In July 2016, Richmond City Council unanimously endorsed the Richmond Food Charter.
Read and download the Richmond Food Charter
Tell us how you live the food charter at the bottom of this page.
The need for a Food Charter was identified in Richmond’s Official Community Plan, and a Working Group was formed. The Working Group included staff and volunteers from Richmond Food Security Society, Vancouver Coastal Health, Canadian Federation of University Women, and Richmond’s Poverty Response Committee as well as City of Richmond staff. 26 Kitchen Table Talks were held, and 7 themes were identified from those rich discussions. These 7 themes are now represented in the Richmond Food charter.
Food charters remind the community of the primary importance of adequate food for all, represent our shared values and commitments, and ultimately serve to guide policy and programming decisions as we work towards a food secure community.
Food charters have been endorsed in cities across BC including Vancouver, Squamish, Kamloops, and Victoria.
What does it mean to live the Food Charter?
Reflect
Take some time to reflect as an individual or organization about how you live the values identified in the Charter.
For organizations:
- How do your policies, programs and practices fit with the Richmond Food Charter? What are you doing well and what could you improve?
For individuals:
- How do you make food choices? What could you do to ensure your food choices are aligned with the values in the Charter?
- How can you support food security?
- What questions do you have about food security for individuals and the community? How can you find answers?
Get Involved
Based on your reflections, what changes would you like to make?
Enter your commitments in the form below.
Here are some suggestions:
For organizations:
- Review policies with a food lens
- Align programming with the Food Charter
- Display copies of the Food Charter in staff room and offices
- Educate staff about the Charter. We would be happy to come and do a presentation.
- Communicate about the Charter across your organization and share with stakeholders
- Advocate for the Charter
- Add a food garden to your worksite
- Ensure food waste is composted
- Advocate for access to healthy food for all, this could include advocating for donations to the food bank or raising the minimum wage
For individuals:
- Donate your time to help feed those in need
- Meet your local farmers
- Grow some of your own food
- Read the food label to learn about ingredients
- Choose local, organic, ocean wise, non-GMO, and free range whenever possible
- Eliminate food waste from your home
Follow through on your commitments and share your successes with the community. Together we can all have good food.