Running Head: THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM
The Role of Restaurants in Advancing Food System Goals in Victoria
by
BENJAMIN CLARK
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS in ENVIRONMENT AND MANAGEMENT
Royal Roads University Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Supervisor: Professor Ann Dale November 2017
BENJAMIN CLARK, 2017 THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 2
COMMITTEE APPROVAL
The members of Benjamin Clark’s Thesis Committee certify that they have read the thesis titled
The Role of Restaurants in Advancing Food Systems Goals in Victoria and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Environment and Management.
Professor Ann Dale [signature on file]
Dr. Chris Ling [signature on file]
Final approval and acceptance of this thesis is contingent upon submission of the final copy of the thesis to Royal Roads University. The thesis supervisor confirms to have read this thesis and recommends that it be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirements:
Professor Ann Dale [signature on file] Running Head: THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM
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Abstract
The negative implications of an industrialized food system have become more apparent to governments and citizens, leading to food policy development that encourages transparency and resilience. Restaurants have an important role in the development of food systems, as increasingly busy urban lifestyles cause more meals to be eaten away from home. This research explores how restaurants in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada contribute to a sustainable food system, and how other actors support their efforts. Three other Canadian cities (Halifax, Toronto,
Vancouver) were examined as case studies, and people in these cities and in Victoria were interviewed to determine how successful food policies have been developed and implemented and what role restaurants can play in that effort. The research found that when restaurants work together to leverage their collective impact, they can strengthen local food supply and grow food literacy. The paper contains recommendations for restaurants, local governments, and supporting civil society organizations as they work together to develop sustainable food systems.
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 5
Table of Contents
Abstract ...... 4
Acknowledgements ...... 7
Introduction ...... 8
Context ...... 9
Food Policy in Canadian Cities...... 13
Food Policy Councils ...... 16
Food System Challenges in Victoria...... 17
Research Methods ...... 20
Objectives ...... 20
Scope ...... 21
Selection of Case Studies ...... 21
Grounded Theory ...... 22
Limitations ...... 23
Bias and Assumptions ...... 24
Data Collection ...... 26
Triangulation ...... 29
Data Analysis ...... 30
Case Study Background ...... 31 THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 6
Halifax...... 31
Toronto ...... 35
Vancouver ...... 39
Results ...... 44
Theme: Working Together to Strengthen the Local Supply Chain ...... 45
Theme: Telling the Story of Food and Educating Consumers ...... 51
Results Related to Secondary Research Question: Local Government Support...... 56
Results Related to Secondary Research Question: Food Policy Frameworks ...... 62
Other Common Themes ...... 64
Discussion ...... 64
The Role of Restaurants ...... 65
The Role of Local Government ...... 67
The Role of Civil Society Organizations ...... 70
Conclusion and Recommendations ...... 71
Recommendations for Restaurants ...... 71
Recommendations for the City of Victoria ...... 72
Recommendations for Civil Society Organizations ...... 73
References ...... 74
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Ann Dale for her interest, commitment, guidance, and support for me throughout this project. Ann’s guidance and wisdom in her writing and teaching motivated me to complete this project to a high standard. I feel both fortunate and proud to be in the club of students that have worked under her leadership.
I would also like to thank my thesis committee member Dr. Chris Ling, Environment and
Management Program Head and Director of the School of Environment and Sustainability at
Royal Roads University. Chris provided me with valuable advice and patience throughout this research and the broader program.
I am grateful to the research participants who agreed to be a part of this project, and who shared with me their knowledge, their stories, and their enthusiasm for building stronger food systems. I am also grateful to my colleagues that provided support and endorsed my participation in this program while continuing to work.
I had many supports in my personal life as I attempted to balance being a student, a volunteer, a professional, and still a human being over the last five years. Thank you to my friends and family for being so accommodating and understanding, and to Laura for her patience, compassion, and support for me in completing this project.
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Introduction
Victoria is a municipality and the economic centre of the broader Capital Regional
District (CRD) on southern Vancouver Island. Food policy work occurs at the municipal level in
Victoria and neighbouring municipalities (District of Saanich, 2016), and at the regional level in the CRD (Capital Regional District, 2016). The City of Victoria aims to “optimize the many recreational, health, civic and local economic benefits that flow from a stronger local food system” (City of Victoria, 2012, p.115). Use of the term local in regards to food is varied and contested, and in Victoria, food described as local can include food from the Saanich Peninsula, other parts of Vancouver Island, and the rest of British Columbia (B.C.) (City of Victoria, 2012).
The goal of this research is to learn how restaurants in Victoria can help to build a stronger food system. This research explores the innovations and lessons from other Canadian cities and applies them to the context of Victoria, with a focus on the restaurant component of the food system. The main question this research asks is: “what actions can restaurants in Victoria take to build a more sustainable food system and help meet the food systems goals in Victoria’s
Official Community Plan?”. The two goals are, put simply, increased local food supply and improved food literacy. This research fits with identified research needs related to community economic development, food distribution and supply, and institutional purchasing of local food
(Geggie, 2010).
This thesis is structured around four main sections: first, introduction of the topic and the research context; second, explanation of the research methods; third, exploration of three other
Canadian cities as case studies; and fourth, presentation of the results, discussion, and conclusion.
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Context
With an abundance of fertile land and natural resources, in many ways Canada has the ingredients necessary to sustain itself. Within the past century, practices of industrial agriculture spread through Canada and fundamentally changed the food system by separating people from the source of their food (Elton, 2010; Weigeldt, 2012). Now grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and restaurants showcase a wide range of products grown both locally and from other parts of the world. This abundance and diversity of food may not always be available, and it is already showing signs of shifting – climate change and the cumulative social and environmental implications of industrial food production have the potential to significantly change how we eat
(Elton, 2010; Halweil, 2005; Suzuki & Dressel, 2002). Industrialized agricultural practices brought not only benefits like higher per-acre grain yields, but also negative consequences for the land, animals, water, humans, and their health, as well as impacts on biodiversity
(McClintock, 2010; Orr, 2004; Suzuki, 1997; Suzuki & Dressel, 2002).
Sustainable development has been defined by Bill Rees (1989) as positive change that does not undermine the systems upon which we depend. The food system is a complex and critical piece of sustainable development, with a web of relationships between natural and social systems worldwide. Within the food system, the global greenhouse gas contribution of agriculture is equivalent to more than six gigatonnes of carbon dioxide, or 12 percent of global emissions (Smith et al., 2007). Adding that to emissions from land use change, fertilizer, and fuel use brings the impact up to 30 percent of global emissions (Bellarby, Foereid, Hastings, &
Smith, 2008; Ho, 2008).
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 10
Canadian society is shifting to a mindset that pays more attention to the food it consumes.
Where it is from, how it is prepared, and what waste it produces are questions that inform our understanding of food security. Food security is a concept that became more than simply a local concern in the 1930s, as systemic food shortages in poor countries were highlighted in a report by the Health Division of the League of Nations in 1935 (Simon, 2012). Today, the most commonly accepted definition of food security comes from the 1996 World Food Summit:
“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1996).
There is an opportunity to transform our food system in a way that makes us healthier as individuals and communities. For many Canadian cities, the bulk of the food supply was sourced locally less than a century ago (Haddow 2001, cited in MacNair 2004:6; Perkins, 1999).
Currently, in B.C., about half of the food we consume comes from outside the province, including 60-70 percent of our fruit and vegetables coming from the United States (Ostry, 2010).
The opportunity to transform the food system connects the challenges of building community resilience, developing diverse local economies, transitioning to a low-carbon energy supply, and reducing the overall environmental impact of food production. (Mount, 2012;
Mullinix et al., 2008; Pollan, 2010; Roberts, MacRae, & Stahlbrand, 1999). Even with growing populations there is potential for most cities to be significantly more self-sufficient in their food supply – to meet their needs from nearby sources. Direct connections between actors in the system can create strong social relationships and lead to better environmental practices, but these
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benefits do not happen automatically (Hinrichs, 2003). The rising cost of fossil fuel-dependent transportation systems and industrial fertilizers creates additional incentives for food production and distribution systems to become more locally focused (Perkins, 1999). Externalities like pollution and habitat loss are some of the negative effects of industrialized agriculture that are increasingly being internalized and reflected in the cost of food (Maxey, 2006; Pretty et al.,
2001). To maximize the benefits of re-localization of the system, we need to look beyond the ambiguous label of local, understand the positive and negative consequences that come with it, and find ways to achieve the outcomes the local label represents.
