fresh includes strategic directions and each is supported by specific recommendations. The recommendations provide direction and actions that will help to realize the vision, goals and objectives, taking advantage of the strong relationships, assets and opportunities that already exist in Edmonton. Future adoption and implementation of the recommendations will position the City of Edmonton to become a leading example for municipal food and urban agriculture initiatives.

➊ Establish the Edmonton Food Council

Recommendations

  1. Establish the Edmonton Food Council (EFC) by June 1, 2013
  2. Explore the creation of an Edmonton Food Charter
  3. Provide appropriate supporting resources to the EFC
➋ Provide Food Skill Education & Information

Recommendations

  1. Work with the Edmonton Food Council and various partners (such as Northlands, the University of Alberta, NAIT and others) to provide multiple learning opportunities on key food and urban agriculture topics and initiatives
  2. Work with partners such as Northlands to enhance existing capacity for information sharing amongst the many organizations, businesses, agencies and institutions involved in food and urban agriculture
  3. Create a single portal for a wide-range of food and urban agriculture information and education
  4. Assess and map Edmonton’s food system assets
  5. Support mentorship and training for urban agriculture
➌ Expand Urban Agriculture

Recommendations

  1. Pursue urban agriculture opportunities in existing and developing neighbourhoods
  2. Develop partnerships to support innovation in urban agriculture
  3. Support for-profit urban and peri-urban agriculture
  4. Examine opportunities for citizens to keep bees and raise hens
➍ Develop Local Food Infrastructure Capacity

Recommendations

  1. Assist in creating appropriate spaces and opportunities for local food businesses to operate and expand
  2. Pursue partnerships with private business and other economic agencies and examine establishing a commercial/private sector Agri-Food Hub
  3. Assist in improving neighbourhood-scale food infrastructure
➎ Grow Local Food Supply and Demand

Recommendations

  1. Request that the Edmonton Food Council examine local food system resilience
  2. Create partnerships to strengthen and diversify the local food economy
  3. Strengthen farmers’ markets
  4. Increase local food purchasing within City of Edmonton operations
  5. Work with the Province of Alberta and other industry stakeholders such as Northlands to develop a made/raised/grown-in-Alberta identification system
  6. Pursue partnerships with non-profits and other agencies such as Community Food Centres Canada to establish a public sector Edmonton Community Food Hub
➏ Enliven the Public Realm Through a Diversity of Food Activities

Recommendations

  1. Celebrate and promote local food producers, community gardens, and food grown, raised and made in Edmonton
  2. Examine City regulations to allow, where appropriate, permanent and temporary sidewalk patios
  3. Support a wide range of food retail in new and existing neighbourhoods to promote convenient pedestrian access to healthy food sources
  4. Continue to build on the success of street vendors
➐ Treat Food Waste as a Resource

Recommendations

  1. Develop partnerships to assist in the redistribution of healthy, fresh and high-quality surplus food
  2. Develop partnerships and initiatives to utilize and reduce food waste
  3. Take a leadership role in promoting initiatives to reduce the volume of packaging associated with the food system
➑ Support Urban Farmers & Ecological Approaches to Farming

Recommendations

  1. Create partnerships with key stakeholders to provide education and training about ecological approaches to urban farming and urban agriculture in Edmonton
  2. Identify options for providing incentives to new and emerging urban farmers, including the possibility of leasing City-owned land to urban farmers
  3. Examine regulations and guidelines for urban and peri-urban agriculture
  4. Identify mechanisms to protect and maintain the healthy ecosystems that are connected to peri-urban agricultural lands
➒ Integrate Land Use for Agriculture

Recommendations

  1. Examine establishing a municipal Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) designation
  2. Examine the costs and benefits of the following tools to secure agricultural land and report to City Council
  3. Adopt and apply the “Integrating Land for Agriculture Framework”
  4. Work with the Capital Region Board to develop a regional agricultural land use policy