Réseau pour une alimentation locale durable -

Report: Local Food Futures for British Columbia

File / Document

Some highlights of the Report’s findings include:

  • Increased public knowledge about local food systems
  • Expanding the local infrastructure for food processing, storage and distribution
  • Finding ways to support established and new farmers
  • Protecting access to foodlands and fresh water

Working with the media (presentation slides)

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The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada hosted a webinar May 23, 2014, which detailed strategies for working with the media as a non-profit organization. Topics covered include: overview of different types of media and reach; which is most desirable for your cause; how to craft stories and pitch/reach the media; working with a small budget; and searching for results/evaluation.

Working with the media (audio recording)

Web Link

The Heart and Stroke Foundation hosted a webinar May 23, 2014, which detailed strategies for working with the media as a non-profit organization. Topics covered include: overview of different types of media and reach; which is most desirable for your cause; how to craft stories and pitch/reach the media; working with a small budget; and searching for results/evaluation. Listen to the audio recording, or

New Farmer Programs in Europe

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New Farmer Programs: Support Programs for New Entrants to Farming in the European Union and Quebec. This report, written by Baka Serkoukou for Food Secure Canada and FarmStart, provides policy and program details on new farmer initiatives in Italy, Spain, France and Quebec. The source materials, in french, spanish, and italian, have been analysed and summaries of the means and mechanisms for program implementation are provided in the report.

Stranded in Atlanta's Food Deserts

Web Link

In a region that prides itself on celebrity chefs and lush farmers markets, half a million people live without access to something as basic as a grocery store.

Groundswell: A Guide to Building Food Security in Rural Communities

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Groundswell: A Guide to Building Food Security in Rural Communities is full of information and links to tools and resources.  Get started with tools that will help you to reach out to your community to find out what is needed and by who.  Then get inspired by the section describing programs and services that are being offered in other communities.

Municipal Food Policy Entrepreneurs

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Municipal Food Policy Entrepreneurs: A preliminary analysis of how Canadian cities and regional districts are involved in food system change, by Rod MacRae and Kendal Donahue, was published in June 2013 and is a collaboration between the Toronto Food Policy Council, the Vancouver Food Policy Council and the Canadian Agriculture Policy Institute.

Local Food Systems & Public Policy: A Review of the Literature

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Local Food Systems & Public Policy: A Review of the Literature, published in 2009 is a joint publication of Équiterre & The Centre for Trade Policy and Law at Carleton University. This review of existing knowledge about local food systems is grounded in a food sovereignty lens since, as the Executive Summary states, local food systems are an effective means to achieve food sovereignty. The scope of the review is global, drawing on information from a wide variety of social, political and economic contexts.

Workforce Multiplier Effect of Local Farms and Food Processors

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The Workforce Multiplier Effect of Local Farms and Food Processors in Northwestern Ontario report, published in Feb 2013, is a collaboration between North Superior Workforce Planning Board, Northwest Training and Adjustment Board, Lake Head University and the Food Security Research Network. The study helped to determine workforce training needs for the region, but also, as the Executive Summary states, "demonstrates the importance of the food production sector in providing both direct and indirect employment in the region".

Soil Testing in Urban Gardens

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From the Ground Up: Guide for Soil Testing in Urban Gardens is a publication of Toronto Public Health. This very practical document was published in October 2013 and helps the reader to understand how to determine the level contamination risk for any potential or current garden and how to adapt one's gardening to the state of the soil. Very user-friendly document that will be helpful in communities across Canada!

Is Nova Scotia Eating Local?

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Is Nova Scotia Eating Local? and if not... Where is our food coming from? was published in July 2010 in a collaboration between the Noval Scotia Federation of Agriculture and the Ecology Action Centre. Authors Jennifer Scott and Marla MacLeod explored how far food was traveling before landing on the plates of Nova Scotians and what percentage of the food was locally sourced. The report provides important data to support the promotion of Nova Scotian food and food economies in the province.

Le botin 2013 des statistiques sur l'alimentation au Québec

Un botin qui se veut la une base de référence économique pour tous ceux qui s'intéressent à la distribution alimentaire au Québec (commerces de détail, grossistes et services alimentaires).  Il vise à mieux comprendre le secteur d'activité et les mouvements de changements observés dans la demande des consommateurs et le contexte d'affaires actuel.

Bill 36, Local Food Act

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Local Food Act passed in Ontario.

Sustainable Food Purchasing Guide

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This guide was created to help institutions and individuals who want to do the right thing. It strives to eliminate the confusion that can come with new purchasing practices and sets a framework so you can purchase food that is good for you, your customers, the community, and the land.

BC Agriculture: Climate Change Adaptation, Risk + Opportunity Assessment

The 2012 report entitled BC Agriculture: Climate Change Adaptation, Risk + Opportunity Assessment provides a high level overview of the implications of climate chang for the BC agriculture sector, including the key areas of risk and opportunity and the factors that will influence the industry's ability to adapte and thrive. It will provide a baseline assessment of the potential impacts of climate change across the province for the agriculture sector.

Big Farms, Small Farms: Strategies in Sustainable Agriculture to Fit All Sizes

Written by Hugh Maynard and Jacques Nault, Big Farms, Small Farms explores and and proposes strategies for establishing and supporting sustainable agriculture for all scales of farming in Canada.  The report focuses on three major elements, information, planning and resources, with the aim of identifying practical program and policy strategies to support sustainable agriculture in Canada. Published by the Agriculture Institute of Canada.

2013 Overview of the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food System

A biennial report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the 2013 report provides an economic overview of the Canadian agriculture and agri-food system with the latest comprehensive annual data from 2011.

Realizing justice in local food systems

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Patricia Allen of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California explores the potential for equity within food-system localization in practical and conceptual terms. 

Loi 36, Loi de 2013 sur les aliments locaux

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Le loi sur les aliments locaux proposé en Ontario

Bill 36, Local Food Act 2013

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Ontario's proposed Local Food Act