All topics Housing Getting Around Climate Food Growth & Planning Budget & Taxes

Victoria Robertson

City/Township Council · Waterloo Ward 3

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All topics Housing Getting Around Climate Food Growth & Planning Budget & Taxes
This candidate finalized their responses after this guide and scoring methodology was published.

Food Systems & Security

In the context of growing pressure for economic development and the connected loss of farmland, what role do municipalities and the Region hold in promoting local food livelihoods, production, and processing?ranked from highest to lowest importance
  1. Develop a local food strategy, including research on how land-use change affects the food system
  2. Partner with other levels of government to develop local food hubs that reduce costs and barriers for small businesses
  3. Promote and support low-barrier spaces for local producers to distribute and sell food
  4. Encourage and support local landowners to rent to newcomer farmers
  5. Leave local food livelihoods to the private market
How should municipalities and the Region approach food insecurity and affordability?select up to 3 per part
A. Access to food
  • Partner with local charities, non-profits, and other organizations to strengthen access to food and redistribution of surplus food and produce for low-income residents
  • Support the development of community buying clubs or municipal grocery stores
  • Support local food procurement for school food programs, including processing/preparation infrastructure, food literacy, and youth learning opportunities
B. Access to land for growing food
  • Make public lands (Regional and municipal) available for sustenance food provisioning, including in urban and peri-urban spaces as cities expand
  • Enable access to land and resources for local people who want to grow their own food (e.g. the community-garden model)
  • Encourage and support private landowners to make lots available for food provisioning

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to strengthen the local food system.candidate's own words

Ward 3 is home to a number of excellent community gardens, which are critical to the food systems for a number of the people in the community. There is currently work being done to expand a new Glenelm community garden, and I would be strongly in support of more community gardens and spaces across the ward. A component of this is also a public education campaign surrounding how to grow, and not picking other peoples foods.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on food systems?candidate's own words

I feel strongly that we should be partnering more effectively with our local farmers to have more local food available in small farmers markets, or even grocery stores. I believe prioritizing locally grown food is critical to continuing to support those food systems and growing a diversity of crops in the area.