Local Food Purchasing Project

From Common Energy UVic

The Local Food Purchasing Project is a Planning Project to create a section of the Going Beyond Climate-Neutral Plan and is written by the Food Working Group.

THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT

Contents 1 Overview 2 Prime Actions 2.1 Proposals 3 Tools and Collaboration 4 Knowledge Base 5 Documents 6 Meetings 7 Contact

[edit] Overview

The local food purchasing project is designed to encourage the purchasing of more local foods. The purchase of foods closer to home will act to limit the amount of greenhouse gases released during food transport and storage from geographically distant sources. Shifting our food purchasing to more local sources is a first step in boosting the local food production capacity, improving food security and radically decreasing the greenhouse gases emitted during food delivery. The positive social and economic benefits of this switch will be felt throughout the region. The local purchasing project is the companion to the urban agriculture project; covering both production and consumption of necessary food.

[edit] Prime Actions

• Pocket Market
  • Build awareness of the market and foster a link with the Campus Community Garden. As a central hub for local food, the market offers a unique opportunity for education, project creation, and local food-related events.
• Promote opportunities for co-operative buying such as: community supported agriculture, box programs or wholesale ordering.
• Local purchasing in the Student Union Building (SUB) and the Graduate Student Society (GSS) operations.
  • Initiate the EatBC campaign, designed to encourage purchasing of food from B.C. This campaign can serve as an initial attempts at more local sourcing.
  • Work with the UVic Students Society (UVSS), GSS, local farmers, distributors, and the UVic Purchasing Department to increase local food purchasing.
• Demonstrate demand for local food through education (workshops partnered with the Campus Community Garden, as well as community groups), surveys, local specials on menus, integration with Residence Life cooking classes, and special events.

[edit] Proposals

• Shift UVic toward increased local food purchasing.
  • Collaborate with UVic Housing, Food and Conference Services and UVic Purchasing to promote and increase the number of local food options available in campus food outlets.
  • Work with distributors to increase the sourcing of local food.
• Purchasing Policy
  • Promote the adoption of a UVic local food purchasing policy.

[edit] Tools and Collaboration

• Local Food Purchasing Planning Tool

[edit] Knowledge Base

The Knowledge Base is a source for climate change information, including summary and analysis materials assembled by Common Energy and information researched by individuals and Working Groups. It also includes links to climate change expertise and other groups working on related issues.

• Food Knowledge

[edit] Documents

[edit] Meetings

This project is part of the Food Working Group. Please see that page for meeting details.

[edit] Contact

Lead: Caitlin Meggs

food "at" uvic.commonenergy.org