Decreasing Food Waste, Increasing Food Security

Whereasover 11.8 of BC households 485,500 British Columbians experience some level of food insecurity and about 3 of households 91,100 British Columbians experience severe food insecurity, leading tomore than 163,000 people in BC using a food bank in March of 2022 and the prediction that reliance on food banks and other food charities is expected to increase by 60 percent in BC in 2023, with the non-profit sector bearing the brunt of costs associated with collecting and delivering food that would otherwise be wasted to people in need; And whereas the National Zero Waste council calculates that 63 percent of all of the food Canadians throw away could have been eaten and, according to the Government of BC, about 40 percent of our produce ends up in a landfill, where it breaks down to produce significant greenhouse gases which climate scientists predict will accelerate global warming and greatly reduce food-production capacity: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the BC Government to: - Measure, monitor and make publicly available data on food waste in BC in order to inform and develop policies, guidelines and practices to reduce food waste; and - Support the non-profit sector involved in rescuing and distributing food as an essential interim measure to address food insecurity for vulnerable and equity-seeking populations until more sustainable public interventions address poverty and income insecurity, the primary drivers of food insecurity in BC; And be it further resolved that UBCM urge the BC Government to incorporate measures to reduce food wastage and over-packaging of produce, increase organic waste diversion, and promote the consumption of planet-friendly foods into its climate plan CleanBC.