The increasing amount of prepared food consumed away from home represents a significant trend in the food system. Between 1977 and 1996, the proportion of calories consumed away from home in the United States rose from 18 to 32 percent (Guthrie, Lin, &
Frazao, 2002). People living in urban environments with busy schedules increasingly choose to buy prepared food instead of cooking it themselves, and many people simply cannot afford to spend the time preparing healthy food (Macias, 2008). Other trends in the United States have shown that the amount of money spent on food away from home has risen steadily since 1970, a trend that is likely similar in Canada (United States Department of Agriculture, 2016). These trends indicate that restaurants and other prepared food outlets have a growing role in the food system, especially in urban settings.
Local food has consistently been a top trend in the North American restaurant industry for several years (National Restaurant Association, 2015; Restaurants Canada, 2017). People that choose to dine out and pay a premium for prepared food expect a certain level of quality. To
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 12
meet this demand, chefs seek fresh and unique ingredients that are not available through industrial food distribution channels.
Food systems connect with people in an intimate way and therefore provide an opportunity for engaging citizens (Welsh & MacRae, 1998). Parallel to how consumers can act and make choices with a sense of citizenship, businesses working collectively can act as responsible corporate citizens (ibid.). Building on traditional corporate social responsibility initiatives, businesses are discovering the benefits of contributing to community economic development and environmental stewardship (Duffy, 2014). These benefits include attracting and retaining staff, forging partnerships with peers, saving money and creating efficiencies, and generating positive media attention (B Lab, 2017).
While the movement toward building stronger local food systems brings many benefits, some aspects of local food have a potentially negative effect on communities. Born and Purcell
(2006) highlight three areas of caution when prioritizing local food. First, local food systems do not always lead to better social and environmental outcomes; social inequality and environmental degradation are present in large and small agricultural operations (Bloom, Lelekacs, & Dunning,
2016; Born & Purcell, 2006). Second, favouring local food systems can prevent achieving the benefits of larger scale economies; production, processing, and distribution costs typically decrease as volumes increase (Bloom et al., 2016). Third, food travelling a shorter distance from producer to consumer does not always result in a lower environmental impact; local food stored in a refrigeration unit can have a greater footprint than in-season food shipped across the globe
(Canals, Cowell, Sim, & Basson, 2007; Reganold, Glover, Andrews, & Hinman, 2001).
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The current state of the food system presents an opportunity. This opportunity is the result of four related factors: more food being eaten away from home; a consumer preference toward local and high-quality food; local government priorities aligning to support food policy; and new governance models supporting partnerships and collectives of small businesses.
Food Policy in Canadian Cities
Policy directions in the food system include goals related to economic development, environmental protection, public health and nutrition, equity and poverty, civic capacity, and participatory governance (American Planning Association, 2007; Mendes, 2008; Mount et al.,
2013; Wegener, Raine, & Hanning, 2012). Efforts to improve food systems have been made through public health policies, but have typically not addressed upstream factors and determinants of food supply, such as the link between poverty and food insecurity, the quality of food production and processing jobs, and environmental degradation resulting from production and processing practices (Caraher & Coveney, 2004). Global food supply flows are market driven, and food choices are constrained by class, income, history, and global supply patterns
(ibid.).
Food policy and its multifaceted nature remain a challenge for governments in Canada and beyond (Barling, Lang, & Caraher, 2002; Rideout et al., 2007). Canada has never had a comprehensive food policy, but rather separate agricultural and health policies that partially address the topic of food (MacRae, 1999). In March 2017, the Government of Canada announced plans to develop A Food Policy for Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2017), and it is currently engaging the public and key stakeholders to establish a national food policy (and a
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 14
corresponding governance structure). There are several organizations with a role in realizing a positive outcome of this policy development (e.g. Food Secure Canada, Canadian Federation of
Agriculture, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, Conference Board of Canada); as the focus of these organizations is weighted toward the production side of the system, there is an opportunity for organizations representing restaurants and other food businesses (e.g. Restaurants Canada,
British Columbia Restaurant & Food Services Association) to engage in the process to help deliver a comprehensive policy solution.
Agriculture and food-related policies in Canada have traditionally been the concern of federal agriculture and trade agencies, but recently food systems have emerged as a concern of local government. A lack of action on food policy at the federal level has created a void being filled by local governments, as they are in a better position to see and respond to the food needs of their populations, and these actions tend to align with other municipal initiatives (Mendes,
2008). Many food policies have multiple benefits such as neighbourhood capacity building, energy efficiency, and participatory governance (ibid.).
Public health researcher Wendy Mendes defines urban food policy as “decisions that affect the ways that people in cities produce, obtain, consume and dispose of their food” (2008, p. 943). Food policy work in Canadian cities has been classified based on the level of local government involvement. MacRae and Donahoe (2013) developed a useful system of six categories of municipal food policy activity based on the structure and resources of food policy groups.
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Table 1
Categories of Municipal Food Policy Activity (Donahoe & MacRae, 2013)
Category Description Example Year Established
1 Municipality-driven food policy Metro Vancouver Food 2008 initiatives Strategy 2 Hybrid model with direct links to Vancouver Food Policy 2004, 1990 government Council, Toronto Food Policy Council 3 Hybrid model with indirect links to Kamloops Food Policy 1995 government Council 4 Food policy organization linked to Capital Region Food and 1997 government through a secondary Agriculture Initiatives agency Roundtable 5 Civil society organization with New Westminster 2006 limited government funding and Community Food Action participation Committee 6 Civil society organization with no Central Okanagan Food 2007 direct government involvement Policy Council
When MacRae and Donahoe (2013) published their report, the Halifax Food Policy
Alliance and the Victoria Urban Food Table were not established. Based on the level of municipal involvement and inclusion of staff from the Mayor’s office, the Halifax Food Policy
Alliance would likely join Vancouver and Toronto in Category 2. The Victoria Urban Food
Table was established in 2015, and soon after the City of Victoria hired a full-time food policy coordinator within the Parks Department (City of Victoria, 2015; City of Victoria, 2016, Victoria
Urban Food Table, 2016). There is now a direct link to the City of Victoria through staff and council involvement, which would also likely place it in Category 2.
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Food Policy Councils
The term civil society organization (CSO) has emerged to “include all non-market and non-state organizations outside of the family in which people organize themselves to pursue shared interests in the public domain” (United Nations Development Programme, 2013). This term is used in this paper to include non-governmental organizations, not-for-profit organizations, professional associations, and environmental groups. Where necessary, more description is included.
Food policy councils (FPCs) are CSOs that exist in many Canadian cities. Harper et al.,
(2009:2) define a FPC as follows:
A Food Policy Council consists of a group of representatives and stakeholders from many sectors of the food system. Ideally, the councils include participants representing all five sectors of the food system (production, consumption, processing, distribution and waste recycling). They often include anti-hunger and food justice advocates, educators, non-profit organizations, concerned citizens, government officials, farmers, grocers, chefs, workers, food processors and food distributors. Food Policy Councils create an opportunity for discussion and strategy development among these various interests, and create an arena for studying the food system as a whole. Because they are often initiated by government actors, through executive orders, public acts or joint resolutions, Food Policy Councils tend to enjoy a formal relationship with local, city or state official.
FPCs take advantage of systems thinking, which looks at food in a broader context and uses the connections to other societal issues to find solutions to food problems (Toronto Public
Health, 2010). FPCs build civic capacity by creating diverse networks of community actors
(Loewen, 2015), and their effectiveness has been described as depending on four factors: cultivation of networks, government support, agenda setting, and building credibility (Loewen,
2015). Four functions of FPCs have been further described by Harper et al., (2009) as: discussing
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 17
issues, collaborating across sectors and rural/urban divides, influencing policy, and creating programs to meet local needs.
