Hamilton City Council Endorsed 10 Year Food Strategy
Hamilton, ON - August 12, 2016 - Today Hamilton City Council endorsed the 10 Year Food Strategy that includes four overarching goals, 14 recommendations and 46 actions focused on the city’s food system. From the 46 actions, five priority actions have been identified to focus on over the next three years. The City of Hamilton Food Strategy: A Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food System for All sets direction for resource allocation and decisions for how the City and community will address food issues.
The goals and actions within the Food Strategy support the Strategy’s vision to be a city with a sustainable food system where all people, at all times have economic and physical access to enough safe, nutritious to meet their dietary needs and food preferences.
The scope of the Food Strategy is broad and encompasses the entire food system including food production, processing, distribution, access, consumption, and food waste management. The Food Strategy is grounded in evidence and best practice around food systems, and extensive community engagement with over 2700 Hamiltonians.
Four Food Strategy Goals
- Support food friendly neighbourhoods to improve access to healthy food for all residents.
- Increase food literacy to promote healthy eating and empower all residents.
- Support local food and help grow the agri-food sector.
- Advocate for a healthy, sustainable, and just food system with partners and at all levels of government.
Five Priority Actions for Immediate Focus
- Funding Criteria Process: Create a formal, transparent process for requests for municipal funding for community food programs as they arise at any City of Hamilton subcommittee meetings or by Council via Council motions, delegations, or staff direction.
- Food Skills and Employability Program: Offer a food skills and employability program, particularly for vulnerable groups.
- Community and Neighbourhood Infrastructure: Build, retro-fit, or re-purpose community and neighbourhood infrastructure to support food initiatives, such as community kitchens, food markets, community gardens, etc.
- Food Literacy Network: Facilitate the creation of food networks to assist in capacity building, information sharing, and ability to access community-based food initiatives.
- Local Food Promotion: Expand marketing efforts to focus on Hamilton’s local food and farming sectors, while enhancing culinary tourism to promote local food businesses and events.
For more information on the Food Strategy visit www.hamilton.ca/foodstrategy.