What does the $3B National Food Strategy mean for Guelph?

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 to consolidate harvests from small farms across the region to provide a reliable supply for institutional buyers, such as community-owned grocery stores, while reducing reliance on intermediaries that add costs throughout the supply chain. Here in Guelph, with our close proximity to local farms and connection to world-class food researchers and organizations, we cannot pass this up.

The need for regional food hubs arises because the concentration of our food system extends far beyond grocery stores alone. In fact, the Strategy highlights that of every dollar Canadians spent on domestically produced food in 2022, only about 11 cents went to farmers, while the remaining 89 cents went to others across the supply chain, including processors, retailers, and other intermediaries (p.8). Regional food hubs offer an opportunity to keep more of that value within our own communities by strengthening local processing, distribution, and retail capacity. Successful food hubs already operating in Atlantic Canada demonstrate what is possible and provide a model that could help Guelph realize its potential as a leader in building a sustainable, affordable, and localized food system.

Beyond investing in new infrastructure, the Strategy highlights an important role for municipalities in creating the conditions for local food businesses to succeed. It notes that "regulatory requirements at the municipal and provincial level exacerbate the complexity of the system, further increasing costs" (p.13). While regulations remain essential for protecting public health, safety, and the environment, municipalities can help by reviewing local policies and approval processes to reduce any unnecessary red-tape that is directly driving up our food costs at a time of record-level food insecurity.

Taken together, these investments create an opportunity for Guelph to develop a more localized, sustainable and affordable food system that is not charitable, but innovative, welcoming, educational, and celebratory of foods grown right here in our local environment. At the same time, we can ensure that the people who grow our food receive decent incomes for their work by cutting out the intermediaries.

Drawing from nearly 10 years of food system experience acquiring over $1 M for food security projects, my goal on Council is to ensure this opportunity doesn't slip through our fingertips and that we receive the maximum benefits that this plan affords us.