Because of the multifaceted nature of food systems and associated policy, the FPC model has emerged in large and small cities to catalyze action and bring together local government, business, and civil society. FPCs make links to social and environmental health, spread knowledge, and encourage action. Local governments see the consequences of the industrial food system and FPCs help them respond by making food policy a coordinated priority.
Food System Challenges in Victoria
In 2012, the City of Victoria set goals to address food system challenges related to food supply and food literacy (City of Victoria, 2012, p. 115), and restaurants have a role in both.
These two goals include:
• 17 (A) A healthy share of the food that supplies Victoria’s daily needs is sustainably
grown, processed and packaged in the city, in surrounding agricultural areas, and on
Vancouver Island, and
• 17 (B) Victorians have access to skills, knowledge and resources to produce and process
their own food in urban areas.
A report by Bouris, Masselink, and Geggie (2009) was the background policy work that formed the basis of the City of Victoria Official Community Plan (OCP) chapter on food. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of food policy and urban agriculture in the context of
Victoria, and includes several strategies and approaches relevant to restaurants. These include:
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 18
preserving nearby farmland, expanding food system infrastructure and processing facilities, establishing a permanent farmers’ market location, providing businesses with organic waste diversion services, and developing supportive system-wide policies and funding mechanisms
(Bouris, Masselink, & Geggie, 2009).
As the goals in the OCP suggest, Victoria’s food system would be made stronger by increasing local productive capacity (and thus self-sufficiency), and by helping residents understand where their food comes from and how to produce it themselves. Victoria’s island location is at the core of its food security challenge; with limited links across the sea to the sources of most of its food (Vancouver Island Community Research Alliance, 2011). Despite this challenge, Victoria has a concentration of restaurants and a culinary scene that celebrates local food, and TripAdvisor lists 1,097 restaurants in the CRD (TripAdvisor, 2017d). Many of these restaurants advertise using some local ingredients, but their support for local producers is often accompanied by a “whenever possible” caveat on the menu. This highlights a demand for local food, but a lack of infrastructure to fully support it (MacNair, 2004; Stott, Lee, & Nichols, 2014;
Vancouver Island Community Research Alliance, 2011). Additionally, many people in Victoria and other Canadian cities lack the food literacy, skills, and time necessary to cook using staple ingredients, understand nutritional labels, and know where their food is coming from (MacNair,
2004; Toronto Public Health, 2010). In 2011-2012, 14% of Victoria households reported being food insecure (Tarasuk, Mitchell, & Dachner, 2014).
The role of the CRD in the food system has been well documented both internally and externally (Capital Regional District, 2016; Geggie, 2013). Leading municipal work within the
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 19
CRD includes North Saanich’s Agriculture Economic Development Strategy, which contains several goals and actions that align with leading Canadian food policy, including development of a regional food hub, marketing culinary tourism, supporting business incubation, and working with other municipalities in the region (Community Social Planning Council, 2012).
Local production and distribution infrastructure has grown in the CRD with varying success. One organization that has been successful is Saanich Organics, a partnership between three farms that has used cooperative marketing to facilitate chefs’ access to local produce
(Geggie & Platt, 2009). Island Chefs Collaborative is an organization that brings together chefs and farmers in the CRD. Their strategy involves four parts: bringing people together, funding projects, fundraising, and advocating for supportive initiatives and public policy (Island Chefs
Collaborative, 2014).
Local governments, CSOs, and businesses in Victoria and the surrounding Capital
Region are working on a variety of initiatives to build a stronger local food system. As these initiatives progress and crystalize there will be opportunities to learn from other regions and work together effectively as actors in a complex food system. The next section describes the methods of this research, and how lessons and ideas relevant to Victoria were collected from other Canadian cities.
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Research Methods
To help answer the research question, I spoke to people from different types of organizations working in food and food policy in three Canadian cities (see Table 2 below). In designing this research project, I found an approach that allowed me to learn what initiatives have helped to strengthen food systems, how restaurants have been involved, and what lessons might be applicable to Victoria.
Because of the connections and broad reach of food systems, I used a case study methodology (Yin, 2009), coupled with a grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967;
Cresswell, 2002). This approach allowed the theory to be constructed as the research proceeded and as concepts and themes emerged from the ongoing analysis of the data (Corbin & Strauss,
2014). Interviews were semi-structured and open-ended to allow more spontaneity through the interactions between interviewer and interviewees (Marvasti, 2004). This also allows for probing for more detailed information when necessary (Knox and Burkard, 2009). I elaborate on the different aspects of the research methods used below.
Objectives
Exploring what role restaurants can play in developing the local food system in Victoria is the primary research objective. Exploring how local governments, like the City of Victoria and
CRD, can support restaurants in contributing toward common food system goals is a secondary research objective. Exploring examples of private sector and civil society leadership in food systems and exploring the conditions necessary for businesses to cooperate and engage in shared learning are other secondary research objectives.
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Scope
The scope of this research focuses on restaurants, meaning any retail outlet with the primary purpose of serving prepared food. Because of the interconnected nature of the food system and food retail, ideas and themes emerged that were related to other types of food service including grocery stores, farmers’ markets, specialty food producers like bakeries and breweries, sports facilities, school cafeterias, and hospitals. Some of the results of the research are applicable to these other types of food service, while other results speak to the ways these types of food system actors can coexist and cooperate within a local food system.
Selection of Case Studies
This research incorporates aspects of a case study method to examine how restaurants are involved in the food systems of other communities and to derive lessons and insights relevant to the Victoria context. This method was chosen because it involves examination of how broad concepts of food systems manifest in real life contexts (Yin, 2009).
Comparative case study cities were selected based on progress on food policy and relevance to the Victoria context. Toronto was chosen because of its reputation in having a diverse and developed restaurant industry (Kozicka, 2017; Voelker, 2016), and history as a leader in food policy (MacRae & Donahoe, 2013). Vancouver was chosen because of its successful and diverse restaurant industry (Hyde, 2014; Kozicka, 2017; Voelker, 2016), history as a leader among Canadian cities in food policy (MacRae & Donahoe, 2013), and because it shares the provincial context with Victoria. Halifax was chosen because of its comparable size to
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Victoria (approximately 400,000 people) and other commonalities like maritime location and relatively isolated geography.
There are many components in a food system, and it can be a challenge to gain a complete understanding of the actors and relationships. Gail Feenstra (1997, p. 33), a researcher at the University of California Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute, describes the following types of information as helpful to understand a regional food system:
- historical reviews of agricultural production;
- estimates of current self-sufficiency;
- a food guide to educate consumers and encourage local food consumption; and,
- marketing studies to understand food production and distribution dynamics.
To explore three case studies that are relevant to Victoria, this research incorporates components of Feenstra with a focus on restaurants and local government policy.
Grounded Theory
Grounded theory is an approach to qualitative research originally developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) that allows a theory to emerge without a predetermined outcome. The grounded theory approach used provided a flexible structure, and was therefore useful in allowing ideas from an unfamiliar and complex subject to emerge. Atkinson, Coffee, and
Delamont (2003, p. 150) describe grounded theory as “not a description of a kind of theory.
Rather it represents a general way of generating theory more generically, a way of having ideas on the basis of empirical research.” By developing a theory from the ground up, it is ideally
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 23
suited for understanding phenomenon that has practical applications. It was a priority throughout the process that the research be useful and that it could be applied to current, practical situations.
Charmaz (2008, p. 155) describes grounded theory as offering “systematic analytic strategies that combine explicitness and flexibility.” This research involved both explicit and flexible aspects to interviewee selection and interview structure. It was deemed important to include broad representation in the sample of interviewees and include specific questions in each interview. At the same time, there was space provided for probing questions in more depth and snowball sampling as the data collection proceeded.
As is common of a grounded theory approach, analysis began concurrently as data was being collected, and coding and theorizing began immediately (Glaser, 2002). This immediate analysis and theorizing was helped by the broad range of food policy experience held by the first few interviewees.
Limitations
Time and resources proved a limiting factor in this research. With more time and resources to travel to the case study communities and seek out relevant people in person, data could have been collected from a wider range of sources that are not visibly active in food policy work or lack an online presence.
