5.0 Inspiring Strategies

A number of communities across British Columbia and other jurisdictions have plans and strategies that address food security The aim of providing this information is to understand how regions or municipalities are perceiving food security and insecurity and, within their specific context, the different ways they plan on addressing these issues.

The strategies and plans reviewed are recent documents from the past five years. They are mostly from communities or regions in BC, and have either agriculture, food security, or urban agriculture as a focus. Key planning documents which provide a range of relevant strategies are: the Metro Vancouver Regional Food System Action Plan (2016), Food Secure Oliver (2018), and Kamloops Food and Urban Agriculture Plan (2015). These key documents and the others included below strategize around the following key areas to varying degrees:

• Protecting and expanding agricultural production locally. • Improving the viability of food production by local farmers. • Improving access to emergency food supports for food insecure individuals. • Supporting and expanding urban agriculture opportunities. • Improving food literacy among the public, particularly in educational settings. • Identifying ways to improve food waste collection (e.g. food recovery, compost programs).

Strategies and actions which are most relevant to Penticton have been included in Table 2 below. In some cases, the language has been adjusted to improve relevancy.

Table 2 – Food Security Strategy Best Practices

Plan/Policy Key Highlights BC

Metro Vancouver Regional Food System Action Plan (2016) • Strategy 1.1 Protect agricultural land for food production • Strategy 1.3 Enable expansion of agricultural production • Strategy 1.4 Invest in new generation of food producers • Strategy 1.5 Expand urban commercial food production in urban areas • Strategy 2.1 Increase the capacity to process, warehouse and distribute local foods • Strategy 2.2 Include local foods in purchasing policies • Strategy 2.3 Increase direct marketing opportunities for local foods

Food Secure Oliver (2018)

Kamloops Food and Urban Agriculture Plan (2015) • Strategy 2.5 review government policies and programs to ensure they enable the expansion of the local food sector • Strategy 3.1 Enable residents to make healthy food choices • Strategy 3.3 Enhance food literacy and skills in schools • Strategy 4.1 Improve access to nutritious food among vulnerable groups • Strategy 4.2 Encourage urban agriculture • Strategy 4.3 Enable non-profit organizations to recover nutritious food • Strategy 5.2 Reduce waste in the food system • Strategy 1.1 Promote and expand the use of and connection with urban agriculture • Strategy 1.2 Expand edible landscaping on public land • Strategy 2.2 Create and support a food culture inclusive to all residents and visitors • Strategy 3.1 Increase access to local foods in social services, schools, and neighbourhoods • Strategy 3.2 Encourage local food businesses and increase the number of places to buy local food and drink • Strategy 3.3 Recover high-quality food for sale and/or donation • Strategy 3.4 Increase community and commercial food processing and storage capacity for securing year-round supply • Strategy 3.5 Increase awareness of and advocate for food system and social policy systemic change • Strategy 5.1 Facilitate sharing of food skills and knowledge • Strategy 5.2 Coordinate the sharing and use of food preparation facilities and resources • Strategy 6.3 Establish and enhance information and resource sharing platforms and communication • Strategy 1.1 - Utilize existing land and infrastructure for sustainable food production. • Strategy 1.2 - Review zoning and other regulations to support urban and local agriculture. • Strategy 1.3 - Support increased accessibility of local food production. • Strategy 2.1 - Support commercial and communitybased food processing facilities.

District of Saanich Agriculture & Food Security Plan (2018) • Strategy 3.1 - Review regulations and policies to support local purchasing. • Strategy 3.2 - Expand networks to support the economic sustainability of the food system. • Strategy 3.3 - Promote farmers' markets and business models that provide fresh foods and support local producers. • Strategy 3.5 - Increase access to healthy local food for food-insecure populations. • Strategy 4.3 - Promote the local food system through place-making efforts. • Strategy 5.2 - Reduce and recycle food waste and build healthy soils. • Strategy 6.1 - Promote and facilitate knowledge transfer and skill development. • Strategy 6.2 - Utilize existing resources for food system education. • Strategy 6.3 - Utilize partnerships to build capacity for food system health and sustainability. • Strategy 6.4 - Promote food system education for specific population groups. • Objective 2B: Enhance community capacity to access healthy local food • Objective 3B: Strengthen public education on the local food system • Objective 3C: Support promotion of local farms and products • Objective 4A: Minimize wildlife impacts and address noxious weeds and invasive species concerns • Objective 4B: Encourage sustainable water management • Objective 4D: Encourage the implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures for the local food system • Objective 6D: Support affordable access to farmland