Tuesday February 27, 2024 | LANGFORD, BC
Island Social Trends
With a view to being part of the solution to Langford residents adapting to the much higher cost of natural foods, the Urban Food Resilience Initiatives Society (UFRIS) was started this year.
Many people have bought fewer natural healthy vegetables and fruits at the grocery store in the last two years as inflation and supply chain interruptions have pushed up the cost of fresh produce.
The urban planner’s dream of ‘a grocery store on every corner’ is not the approach for going forward. That is unaffordable for both retailers and customers.
Addressing this challenge to supply healthy food to residents takes an attentive approach to urban food resilience, both structural and social approaches:
- All buildings (residential, commercial and industrial) be constructed, organized or adapted to ensure food growing capacity (in-ground, in pots, or by use of agritech).
- All neighbourhoods get to know their own local food growing capacities to share yards, planting and harvesting activities.
A highly-organized food-growing garden in Langford would serve as a flagship operation to demonstrate how urban produce can be grown. Growing plots would be productive for individual households as well as donation to the community. There would also be opportunities for teaching and learning about soil, growing techniques, and composting. The facility could also serve as a depot for food growing supplies and harvested foods. This is particularly important for fulfilling the garden’s additional role as an emergency response facility.
The UFRIS group sees a positive outcome for all of the stated initiatives based on the Langford community’s awareness of the importance of natural food (healthy), grown locally (zero GHG footprint), and distributed effectively (social cohesion in emergencies).
This is not being in competition with grocery stores or food banks and their distribution networks. As Langford did during the early years of the COVID pandemic, we can put a local focus on the food resilience emergency for the well-being of our residents. Eating fresh natural nutritious food contributes to long-term health benefits and reduces impacts on the overall health care system.
The $5,000 grant funding request to the City of Langford community advisory committee tonight is to help fund preparation of strategies for structure planning and neighbourhood connections. We are ready to roll with planning and development of Langford’s first community garden as well (once Council and city planners and parks staff have determined a location).
Dial in to the meeting:
The meeting starts at 7 pm. Dial-in via Zoom at 1-778-907-2071 and the meeting ID is 895 1764 4567. Click here for the Community Advisory Committee meeting agenda.
Who is UFRIS:
Directors of the Urban Food Resilience Initiatives Society:
- Mary P Brooke, B.Sc. (urban food specialist)
- Rob Martin (west shore community leader)
- Dean Ross (landscape entrepreneur)
But the important work is being done by volunteers. That can include you!
===== RELATED:
West shore community leaders take on urban food resilience (February 10, 2024)
Urban food resilience requires municipal leadership (October 29, 2023)