Another limitation was the response rate and willingness of people to be interviewed.
While the research looked at the whole food system through the lens of the restaurant, the focus on the specific role of the restaurant was a barrier to some potential interviewees. On more than one occasion people did not feel comfortable being interviewed because they did not see
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 24
themselves as an expert in the restaurant industry. A more detailed set of recommendations could be made if a broader range of perspectives in Victoria were represented. To account for this, a recommendation for further research is to use the results to inform a survey of restaurants and food service professionals in Victoria.
Another limitation is the lack of an explicit and agreed upon definition of local. As discussed above, the positive benefits of local food systems are visible in social networks, resilient economies, lower transportation costs, and reduced environmental impact. In a complex food system, these benefits can come from food being sourced within a few kilometers, or even within the same province. As explained earlier in the paper, it is important to focus on the societal benefits and outcomes that are represented by the local label.
Bias and Assumptions
The research questions were chosen because of my experience working in restaurants and in working to support them as a board member of the Food Eco District Restaurant Society. This society is an organization made up of member restaurants and related businesses working to develop a district in Victoria that celebrates food and sustainability. The research questions were also chosen due to my interest in the potential of food systems to drive large-scale change in the environment and society. In my work for the Province of British Columbia in climate action and greenhouse gas mitigation, it repeatedly struck me that the costs and benefits of the food system were not being considered under current energy and greenhouse gas accounting protocols. I saw the food system as a connecting force that would gain profile and attention from policy makers in the future.
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 25
To address potential bias in the research, I interviewed a wide range of people (n=32) in multiple locations across Canada, using a consistent interview protocol including open-ended questions. Another way that bias was addressed was to choose interview subjects that were not part of the mainstream food policy community or referred by other interviewees. These interviewees shared much of the insight provided by others, confirming that conceptual saturation did occur. Where the responses differed was outside of the scope of the research question, providing insight into recommendations for further research.
In conducting this research, some assumptions were present. One main assumption is that most of the actors representing relevant perspectives in each of the case study communities are connected in some way, specifically through a FPC. FPCs were the starting point for selecting and contacting interviewees.
Another assumption is that restaurants engaged in building a strong food system also try to serve a quality product, and want to use fresh, organic, and local food when possible.
Limitations such as ordering logistics and price can prevent more local food from being used, but most restaurants benefit from local branding as it is consistently a top consumer preference trend
(National Restaurant Association, 2015). There is a class of quick service (i.e. fast food) restaurant that is embedded in the industrial food system that was ruled out of scope for this research. These quick service restaurants have begun to use local and organic-type branding as a marketing tool in some of their products, which reflects the power of the consumer demand for local food (Vieregge et al., 2007). As discussed earlier in this paper, food simply being local has
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 26
limited benefits, so without working toward the positive outcomes that come with a local food system, these efforts of large industrial food companies are simply marketing tools.
Another assumption that was made is that Canada and the United States share many of the same business and consumer trends regarding local food and restaurants. While the policy context is different and some of the food supply behaves differently due to factors like government intervention, small restaurants businesses and urban consumers share much in common. This assumption was necessary in part due to the lack of specific data and research on food systems in Canada.
Data Collection
Data used in the research included a review of academic literature, relevant policy documents, and 32 interviews. The data represents a range of locations, perspectives, roles, and purposes to provide context for the ideas and comments of the individuals interviewed (Birks &
Mills, 2011). The following section describes how interviewees were identified and selected, the structure of the interviews, and the policy document review that was conducted to complement the interview data.
Selection of interviewees. Interviewees were chosen to reflect a variety of perspectives on how restaurants can influence the food system, and often selected based on their prominent role in the local sphere of food policy work. The starting point for identifying interviewees was a review of food policy documents combined with current and past membership of FPCs. Email invitations were sent to members of the FPCs in each city and those that responded first were the first interviews. Snowball sampling (Daniel, 2012) occurred as most interviews included
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referrals to other desirable people to speak with and the list of potential candidates grew as the data collection process proceeded. In identifying potential interviewees, it was deemed important to find individuals at the leading edge of local food systems with direct experience in implementing progressive policies and actions. Some chefs and restaurant owners represent this leading edge, but other actors were sought who provide varying perspectives (Guest et al., 2013, p. 43). As shown in the table below, interviewees were classified in five categories based on their professional affiliation: business, academia, civil society, local government, and provincial
Table 2
Summary of Interviewee Affiliation City Business Academia Civil Society Local Govt Prov Govt Total
Halifax 1 0 1 3 2 7 Toronto 3 4 1 1 1 10 Vancouver 4 2 3 1 0 9 Victoria 2 2 3 2 0 6 Total 10 8 8 7 3 32 government. Some interviewees were classified in more than one category.
Semi-structured interviews. The approach to the interviews involved qualitative semi- structured interviews with a standard set of questions (see Appendix 1) that could be adapted to each interviewee. This allowed the conversations to focus on the themes related to the research questions in a consistent way, while uncovering insights based on each interviewee’s expertise
(Corbin & Strauss, 2014).
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Interviews were conducted over a six-month period from November 2016 to April 2017.
Initially, the response rate to email invitations was low. A second or third email often combined with a personal recommendation from another interviewee led to a response from most people.
Only three people that were successfully contacted declined to be interviewed, citing the reason that they did not think their experience was adequate or relevant to the research. Interviews were not recorded, but rather notes were taken during the interviews to capture the key themes and examples being provided by the interviewees. Soon after each interview was conducted, the handwritten notes were transcribed into a word processing program, and additional context and examples from the interview were added. Follow-up occurred after some interviews to clarify the ideas presented, and to recommend other data sources.
The questions were posed consistently even though the interviewees had a wide range of backgrounds and expertise in food systems. Initially it felt awkward to pose very broad, open- ended questions, but this allowed for varied responses and understandings of the research problem and data; a fundamental tenet of grounded theory (Charmaz, 2008). Each interview involved background research about the individual, preparation, and measures to ensure the interviewee understood the context and felt comfortable providing their in-depth knowledge and experience on the topic (Pierce, 2008). This preparation combined with post-interview analysis and follow-up resulted in a large amount of data and many relevant quotes and stories.
Conceptual saturation was reached part of the way through the process as no new concepts and categories were emerging (Flick, 2009). Themes began to emerge after the first eight interviews, consistent with guidelines for qualitative research (Guest et al., 2006). More
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interviews were conducted in Toronto and Vancouver due to there being more individuals and initiatives happening in these locations that warranted exploring. Restaurant owners and chefs were not as involved in the governance and food policy spheres and required more effort to contact and confirm for interviews. Suggestions for restaurant owners and chefs came from interviewees and from research of restaurant menus, websites, and promotional material.
Document review. A document review of relevant food policy documents was first conducted to collect background information on the case study cities, inform the interview questions, and provide a baseline for comparison. Once the interviews were completed and the initial set of themes had emerged through the coding process, the food policy documents from case study cities were revisited to refine the themes and capture additional context. These food policy documents included OCPs, baseline food system assessments, food charters, food strategies, and progress reports on actions outlined in the food strategies.
Triangulation
Triangulation is an approach used to add quality to qualitative research (Flick, 2009). In this research, data triangulation was employed by collecting data from documents and interviews and by choosing interview subjects in different locations and roles in the food system (Denzin,
2009). The mix of people interviewed included those intimately involved in the restaurant business, those working in CSOs to support restaurants as part of broad food policy initiatives, and those working in government and academia to develop and advance food policy in their communities.
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Data Analysis
Analysis of data collected from interviews used a three-stage open, axial, and selective coding method, while maintaining a summary memo document describing the process and overall themes emerging (Corbin & Strauss, 2014). In addition to tracking the emerging themes, this memo recorded relevant policy and planning tools, influential groups and organizations, surprising initiatives, and evidence showing the benefit of local food systems. A review of each interview transcript was performed using open coding resulting in several concepts, categories, and examples. This open coding process was iterative as more interviews were conducted. As I did this, I could recall additional context that was provided and begin to separate the responses by theme, recommendations for further reading, recommendations for additional people to interview, and highlights of relevant projects and actions taking place in the case study communities.
