with a view to expand local food capacity demonstrates our collective commitment to support the success of our agri-food industry and to grow strong local food economies across Ontario.”

Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario

In March 2013, the government introduced Bill 36, the Local Food Act, 2013, which emphasized the importance of maintaining and growing Ontario’s local and regional food systems through a shared vision and collaborative partnerships, and creates a mechanism for setting local food goals and targets. According to the Act, the term “local food” refers to food produced or harvested in Ontario, and subject to any limitations in the regulations, food and beverages made in Ontario if they include ingredients produced or harvested in Ontario. The purposes of this Act are:
• To foster successful and resilient local food economies and systems throughout Ontario.
• To increase awareness of local food in Ontario, including the diversity of local food.
• To encourage the development of new markets for local food.3

The Local Food Resource Guide serves as a tool to enable municipalities to identify, develop and support dynamic local food initiatives and to promote evidence-based decision making regarding local food goals and targets. Ultimately, the Local Food Resource Guide aids in preparing municipalities to set targets, steps that are being taken to reach the targets, and progress that is being made towards meeting the targets.

Best Practices in Local Food

jillumbach General Information, Media

5 Canadian Premiers Stepping Up to the Local Food Plate

17 Jun 2013

The political will to get more local food onto the public plates – is gearing up. No less than five Canadian Premiers have made solid commitments to furthering the local food movement. Three Premiers have specifically  said they want to see more  publicly funded institutions purchasing local foods and one Premier has set a target of 50% local on every plate!

New Brunswick’s  Premier David Alward  wants New Brunswickers to buy into local – especially blueberries . Here are a couple of  snippets from the NB throne speech (delivered November 27, 2012).

“In response to industry’s desire to expand blueberry production in Northeast New Brunswick, your government has put increased emphasis on identifying suitable land and infrastructure required to further develop this crop.”

“Your government has committed to promoting local community food products to residents, visitors and businesses as part of its strategy to grow the Value-Added Food sector. Your government will build on this effort with initiatives to promote the benefits of healthy food choices.”

Manitoba’s Premier, Greg Selinger  specifically wants students, patients, seniors and others in receiving care in publicly funded institutions to enjoy local foods.  The MB throne speech (delivered April 16, 2013) articulated:

“Our government will support a new local sustainable food initiative to increase purchasing from local agricultural producers, promoting community economic development by creating linkages with local farmers to bring more fresh healthy foods into public institutions and facilities”

Nova Scotia’s  Premier Darrell Dexter  has made a commitment to a a “Buy local” campaign .  Here are two key points in the NS throne speech (delivered May 26, 2013):

“Buy Local” has broad support from Nova Scotians, who know their farmers and fishers produce the best and safest food in the world. Buying locally produced food means Nova Scotians are getting fresher, healthier food and practicing environmental responsibility, and it makes good economic sense, too.

My government will increase Buy Local efforts through an expanded Select Nova Scotia marketing and awareness campaign. These efforts will help educate Nova Scotians about where our food comes from while supporting farm growth, farmers’ markets, locally harvested fish, and direct marketing initiatives.

Ontario’s Premier, Kathleen Wynne  has not only appointed herself as the Minister of Agriculture – elevating the status agriculture in that province to a level it so richly deserves –  but she is also pressing forward with a comprehensive food act – the Ontario Local Food Act (bill 36).  The purposes of the Bill are:

1)  To foster successful and resilient local food economies and systems throughout Ontario

2)  To increase awareness of local food in Ontario, including the diversity of local food

3)  To encourage the development of new markets for local food [Source: Local Food Act]

The Bill includes the establishment of local food goals and targets in consultation with stakeholders, ongoing work with public sector organizations to meet the goals and targets, regular reporting on efforts to support local food, and the establishment of “Celebrate Ontario Local Food Week” and other awareness activities.

And a whole new level of provincial government support for local foods was achieved when Quebec’s Premier, Pauline Marois  declared Quebec’s food sovereignty and promised her government would aim to ensure 50% of the food on Quebec plates would be from nearby farms, rivers and lakes.

“Whether it is at the grocery store, at the restaurant or in Quebec homes, Quebec foods will be raised to the level of jewels of our economy and emblems of our identity,” Marois said in her rural riding of Charlevoix-Côte-de-Beaupré. (Source:  The National Post, May 16, 2013).

Bottom line?  ”The future for Farm to Cafeteria in this country is so bright – I need sunglasses”, says Joanne Bays, National Manager Farm to Cafeteria Canada