Local food

Prince Edward Learning Centre pushes for action at Shire Hall

At last Thursday’s Committee of the Whole, council heard from students of Prince Edward Learning Centre (PELC), who are asking that the County develop a transformative food strategy that will make residents of Prince Edward County healthier, reduce the harm of the food system on the environment, help support a local food economy that serves people who live and work in the County, and help ensure all in the community have access to healthy food.

The students at PELC have been engaged in a food education project since last spring. The goal of the project has been to help create a community- wide conversation about food systems and the relationships between food and one’s health, environment, local economy, and the number of people who cannot afford a nutritious diet.

Like many in the County, some students at PELC have low incomes, struggle to pay for housing that is unaffordable, and experience food insecurity. “I have developed diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and breathing problems. All of these ailments combined demand an extraordinary number of 31 pills daily as well as inhalers and breathing aids just to stay relatively healthy. Wouldn’t it be nice if this could be prevented for our younger generations,” said presenter Les Bystrzycki.

According to the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Unit, rental costs have increased by 67.8 per cent, and the cost of healthy eating has increased by 43.8 per cent between 2008 and 2018. While costs of living have skyrocketed, wages and benefits for people unable to work have not kept up with inflation. “I’ve worked at some great restaurants and with people who are passionate about good food and supporting our local farmers. But the truth is, that the restaurants where I have worked are simply not accessible to average folks who live here. I’ve seen a table of customers spend as much on one meal as my fiancé and two children spend on rent for a month,” said Sam Dorey during the deputation.

PELC is asking for a food vision, a strategy and an action plan that would position the County as a food security leader in Ontario. “We want to make sure that community stakeholders and policymakers are always working together to use a food security lens to make decisions, to create a healthy, inclusive, prosperous and sustainable community,” said Dorey. The deputation calls on Council to strike a working group to report back to Council with recommendations for action. During class discussions, students have already begun to imagine the impact of a municipal food strategy. Some highlights include ensuring that municipal councillors and planners focus on creating and maintaining affordable housing, protecting agricultural land, and using public spaces for community gardens and food projects, creating bylaws to limit the sale of single-use plastics and investing in public water fountains and creating a food procurement policy to ensure that public money is invested in food programs that are sustainable, healthy, and support local producers.

Councillor Bill Roberts was happy to see the group making the deputation. “I appreciate the honesty and the candour of your presentation. I hope I see more of you here. I think it is important for PELC and the people who are involved with the centre to keep our feet to the fire on issues of food insecurity, affordable housing and our overall community well-being,” he said. Roberts asked how the initiatives the County is already taking, such as the County Food Hub and the County Food Collective, could work together to one common goal. Program Facilitator Jonah Schein said that although these groups are doing great things, there needs to be policy made. “This project has engaged people in the community, but there is a lot more work to do. We have been happy with our partnership with the Food Collective, but we actually want policies. We want the County leading the way. We want a working group. This should be a focus of the County. We need a group that will engage the community, engage council, engage staff and ultimately report back with concrete stats and then move forward with some of the suggestions,” said Schein.

A motion was put forward by Councillor Phil Prinzen to have staff put together a report on how to move forward with the initiatives. It passed unanimously.