The next step of axial coding involved looking at the themes that had emerged though the open coding process and identifying relationships between them. Through this process, the themes were also sorted by relevance to the research questions and those that were not directly relevant were set aside as potential areas for further research. During the step of axial coding, a summary of the codes and relationships was created resulting in three main themes.
A third step of selective coding was conducted using the three main themes to pull additional data from the interviews. This selective coding process included revisiting food policy documents to gain additional context as outlined in the “Document review” section above. This process allowed me to analyze the interview transcripts and capture or emphasize any ideas that
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did not get previously captured (Flick, 2009). As is characteristic of grounded theory, I set broad parameters for the research method and allowed the process to take shape as the analysis proceeded and the approach and methods emerged (Corbin & Strauss, 2014).
Case Study Background
Halifax
History. People have been making their home in the area now known as Halifax for a long time. There is evidence of Mi’kmaq culture in Halifax going back 10,000 years, before
Europeans began settling in the area in the 1600s (Halifax Regional Municipality, 2014). Today,
Halifax is incorporated into a regional municipality 5,500 km2 in size with a population of
425,871 in 2016 (Statistics Canada, 2017). At 19.9% in 2011-2012, Halifax had the highest rate of household food insecurity of all 33 Census Metropolitan Areas in Canada (Tarasuk et al.,
2014).
A comprehensive analysis of Nova Scotia local food production and consumption was published in 2010 (Scott & MacLeod, 2010). Statistics from this report show that, at most, 13% of the food dollars spent in the province went back to Nova Scotia farmers, an amount that had been declining at the time. A more recent report states that in 2013 that figure had increased to
15% (Halifax Food Policy Alliance, 2015). Neither of these reports contain detailed analyses of restaurants, but a search of TripAdvisor results in 988 listings of restaurants in the Halifax
Region (TripAdvisor, 2017a).
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Active organizations. There are several CSOs active in Halifax’s food system, and one of the most significant is the Ecology Action Centre (EAC). The EAC delivers a variety of food- related programs through multi-year funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada (Ecology
Action Centre, 2014). Partnerships are a key piece of the work of EAC; in 2014-15, the EAC collaborated with 103 partners including schools, hospitals, community gardens, government agencies, and other CSOs (Ecology Action Centre, 2014). Other organizations active in food security initiatives include Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, FEED Nova Scotia, and Dartmouth
North Community Food Centre. The Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia is a lobby group for the food and beverage industry, but it does not have any active initiatives that go beyond marketing and promotion of members.
The local FPC, Halifax Food Policy Alliance, is a partnership between local government and other organizations that has been operating since 2013 (Ecology Action Centre, 2014).
Government agencies active in Halifax’s food system include the Halifax Regional Municipality and various provincial departments including Nova Scotia Public Health within the Department of Health and Wellness, Agriculture, and Municipal Affairs.
Plans, strategies, goals. The Halifax Regional Plan was first adopted in 2006, and received a five-year review in 2014 (Halifax Regional Municipality, 2014). Community food security is explicitly mentioned in the plan as an objective under the focus area of Settlement and
Housing. The plan mentions “provision of open space for food security” several times as a future characteristic in all land use types, but it does not expand into any further detail. To implement
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these goals, staff in both the Mayor’s Office and Planning Department have community food security initiatives defined as part of their responsibilities.
Thrive! is a public health plan from the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness that focuses on healthy eating and physical activity (Province of Nova Scotia, 2012). One of the four strategic directions in the plan is to “Plan and Build Healthier Communities”. This describes working with municipalities to support healthy eating through land use policy such as community gardens and farmers’ markets. Actions under this strategic direction include creating a policy statement on land use to support healthy eating, developing resources to develop best practices, establishing model bylaws, and creating alignment between levels of government.
One of the most fundamental reports describing the context of the food system in Halifax is a report by the EAC and the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture titled “Is Nova Scotia
Eating Local?” (Scott & MacLeod, 2010). This report provides a detailed analysis of many different products, their average distance travelled to consumers, their prices, embodied energy, and associated greenhouse gas emissions, and highlights opportunities and benefits of increased local supply. One of the notable links made by this report is to the Sustainable Seattle Study, which estimates that 44% of money spent at local food economy restaurants is re-spent locally – known as the multiplier effect (Sonntag, 2008).
Halifax Food Policy Alliance recently completed an extensive food system assessment
(Halifax Food Policy Alliance, 2015). This document assesses the current state of Halifax’s food system and is meant to provide the foundation for a food strategy and set of municipal policies.
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Knowledge about independently-owned local food businesses and restaurants is identified as a data gap in the report that could help understand the food system at the community level.
Relevant initiatives and successes. The Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market is a hub of community food activity in Halifax, and receives up to 10,000 visitors on a typical market day
(Halifax Food Policy Alliance, 2015). Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market is also represented on the Halifax Food Policy Alliance and provides a venue for emerging food businesses and entrepreneurs. Another type of market and relevant initiative in Halifax is the Mobile Food
Market. This is a municipally-supported program that takes a bus full of fruit, vegetables, and bread to areas of the city that lack food access.
Perennia is a hybrid model of a Crown corporation and not-for-profit that provides product development and other supports for food businesses. A recent initiative by Perennia is the Market Connector, an online platform that plans to connect producers and processors to find areas for cooperation like uses for crop by-products (Perennia, 2017).
Provincial nutrition policies in Nova Scotia contain guidelines to provide locally sourced foods when possible (Halifax Food Policy Alliance, 2015). While these policies are simply guidelines and not enforced requirements, they apply to 352 health care facilities, daycares, public schools, and post-secondary institutions in the region. Nova Scotia has been used by other provinces as a model for setting local food targets in institutional procurement (Sustain Ontario,
2017).
Halifax has a significant population of immigrants, and the Halifax Food Policy Alliance has been working with the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia on community garden
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projects and an urban farm on land owned by a hospital. At the hospital, Common Roots Urban
Farm has a large community garden, and a market garden that serves as a social enterprise and source of income for the registered charity that runs the gardens.
Toronto
History. The area around Toronto was originally inhabited by the Iroquois,
Ojibway/Chippewa, and Anishinabek peoples (Native-Land.ca, 2017). French and British immigrants began settling in the area in the 1700s, the City became Metropolitan Toronto in
1954, and amalgamated into the Greater Toronto Area in 1998 (Levine, 2014). Today, the
Toronto area is home to approximately 6.2 million people, easily making it Canada’s largest city
(Statistics Canada, 2017). Toronto is situated in the productive agricultural region of Southern
Ontario, surrounded by the Greenbelt, a protected area of farmland over 1.8 million acres in size
(Toronto Public Health, 2010). In 2011-2012, 12% of Toronto households reported being food insecure (Tarasuk et al., 2014). TripAdvisor lists 6,950 restaurants in Toronto (TripAdvisor,
2017b), and Toronto’s restaurant sector is known for its culinary diversity. In addition to hundreds of cultures represented in restaurants, new fusion cuisines are emerging from relationships between neighbouring food producers (Toronto Public Health, 2010).
Active organizations. In 1990, community members and staff advocated to Toronto
City Council for the need for a multi-sectoral approach to developing the existing food system
(Simpson, 2001), and the Toronto Food Policy Council (TFPC) was created as a sub-committee of the Board of Health (Welsh & MacRae, 1998). The TFPC advocates, identifies, and animates issues and makes the connections to address them, while the food strategy is a more formal piece
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of the municipal governance structure (Toronto Food Policy Council, 2017). The different roles and potential of these governance mechanisms are described by Mah et al. (2013): in the TFPC, food is the object of policy change that various actors come together to address, while the
Toronto Food Strategy flips the perspective to a view where food is the vehicle by which many goals of the City can be achieved.
The TFPC was designed deliberately to represent diverse views and many food sectors, and it was the first FPC in Canada. Many other FPCs in Canada have looked to Toronto’s leadership and experience to design their own food system governance models. Broad representation on the TFPC provides credibility and insight into potential problems as policy changes are proposed, and having dedicated staff from the Department of Public Health gives the
TFPC a formal connection to municipal government staff and senior government officials
(Welsh & MacRae, 1998). Toronto Public Health is a municipal health unit that has formal links to the TFPC and is responsible for the Toronto Food Strategy (City of Toronto, 2017; Mah,
2013).
