Food Policy Council launches community consultations for local food strategy development

By Christena Lawrie, CFRC's Broadcast Journalist and Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

The Food Policy Council (FPC) for KFL&A is continuing its work toward a comprehensive regional food strategy, launching a series of five targeted focus groups over the coming weeks.

The FPC, formed in 2013 as a forum to discuss local food issues, announced that they would be developing a comprehensive food strategy for the region in 2024.

Advancing that initiative, in collaboration with Queen’s University and other community partners, the council is embarking on consultations designed to better understand what communities across the region need in order to build a more sustainable and equitable local food system.

These consultations will take a deeper dive into five key areas: Rural Food Production, Urban Food Production, Food Security, Food Retail and Distribution, and Food Education and Literacy.

The process had a strong start with the first consultation, focused on Rural Food Production, including farmers and market gardeners, taking place on Monday.

FPC members, Co-Chair Ellen Mortfield and Queen’s University School of Environmental Studies Assistant Professor Kristen Lowitt, sit down with CFRC News to discuss the launch of the consultation process and next steps.

Listen to the full story here.