Farm To School is a well-established health promotion program that has been sprouting up all over Canada for some years now. Farm to School programs aim to connect schools and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals, improving student nutrition, providing educational opportunities and supporting local small scale farmers. In the last five years, the Public Health Association of BC has...Read More

A few weeks ago, students and community members joined together to battle out the title for top chef at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). Though the evening was truly competitive and intense, the event was part of a celebratory  Foods Week. UNBC’s foods week involved several ‘food’ events developed in a collaborative effort...Read More

Imagine a Ministry of Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems?, Or an agricultural land reserve that can only be used for farming? Or a provincial food procurement policy requiring hospitals to reach a target of 30% local? Or a renewal of the Buy BC program?. Yes, this is something British Columbians can expect if the BCNDP...Read More

Memorial University is making great strides towards food systems sustainability. In March 2013, Campus Food Systems Project Coordinators, Caitlin Colson and Sarah Archibald had the opportunity to visit Memorial University’s St. John’s Campus and see, first hand, the local food initiatives happening on campus and in the community. We had the chance to speak with...Read More

Designed to inform and inspire, this resource provides an overview of key Farm to Cafeteria concepts and models. It illuminates innovative and successful Farm to School, Farm to Campus, and Farm to Hospital programs in 5 urban, rural, remote, and aboriginal BC communities. Download: F2C-PathsToSuccessRead More

The UBC Campus Sustainable Food Guide is a great resource package detailing the initiatives that are happening at UBC and weighing in about food education, engagement and much more. Check it out the UBC Sustainable Campus Food Guide here!Read More

The Government of BC is providing a one-time contribution to help BC’s agricultural and agri-products sector increase local presence and consumption of BC agrifoods by expanding or launching their own marketing campaigns. Under the Buy Local Program, businesses and organizations can apply for matching funding (i.e., applicants are required to contribute 50% of the total cost...Read More

Ontario is affected by many trade agreements that potentially restrict its ability to enact public procurement measures that discriminate in favour of local food. However, an examination of some of the limitations and exceptions of certain trade agreements that affect Ontario as well as a review of public procurement measures adopted by jurisdictions subject to similar trade agreement restrictions,...Read More

Source: The Tyee- October 19, 2012 Local fish, pulled from the cold water off the north coast, is a staple on the menu at the eight-bed hospital in Masset, a town of roughly 1,000 located on the largest island of Haida Gwaii. Patient meals also regularly feature local potatoes and onions from nearby farmers; part of...Read More

Source: The Tyee- October 18, 2012 Following on the example of St. Joseph’s hospital in Guelph, a nationally-recognized model of bringing local food into big institutions, we wanted to find out how patients’ meals measure up in Vancouver. Indeed, could we do a plate-by-plate comparison of hospital meals: their ingredients, how far they’d travelled, what our health...Read More