Burnaby council approves new food systems strategy

Burnaby City Council approved the city’s new food systems strategy during its meeting on Nov. 4. The new strategy is outlined in a 39-page document, available online to the public. The strategy aims to address various issues that contribute to food insecurity such as poverty, food deserts, sustainability and well-being. 

According to the document, the actions recommended in the new food systems strategy fall under five themes: growing and harvesting, food economy, policy and regulation, community sector support and structural change. 

The document mentions a sharp increase in the number of Burnaby residents utilizing food banks since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. 

“In 2022, approximately 7,000 people in Burnaby turned to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and their community affiliates, such as the Burnaby Neighbourhood House, for assistance per week. Notably, there has been a marked increase in the number of households with children and seniors seeking support, reflecting a significant growth from pre-pandemic numbers (approx. 2,000 people a week) and the 2021 figures (approx. 3,400 people a week),” the strategy document said. “The number of residents relying on food banks is expected to further increase, as the economic impacts of the pandemic persist and food prices continue to escalate.”

Food is connected to other issues relevant to Burnaby residents such as poverty, rising prices and housing costs. Coun. Alison Gu spoke with the Beacon about how some of the action items in the strategy have already started, especially those around poverty reduction and housing. As chair of the city’s Social Planning Committee, Gu has been involved in developing the food systems strategy. 

“One of the action items that's identified within the structural change one, for example, is to develop and implement a poverty reduction strategy for Burnaby, and that's in recognition that a lot of food insecurity actually stems from poverty and a lack of stable income to be able to afford all your needs,” Gu said. “What ends up happening for people who are really living paycheck to paycheck is what gets sacrificed is often food. I think that is a systemic issue that needs larger structural change from different levels of government.” 

Gu said this occurs because unlike rent, which is a fixed monthly cost that is non-negotiable, food tends to be a more fluid cost. Residents who are struggling sometimes prioritize rent and sacrifice on food. 

The strategy is also heavy on food production measures, such as urban farms, raising livestock in backyards and gardening. As more Burnaby residents live in apartments with little to no access to outdoor spaces for gardening, the city is developing new options for community gardens. 

While community gardens help foster community and improve mental health, they cannot provide the bulk of people’s food. The plots are often small and may not produce enough food for a family. Most community gardens in Burnaby have long waiting lists, sometimes as long as five years. Gu has suggested other ideas and options for urban food production such as “food forests.”

“This is actually an amendment that I had put forward at the Social Planning Committee that was passed and adopted by council, which was to look at programs like food forests, instead of just focusing all of our resources on community gardens,” Gu said. 

Gu added that the concept of food forests goes back to Indigenous land stewardship traditions and permaculture, such as the planting of species that have a symbiotic relationship to enhance food production, like the “three sisters.” The three sisters are traditionally beans, corn and squash. In addition, the land is shared communally and is not divided into individual plots that are rented or owned by an individual. 

The city hired a community garden planner to coordinate its new community gardens pilot project, however, although it launched a new community garden in Sept. 2024, the spots filled up fast and those who managed to secure a plot can keep it for up to three years. That means anyone who wants a plot, will have to wait several years to get one, or until the city designates a new area as a community garden. 

“I think applying these principles generally also can help to maximize the food production in an acre or acreage of land, or whatever small size that you've got, and having options for people. At the end of the day, I don't think that community gardens are going to be the solution to tackle food security, but we do need a range of options for people with regards to the amount of land,” Gu said. “I do think there's a lot of underused, underutilized city land that can be leveraged. I think there's opportunities, even with, you know, smaller areas of public land that are on rights of way or other opportunities we can be creative about harnessing.”

It may also take several years for Burnaby residents to feel the effects of the policy changes and new food strategy. 

“I think the challenge with this line of work is very much that whatever policy changes we make today likely won't have measurable impacts that people can really feel and see for at least a couple of years,” Gu said. “For the most part, there are a couple of action items that I think the city can do that will have very immediate impacts. One of the things that I think about is financial support towards the nonprofits that are providing a lot of these food hampers and supporting people's food needs.”

Gu said it is possible for Burnaby residents to present ideas to council, such as suggestions for locations of potential community gardens or other suggestions for improving food security by contacting city council and appearing as a delegation and speaking in front of council.  

“Gather your friends, neighbours, people you work with, whoever you think would see that vision in the same way, to help you in moving that forward, and then come to talk to me, come talk to council about what your specific idea is and how you want to see it through,” Gu said. “Local governments are notoriously strapped for resources, so whenever there are people who are passionate in the community, who want to do something, the best way for us to make change sometimes is to get out of your way and to actually facilitate you to do that.”

This piece was made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

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