kingston city council to look at food policy
new policy meant to address food access, small infrastructure enhancement, innovation and pilot projects and food business start-up grants.
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kingston city council.
(elliot ferguson/the kingston whig-standard)
elliot ferguson
/
the whig-standard
kingston — city council is to consider a plan to spend $300,000 earmarked to improve access to food.
the funding includes $200,000, one-time contribution included in the 2025 budget and $100,000 in revenue from the fines for food program.
the food system framework was a response to about 10 initiatives included in council’s strategic plan for this term.
in january, in the leadup to its 2025 budget deliberations, city council heard about a rise in the number of people accessing food access programs and that one in nine households experience food insecurity in kingston, a statistic that prompted city council to declare a food insecurity emergency and call for provincial and federal money to address the issue.
“the goal of the framework is to map out programs and actions that impact the food system, identify opportunities to empower and collaborate with partners, create a structure for monitoring food systems, provide recommendations to strengthen them and track progress toward resulting goals,” jennifer campbell, commissioner of community services, wrote in a report to council.
“based on research, an internal environmental scan and initial engagement with partners, staff worked on the creation of a municipal food framework as a first step in aligning food initiatives across the municipality,” campbell added. “the goal of the framework is to understand the programs and actions that impact the local and regional food system, identify opportunities to empower and collaborate with partners, create a structure for monitoring food projects and activities, provide recommendations to strengthen them and track progress toward resulting goals.”
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the food framework is to be built around four main funding streams, including meal provision and food access, small capital and infrastructure enhancement, innovative projects and pilot initiatives and food business start-up grants.
“at the municipal level, strategic planning helps address the food system holistically, examining how food is grown, processed, distributed, consumed and disposed of. by assessing how these processes overlap and influence one another, municipalities can establish strategic collaborations and allocate resources effectively to create a stronger, more connected food system.”
the food system framework is to be discussed at council’s tuesday night meeting.
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