The City of Burnaby is taking steps to ensure residents continue to enjoy healthy, sustainable meals with the adoption of a new Food System Strategy (FSS).
The strategy is a long-term plan which outlines how the City will support sustainable food systems—from production to consumption—outlining specific actions to improve the availability of locally sourced food which is affordable, and produced and processed ethically.
The adoption of the new Food System Strategy is underscored by ongoing Canada-wide trends, including rising food prices, which have impacted Burnaby residents. In 2022, approximately 7,000 people in Burnaby turned to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank every week, a trend which is expected to continue to rise.
The FSS includes both short and long-term policy changes to support residents’ access to nutritious, affordable food. Some of the key actions recommended in the FSS include:
- amendments to the Zoning Bylaw to improve the ease of local food production
- enhancing and protecting food-producing land from the effects of climate change (including the Agricultural Land Reserve and salmon-bearing rivers and streams)
- supporting the creation of a new community-based Food Advisory Table
The strategy was developed in consultation with a committee of experts representing business, agriculture, faith, health, education and community advocacy organizations. A public survey on Burnaby’s food systems, conducted in 2022, as well as direct feedback from many of the people who grow food in the Big Bend Agricultural Land Reserve also helped to shape the strategy.
Learn more: Food System Strategy