CAMPAIGN NEWS

By: Dakota Cherry, Ward 5 Candidate The federal government recently announced its first National Food Security Strategy (the "Strategy"), backed by more than $3 billion in investments as well as clear metrics to measure its impact. Municipalities have an important role to play in this plan and, as a result, significant opportunities to benefit. For example, through the Strategy's proposed establishment of 10 regional food hubs by 2028, municipalities will have the opportunity

Written by: Dakota Cherry, Ward 5 Candidate After attending the eight-hour delegation on Niska Lands a few weeks ago and having some time to reflect on the complex issues presented, a third option came to me that exists outside the parkland-versus-housing zoning binary. As many Guelphites may know, Niska Lands has been under agricultural cultivation for the past 70 years, originally growing food for the waterfowl birds that grant the neighbouring park its namesake. Even befor

Written by: Dakota Cherry, Ward 5 Candidate Councillor Marty Carr in Ottawa is my aunt, and I lived with her in the year leading up to her election. I vividly remember her speaking about the need for more creative approaches to addressing the housing crisis. And she didn’t just speak about it: she practiced what she preached. When I couldn’t find an affordable apartment in Ottawa, she converted her basement into a small suite for me to live in at well below market cost. That

Written by: Dakota Cherry, Ward 5 Candidate Cities spend a surprising amount of money managing waste, and a big portion of that is food. Guelph’s budget doesn’t spell it out clearly, but if you compare it to Toronto where about $425 million is spent each year on garbage and compost you land somewhere around $20 million annually for a city of Guelph's size. That’s a lot of taxpayer money going toward managing waste, especially when much of that food never needed to be thrown o

Written by: Dakota Cherry, Ward 5 Candidate The construction happening downtown is necessary. Aging infrastructure, including cracked pipes, has been an issue for years, and these upgrades will ultimately make the area more functional and more inviting. But there’s a bigger question we need to ask: what will downtown look like when the construction is done? Because if the only businesses left are big banks and chains, we’ve lost something important along the way. We’re alread

By: Dakota Cherry Cities like Toronto and New York are starting to explore something that would’ve sounded unusual not that long ago: city-run grocery stores. The idea is pretty simple. If cities can run libraries, community centres, and public transit, why not explore a model where they also play a role in making food more affordable? Especially when food banks are stretched thin. At its core, this is about treating food as something essential, not a product to maximize prof