One of the unique components of Toronto’s food system is the Ontario Food Terminal; a public food distribution center serving a wide range of retailers with over 5 million pounds of produce every day (Toronto Public Health, 2010). On the other end of the scale, Field to Table is a not-for-profit distributor serving low-income customers with a Good Food Box, consistent with the goal of building local capacity for food distribution (Welsh & MacRae, 1998).
There are many organizations working in food policy in Toronto and Ontario. Some examples are the Greater Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance, the Greenbelt Fund,
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and Foodstarter. Other organizations include Community Food Centres Canada, an organization based in Toronto that works to establish community kitchens across Canada (Community Food
Centres Canada, 2017; Fridman & Lenters, 2013), and Sustain Ontario, a province-wide not-for- profit organization that together with the TFPC advocated for Ontario’s Local Food Act.
The Province of Ontario has also played a significant role in shaping the food system and is responsible for programs like Ontario Fresh and Food Land Ontario. Within all the activity in
Toronto’s food system, a strength is the resources and supports available for food businesses.
Evidence for this is seen in full-time staff positions at the City dedicated to the food sector within the Economic Development Department.
Plans, strategies, goals. Toronto has a series of significant policy and strategy documents related to the food system. The City of Toronto Official Plan envisions a future where
“adequate amounts of safe, nutritious, culturally acceptable food are available to all” (City of
Toronto, 2015, p. 1-4). The Official Plan also describes one of the roles of local government as protecting food access by preventing urban sprawl. The Official Plan also refers to the Toronto
Food Charter, a document developed by the City’s Food and Hunger Action Committee in 2000.
This document outlines how the City will promote food security, providing ten reasons why doing so is important. One of the reasons is the job-creation potential of food-related jobs and the opportunity to leverage even more jobs from local food supply (City of Toronto, 2000).
The Toronto Food Strategy is more of an ongoing process than one static document. In
2008, Toronto Public Health released a discussion paper titled “The State of Toronto’s Food:
Discussion Paper for a Toronto Food Strategy” (Toronto Public Health, 2008). Building on this
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discussion paper, in 2010 the Toronto Board of Health endorsed a food strategy document outlining six priority areas for action (City of Toronto, 2016; Toronto Public Health, 2010).
These action areas describe initiatives like mapping restaurants as part of neighbourhood food access solutions, the Toronto Food Business Incubator, promotion of diverse cuisines and lesser- known food businesses, and requiring chain restaurants to include nutritional information on their menus.
Relevant initiatives and successes. The Greenbelt Fund is a successful not-for-profit organization that administers grant programs and makes strategic investments in Ontario’s food system. This organization has acted as a catalyst for initiatives like institutional procurement, collective marketing, and food hubs (Greenbelt Fund, 2017).
The City of Toronto adopted a local food procurement policy in 2008 (Toronto Public
Health, 2010), and it continues to support a wide range of food initiatives. Many of these initiatives are described in the Toronto Food Strategy: 2013 Update (City of Toronto, 2013). An initiative unique to Toronto and especially relevant to restaurants is World Crops. Building on the diversity of Toronto’s culinary scene, this initiative brings together local farmers, local distribution networks, and retailers to grow crops like okra and eggplant that originate in other parts of the world (Toronto Urban Growers, 2017).
The FoodShare Good Food Box deliberately combines local produce delivery with policy strategies to transform the food system (Johnston & Baker, 2005). Commercial kitchen incubator research by the TFPC led to the FoodShare Field to Table Warehouse in 1997 (Simpson, 2001).
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Toronto also has many community kitchens that are acting as food incubators for restaurant, catering, and other food business development (Fridman & Lenters, 2013).
Local Food Plus (LFP) was a certification system that served as a valuable component of local, small-scale distribution systems in Ontario between 2006 and 2014 (Campbell & MacRae,
2013; Mann, 2014). LFP was a not-for-profit organization that established standards throughout the supply chain, connected many actors in the food system, and catalyzed institutional procurement initiatives. LFP encouraged University of Toronto’s requirement for local and sustainable farm products (Friedmann, 2007). LFP’s goal was to scale up and spread throughout
Canada, but in 2014, the organization ended the program due to competing for-profit enterprises and a lack of funding sources (Mann, 2014). LFP filled a critical role in the local food interface, acting as a leader in facilitating the growth of local food systems in Ontario and leaving a legacy in the organizations that it worked with and connected. Other jurisdictions can learn from LFP’s experience in designing and implementing their own standards and the business models that support them. Several interviewees mentioned LFP, as described below in the Results section.
Vancouver
History. The area around Vancouver was originally inhabited by the Squamish,
Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Native-Land.ca, 2017). Starting in the 18th century,
European settlers arrived in the area on the fertile flood plain of the Fraser River Valley. This agricultural land helped the area to be largely self-sufficient in its food supply until globalization and the rise of industrial farming shifted the food system.
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Today, Vancouver is a large metropolitan area home to 2.5 million people (Statistics
Canada, 2017), with a goal to become the greenest city in the world by 2020. Vancouver is known as a leader in sustainable city technologies, with a green building industry fueled by high land values and an active real estate market (Vancouver Economic Commission, 2017). In 2011-
2012, 10 percent of Vancouver households reported being food insecure (Tarasuk et al., 2014).
TripAdvisor (2017c) lists 3,040 restaurants in Vancouver. The Southwest B.C. region that includes Vancouver is 40% self-reliant (Mullinix et al., 2016), and at a provincial scale, B.C. is approximately 50% self-reliant in its food supply. For food like fruit, B.C. produces much more than it consumes, and for food like grain, it produces much less (British Columbia Ministry of
Agriculture and Lands, 2006).
Active organizations. Since 2004, the Regional District, the City, the Vancouver Food
Policy Council, and CSOs have acted as leaders in a hybrid governance model of the food system in Vancouver (MacRae & Donahoe, 2013). When the City began to undertake food policy work in 2003, Vancouver was a leading municipality with two staff positions and policies embedded in the Social Planning Department (Mendes, 2008).
Other leading organizations in Vancouver include FarmFolk CityFolk and Vancouver
Farmers Markets. FarmFolk CityFolk is a not-for-profit CSO that connects urban food initiatives with supports for producers. Their projects include collaborating on a local food hub with
Vancouver Farmers Markets and local food procurement in schools (FarmFolk CityFolk, 2017).
FarmFolk CityFolk have also partnered on a food distribution feasibility study for the Lower
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Mainland, which contains recommendations that can be applied to other regions seeking to strengthen local food distribution (Stott et al., 2014).
Vancity Credit Union and their Envirofund grants have supported many food businesses and food security initiatives. They have also worked with local economic development incubators like Spring and Simon Fraser University’s Radius Social Innovation Lab. Their
Feeding Growth program with the UBC Centre for Sustainable Food Systems is aimed at supporting growing food processing enterprises. They also supported LOCO, which is a not-for- profit network of local businesses that includes several restaurants.
Plans, strategies, goals. After decades of community leadership on food challenges, food policy work at the City of Vancouver came together in 2003 with a council mandate for a sustainable food system (City of Vancouver, 2013). Building on the momentum of the council mandate, the Vancouver Food Policy Council was established in 2004, with the goal to provide ideas and policy recommendations to improve the local food system (Barbolet et al., 2005). In
2005, a group of researchers released the Vancouver Food System Assessment, a research project to assess food security, explore opportunities for transformation, and provide recommendations to the Vancouver Food Policy Council and other groups undertaking food policy work in Vancouver (Barbolet et al., 2005). Food policy work at the city evolved with actions like the creation of a food charter, urban agriculture guidelines, organic waste diversion programs, a street food permitting program, and grants to support neighbourhood food networks
(City of Vancouver, 2013).
