Strategies
Hamilton Food Strategy
Engage Hamilton
We want to hear from you!
No matter how you connect with food, we want to hear from you! We are seeking community input on our Hamilton’s Food Strategy, about new food programs, and food education.
Have your say and join the conversation!
- Take the Food Strategy Progress Survey
- Tell us about your experience with access to quality food in your neighbourhood
The Hamilton’s Food Strategy guides the food related work of City departments while supporting collaboration and innovation within the City and with community partners from all sectors of the food system. The Food Strategy takes a holistic approach that looks at all the parts of a food system to optimize the allocation of resources for food actions.
The Food Strategy provides a vision for our community, core principles that underpin the Strategy, 4 overarching goals, 14 recommendations and 46 actions based on a food system framework.
Food Strategy Vision
A city with a sustainable food system where all people at all times have economic and physical access to enough safe, nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences.
Food Strategy Goals
1. Support food friendly neighbourhoods to improve access to healthy food for all residents.
2. Increase food literacy to promote healthy eating and empower all residents.
3. Support local food and help grow the agri-food sector.
4. Advocate for a healthy, sustainable, and just food system with partners and at all levels of government.
The Hamilton Food Literacy Network is a coalition of Hamilton partners who are involved in food literacy actions - from growing food, preparing food, to providing food and nutrition education programs. The Network is open to anyone interested in capacity building, information sharing, and enhancing Hamiltonians’ ability to access community-based food literacy programs.
The Network, along with Public Health Dietitians, host Hamilton Food Literacy Month to showcase food inspired events that encourage everyone to get out, connect with other people who are passionate about food, and explore our City.
Food Literacy
Food literacy includes interconnected attributes organized into five categories:
- Food and Nutrition Knowledge about healthy eating, where food comes from, and understanding how nutrition can affect health
- Food Skills to be able to prepare healthy and safe meals
- Self-efficacy and Confidence to believe and apply knowledge and skills to prepare and choose healthy food choices
- Ecological (external) factors, such as the food system, culture or socio-economic status that influence eating
- Food Decisions that shape eating behaviour
The Hamilton Food Strategy vision is “a city with a sustainable food system where all people at all times have economic and physical access to enough safe, nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences.” One of the four goals of the Food Strategy is to “increase food literacy to promote healthy eating and empower all residents.”
What is Food Literacy Month?
Food Literacy Month celebrates and promotes our community working toward this vision and goal by providing a platform to showcase food literacy activities, events, and/or celebrations throughout the City of Hamilton.
Food Literacy Month is on from October 1st to 31st. This month-long celebration of food encourages Hamiltonians to get out, connect with other people who are passionate about food, and explore their community.
Once you've registered your event for Food Literacy Month, you should promote it! As a partner, one of the biggest ways you can help promote food literacy is by getting the word out to your network about Food Literacy Month. To help support the promotion of Food Literacy Month, the Hamilton Food Literacy Network has a Facebook page @HamiltonFoodLiteracyNetwork.
We encourage you to direct your audience to the Facebook page and this Food Literacy Month page for the full list of activities, events, and celebrations for participants to explore. We encourage you to promote your events through various social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and through your newsletters. For example, create a Facebook event for your Food Literacy Month activity and use online events page calendars to promote (e.g., Hamilton Spectator events page or on KX 94.7).
Conventional media or social media promotional ideas that can be used:
- Share why your organization chose to be a partner. Tell your story. What does mean to you to be a partner? What does Food Literacy mean to you?
- Highlight what your organization is doing in October for Food Literacy Month. Promote any activities, events, and celebrations associated with your organization.
- Create Facebook events and share posts of other food activities happening around the city
- Don’t forget to hashtag when you post about Food Literacy Month Hamilton and watch for other partner’s postings to support and share: #hammerfoodlit #foodliteracymonthhamilton #HamONT #foodislit
- Don’t forget to use the Hamilton Food Literacy Month logo when promoting your food literacy activity or event.
If you need additional content for your newsletters, blog, or website please contact us and we will work with you to develop that content. If you also have any any additional questions about messaging, social media, or other details about Food Literacy Month, please email us.
Photography Permission
We encourage you to capture your Food Literacy Month activity through photography. Please be sure you have the permission of the participants before taking photos of people’s faces. Download a sample photo release form.
You can also post a sign at your event that reads:
By taking part in this event you grant the event organizers full rights to use the images resulting from the photography/video filming, and any reproductions or adaptations of the images for fundraising, publicity or other purposes to help achieve the group’s aims. This might include (but is not limited to), the right to use them in their printed and online publicity, social media, press releases, and funding applications. If you do not wish to be photographed please inform an event organizer.
Contact Us
Richard MacDonald
Manager Food and Water Safety
City of Hamilton
Call 905-546-2424 ext. 5818
Email [email protected]
Krista D’Aoust
Food Advisory Committee Co-Chair
Call 905-547-1334 ext. 205
Email [email protected]
Subscribe for Project Updates
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation requires us to get your consent to communicate with you electronically.
If you want to receive updates and/or participate in developing the Food Strategy, send an email to [email protected] with the subject line "Subscribe for Food Strategy updates"
The City of Hamilton values your privacy and will not collect, use or disclose your personal information without your expressed consent.
Date modified
August 16, 2022