Surrey/White Rock Food Action Coalition –
Overview of the committee
I. Introduction
The Food Action Coalition, a collection of passionate agencies, is working on the “Moving Food Policy Forward in Surrey and White Rock” project. The foundation for this project began with a group meeting including a wide variety of stakeholders in May 2005, and has operated in the community with project funding from the United Way and Fraser Health. We believe that every member of the steering committee has an important contribution to make towards moving food policy forward in our communities.
II. Vision
The long term vision of this project is that food policy be integrated into community decision making in Surrey and White Rock in order to enhance community food security. Food policy is the METHOD this group has chosen to work toward community food security.
Community food security works toward the following three outcomes:
- decrease hunger
- increase local food sustainability
- improve nutritional health.
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III. Purpose
The purpose of the Steering Committee is to provide direction and support to the overall goals of the Moving Food Policy Forward in Surrey and White Rock project.
IV. Membership
The Steering Committee consists of organizations, agencies, groups and individuals in the Surrey/White Rock area who seek to move Food Policy forward in their organizations and in their communities. Members may include, but are not limited to: local community organizations, health authorities, citizens, health charities, municipalities, faith organizations, educational institutions, and provincial health/nutrition organizations.
Current Members:
· Canadian Cancer Society
· Concerned Citizens
· Directorate of Agencies for School Health
· BC Healthy Communities
· City of Surrey
· South Fraser Women’s Services
· Food for Kidz
· Fraser Health
· Peach Arch Community Services Food Bank
· St. Mark’s Anglican Church (Ocean Park)
· Surrey Food Bank
· United Way
· Diverse City
· School District 36
· Vibrant Surrey
PROJECT SYNOPSIS -
Moving Food Policy Forward in Surrey and White Rock 2005 – 2007
PHASE 1 (2005): Community Outreach and Education & Assessment of Food Policy within Organizations
Moving Food Policy in Surrey and White Rock was initiated to build the foundation needed to move Surrey and White Rock toward integrating food policy into community decision making. The main scope of this project was to execute an environmental scan for food policies that exist in various organizations in Surrey and White Rock.
In total, twenty-five organizations had meetings with our committee members and completed surveys about their organization’s food policies. Results gleaned from the completed surveys highlighted a number of key recommendations for furthering food policy in Surrey and White Rock, and set the stage for continued momentum for this project.
PHASE 2 (2006): Community Forum & Creation of Toolkit
Phase 2 consisted of community outreach and education through the development of a food policy toolkit, and the hosting of a Community Forum on Food Policy. Approximately 80 participants attended the Forum, representing a wide range of community organizations. The Forum and the Toolkit were used to engage the population in food policy and stimulate dialogue about how food policy can be incorporated into organizations.
PHASE 3 (2007): Stakeholder Engagement and Sustainability
The overarching goal of phase 3 is stakeholder engagement and sustainability. The three main goals of this project include:
1) Steering Committee Development - to work towards strategic planning and expansion of the committee; and
2) Organizational/ Community Outreach - to continue with the organizational food policy focus initiated in Phases I and II.
3) Municipal engagement – to continue to strengthen ties with municipalities
PHASE 4 (2008): Community & Municipal Engagement
The Food Action Coalition is currently working on four major projects:
1) Community forum – to increase community interest in food security issues that impact their lives
2) Municipal engagement – to work in conjunction with the City of Surrey to develop a Food Charter to be integrated into the Sustainability Charter
3) Farmers market – to research the feasibility of developing a farmers’ market in the Newton area
4) Create culturally sensitive food security documents - to create food security tools in multiple languages