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Further work was done in 2009 to produce the Food Secure Vancouver Baseline Report
(Vancouver Food Policy Council, 2009). This study provided a baseline to measure progress on goals, policies, and actions, and recommendations for areas of further research. Food policy work at the City of Vancouver eventually led to the creation of a coordinated food strategy document in 2013 (MacRae & Donahoe, 2013). The Vancouver Food Strategy aims to integrate a full spectrum of food system issues into a single policy framework and to align food system goals with other priorities of transportation, public health, and housing (City of Vancouver,
2013).
Vancouver’s Greenest City Action Plan Part II contains its own goals related to food systems (City of Vancouver, 2015). The strategy includes goals to increase the number of urban farming businesses, farmers’ markets, and community garden plots. While these goals are not specific to restaurants, they do provide overall momentum in the local food system and opportunities to partner on growth initiatives.
Relevant initiatives and successes. A report by Chris Hild for the Vancouver
Economic Commission (2009) on the economics of Vancouver’s local food system describes some of the challenges and successes facing the region and the sector. The report highlights the ability of restaurants and supermarkets to support local distribution infrastructure and pull products through the food system. The report also suggests some of the specific actions restaurants in Vancouver can take to achieve a sustainable food system: collaborating with producers on promotion of local food, entering supply contracts through Restaurant-Supported
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Agriculture arrangements, and partnering with farmers’ markets to build infrastructure and capacity (Hild, 2009).
A recent initiative in Vancouver is the developing role of farmers’ markets in facilitating the flow of local food to restaurants. The phenomenon of chefs shopping for fresh produce at farmers’ markets in the city emerged organically, and it became significant enough that the
Vancouver Farmers Markets organization set up a service where commercial buyers can visit a website, and view the products that producers make available for delivery (Vancouver Farmers
Markets, 2017). This arrangement saves time and energy on both sides of the transaction, creates social learning opportunities, and provides greater certainty (resulting in less food waste).
Another strength of Vancouver’s food system is the training and academic support provided by many different institutions. The University of British Columbia has a farm on campus that is host to the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, providing a living laboratory and a supply of fresh produce for use by their campus food services. Kwantlen Polytechnic
University is host to the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems program and the Institute for
Sustainable Food Systems, an applied research unit. The work of these institutions creates capacity in the region through business entrepreneurs and policy makers.
Vancouver’s ambitions to be the greenest city in the world have created additional opportunities for restaurants to integrate into the local food system. The City provides support for on-site commercial composting systems, making it easier for restaurants to separate their organic waste and potentially create an energy source through anaerobic digestion (City of
Vancouver, 2017).
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Results
Collective impact of restaurants and other actors in the food system is the overarching theme that emerged through the collection and analysis of data. This theme can be characterized as the power of restaurants and other food businesses working together to achieve common goals through their collective impact. This theme is not explicitly the same as the Collective Impact
Framework popularized by Kania and Kramer (2011), but shares some of the same elements, like a common agenda and mutually reinforcing activities.
Like other consumers, restaurants are discrete entities with the freedom to make choices about how they engage with the rest of the food system. When these consumers get together, their collective impact has the power to make changes to the food system. These changes can align with the goals of local government, strengthen the local food supply, and give citizens the knowledge and skills required to feed themselves in a healthy and sustainable way. Through the research process, several themes emerged that are relevant to the research questions, and I present them here in order of their relevance.
The main research question is “what actions can restaurants in Victoria take to build a more sustainable food system and help meet the food systems goals in Victoria’s Official
Community Plan?”. To reiterate, these two goals (City of Victoria, 2012, p. 115) are:
• 17(A) A healthy share of the food that supplies Victoria’s daily needs is sustainably
grown, processed and packaged in the city, in surrounding agricultural areas, and on
Vancouver Island, and
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• 17 (B) Victorians have access to skills, knowledge and resources to produce and process
their own food in urban areas. (City of Victoria, 2012)
The results related to the main research question are presented below, and grouped into two categories based on the two OCP goals above.
Theme: Working Together to Strengthen the Local Supply Chain
The first set of themes that emerged relates to how restaurants can leverage their collective impact by using their purchasing decisions to choose local products and strengthen the local supply of food. Interviewees working directly in restaurants described a common scenario where restaurants have direct relationships with farmers and other producers. One interviewee emphasized: “If we as chefs don’t steward the land, then the system will break down”.
These direct relationships lead to a relatively small amount of high-quality local products making their way into restaurants, but operational and logistical barriers prevent this model from expanding. Several interviewees said that restaurants prefer dealing with a limited number of suppliers (thus generating fewer invoices), and logistics prevent a supply model where products arrive at many different times of the week. These logistical challenges cause restaurants to favour suppliers who can reliably provide a wide range of products at a convenient time in the weekly cycle. For restaurants and suppliers to work together to increase the amount of local food consumed, logistical challenges within and between their respective operations need to be overcome.
Food distribution and interfaces between actors through the food supply chain.
Logistical challenges were reinforced by some of the interviewees working directly in local food
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distribution. These interviewees described the many challenges associated with operating as a small food distributor within a system that is dominated by large companies and global supply chains. Local distributors began by offering specialty products like salad mix, and expanded to a wider range of products including staples like eggs and potatoes. Given restaurants’ focus on daily operations and limited capacity, these distributors felt that they needed to offer as many different products as possible to provide a competitive alternative to the major suppliers.
These interviewees also described a variety of incentives and loyalty benefits provided to restaurants by large suppliers. These incentives include receiving a refund of 1 percent of total sales in return for meeting purchasing minimum targets (e.g., purchasing greater than 80 percent of supplies from the distributor), and the ability to purchase to-go packaging, cleaning products, and other restaurant needs. Restaurants and chefs tend to be focused on daily operations and have little time and space to take risks and seek new opportunities, so a supplier that can offer them everything they need from one source saves them time. Interviewees familiar with local food distribution described some areas of hope and opportunity within local supply chains: environmental benefits, responsive producers, and credibility.
The amount of food wasted is an area where local distributors could have an advantage.
The combined factors of shorter transportation distances, pressure to compete with large distributors, small profit margins, and financial risks associated with spoiled product contributed to local distributors reporting lower levels of spoilage compared to large distributors. Local distributors interviewed stated that they had a spoilage rate less than 5 percent, which they claimed was much lower than what is typical of large distributors.
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Another advantage that local distributors provide is the ability to directly influence the types of products being produced. One interviewee said that feedback from chefs led farmers to focus on seasonal and unique items that chefs want, while also producing products they need year-round like salad mix. The relationships that were built between the producers and consumers through the supplier provided a sense of community and belonging to the people involved.
Another advantage for businesses involved in the local food distribution system is credibility. Many interviewees shared the view that the most important part of marketing local food is the word of mouth between chefs and the credibility that it creates. Interviewees described the restaurant industry as a community with a healthy level of competition and a desire among chefs to use common ingredients to do new and inventive things. One interviewee said,
“watching the flavours change and respond to the seasons is fulfilling, and watching different chefs do different things with the same ingredients is the most exciting part”. Several interviewees said that restaurants are more likely to be allies than competitors, because most consumers like to eat a variety of food and visit a variety of restaurants. As a result, there is space for a significant number and variety of viable restaurants and food outlets in a community.
The credibility of positive word of mouth extends beyond restaurant staff to consumers through labelling and certification programs. Interviewees from the Toronto area frequently mentioned that the Local Food Plus certification program served as a catalyst within the local food system. One interviewee said that the Local Food Plus program provided a simple starting point for producers and consumers to build relationships upon.
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Local food hubs as part of small-scale distribution infrastructure. Food hubs are defined by Horst et al. (221, p.224, cited in Campbell & MacRae, 2013) as “a coordinating intermediary between regional producers and suppliers and customers, including institutions, food service firms, retail outlets, and end consumers”, and infrastructure that could be classified as a food hub was evident in each case studied. In Halifax, the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market was described as both a food business incubator and as a strong voice on the Halifax Food Policy
Alliance. In Toronto, the Ontario Food Terminal was described as a unique piece of public food infrastructure that facilitates the distribution of over 1 million tonnes of produce annually
(Ontario Food Terminal Board, 2017). In Vancouver, interviewees pointed to the VFMDirect program of Vancouver Farmers Markets as an evolving solution that allows retailers, food processors, and restaurants to shop from several farmers directly through one harmonized service. In Victoria, interviewees described arrangements where a large restaurant with their own warehouse offered storage space for other smaller restaurants to use. Interviewees from Victoria also mentioned opportunities for food hubs as part of a food rescue initiative in Esquimalt, in the
Rock Bay neighbourhood, and in Saanich at an established farm. One interviewee said that
“right-sized, local food infrastructure is essential to get past the cheap, anonymous food of the industrial system”.
Several interviewees described the helpful functions of food hubs. One function is managing the logistics of orders and deliveries so that farmers, producers, retailers, and restaurants can focus on other parts of their business. Another function is creating an economy of scale and the certainty that accompanies it; by coordinating relationships between member
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producers and consumers in one place, there is greater certainty that those involved can find a beneficial match for their needs. There is also inherent resiliency created through the number of members so that businesses are not solely reliant on each other.
Especially in Vancouver and Victoria, interviewees described the benefits of being part of a cooperative local business community. One interviewee recounted the story of a fire that threatened to bankrupt their well-established restaurant. The interviewee attributed the swift recovery and rebuilding of the business to the deep ties the restaurant had to other restaurants, local suppliers, and financing from a local credit union.
Interviewees that were business owners also mentioned that many of their best customers are like-minded businesses and are looking for new ways to collaborate - like using spent grain from breweries to make bread or livestock feed. Other interviewees mentioned the cross- branding power of restaurants advertising other local businesses’ products like bread, cheese, or coffee on their menus.
Market mechanisms and the local brand. Ideas related to consumer choices and market mechanisms were raised by most interviewees and expand on the idea of credibility in distribution mentioned above. The most prevalent of these is the idea that local products bring feelings of transparency, accessibility, and belonging. Interviewees frequently mentioned the power of the local food brand and the benefits and challenges that it carries. One interviewee said that “evidence that local food systems are eating into the large market share is that large retailers are including local produce sections and greening their marketing materials”.
Consumers prefer local products but an associated challenge is that there is no standard
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definition of local. Restaurants advertise using local products but just how much of their supply is local is not often advertised or tracked. Local can mean a product that is produced in the region, or within B.C., or even within Canada. In the absence of an agreed-upon standard, the powerful brand of local can mean vastly different things in different contexts. This is discussed below in the Discussion section. Several interviewees mentioned that consumers like to have some indication of local to make their decision, but do not often dig below the surface by trying to learn more about the life of their food. Some interviewees who are chefs described their evolving strategy to give customers just the right amount of information to provoke more inquiry and curiosity, which is discussed below in the Story of the Food section.
Another market mechanism that was mentioned is the idea that local food is more expensive. This is a complicated issue that involves several pieces outside the scope of this research including subsidies, externalities, and economies of scale. How some interviewees described the issue is that many local food systems are still emerging (or re-emerging) and the initial opportunities for local products have been in the realm of the unique and gourmet where consumers are willing to pay a premium. Like the experience of the local distribution companies, once a market has been established for premium products, suppliers can expand their offerings to include staple products as well. Most interviewees mentioned the phenomenon of local food being viewed as a privilege only accessible by the wealthy, and how the local food movement needs to include a focus on food access and supplying a wider range of products to the whole community. There are partnership opportunities for distributors and restaurants discussed in the
Institutional Procurement section below.
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On the positive side, interviewees mentioned several examples of where market mechanisms provided an advantage for local food. In Victoria, most restaurants that cater to tourists see a significant bump in business during the summer. Many tourists want to sample local flavours, and many are visiting at a time when local products are in season and readily available. For other customers and those visiting outside of the peak season, restaurants have the challenge of fostering an understanding of seasonal food. One interviewee described in detail an evolution that many successful restaurants go through: starting out with a menu that is not seasonal and relies on imported food; then gradually building an appreciation by customers and staff for seasonal and locally available products. This evolution leads to a more resilient business that is more deeply connected to the community and less vulnerable to fluctuations in global food prices and transportation costs.
Theme: Telling the Story of Food and Educating Consumers
The second set of themes that emerged relates to how restaurants can leverage their collective impact by using their role as an interface between producers and consumers to tell the story of the food.
Reconnecting consumers to their food. The idea of reconnecting consumers to their food was present in every interview. Interviewees working as chefs described the process of finding the right amount of information to give consumers at the right time. Some interviewees said they tell the story of the food through menus and serving staff. Some also said that had previously included extensive provenance of the ingredients on the menu, but over time they realized that it was too much information for consumers to absorb. They also said that some
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consumers felt intimidated ordering dishes that were unfamiliar or contained unknown ingredients. They described a more effective approach as including just enough information to allow consumers to make an association or feel a connection with the food, and ideally prompting them to ask more detailed questions about the products. One interviewee said, “we can only educate people to the extent they ask, and it is better to lead them to an education outside the restaurant”.
Some other interviewees described their approach as including as much of the story of the food as possible to build a sense of connection and appreciation in the consumer for certain local producers. One interviewee described a collective effort among restaurants in Halifax to build appreciation in consumers for naturally-raised chicken and resist the proliferation of a cheaper industrial product. This was an effort that would not have been possible without the collective effort of like-minded restaurants.
Interviewees provided ideas and examples of other ways that restaurants could educate consumers about their food beyond the menus and the serving staff. Marketing materials and food magazines are methods of storytelling that were mentioned. Collective marketing and partnerships with media and publishers can fill a role that restaurants often do not have the capacity for themselves. Several interviewees said that while collectively marketing with other businesses can be an advantage, there is an awareness in the industry that many businesses use the local brand with widely varying amounts of local product being served. The common position among interviewees was that most chefs want to be serving much more local product than they are able to due to availability, logistics, and price.
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Another form of education described in interviews is cookbooks created by restaurants.
Some interviewees said that they could see an evolution of knowledge in many customers that started with trying something new on the menu, and then eventually using the restaurant’s cookbook to make it at home. This is one area where restaurants can play a role in giving people the tools and knowledge to feed themselves with more local products. One interviewee said that some leading restaurants had produced cookbooks that also described how to grow some of the ingredients at home. While none of the interviewees said they had pursued this idea themselves, there is an opportunity here for a deeper connection between restaurants, gardening, and food security.
When discussing the potential of educating the consumer, several interviewees also made a link to building appreciation for the broader local economy. They described their efforts to advocate for the expanded value of eating local: health benefits of fresh food, social connections, and local economic impact of money cycling through the community. One interviewee said, “the most important and powerful role for restaurants can be to educate consumers about the local economy”.
Other examples were mentioned where restaurants could be partners in fostering a growing understanding of food. Seasonal food festivals, partnering with institutional food providers in schools and hospitals, and supporting community gardens were all examples raised by interviewees. Interviewees emphasized the benefits of supporting employee involvement in food and educational opportunities outside of the workplace, saying that it helped build an understanding of the local food system.
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Tracking and monitoring systems. All interviewees brought up the idea that negative impacts of industrial food are not well understood and spread out through the global food chain, hiding the real issues. They went on to link this idea to the potential benefits of monitoring and reporting the impacts of the food system. Lifecycle assessment or full-cost accounting of the inputs that go into food products allow for a better understanding of the impact of food production and consumption on the land and communities that support it. These systems have multiple benefits including helping to tell the story of the food, allowing businesses to understand their role in the food chain and seek opportunities for efficiency, and allowing governments to use a broader base of evidence when making policy decisions and delivering programs.
One interviewee mentioned the TEEBAgriFood initiative as an international standard for measuring the true cost of food, which seeks to recognize, measure, and manage the externalities in the food system. TEEB stands for “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” and is part of a broader global initiative of true cost accounting. As most of the environmental impact of the food system is currently not captured in energy and greenhouse gas accounting protocols being used in B.C., implementing true cost accounting of food products would give both consumers and governments more evidence to base decisions on.
Standards and labelling. An idea related to, but distinct from, tracking and monitoring systems, is food standards and labelling. This concept was mentioned by interviewees in all locations; the most common standard mentioned was Certified Organic. In general, interviewees described labels as a helpful tool to guide consumer choices, but also limited in application,
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costly for small producers, and at risk of masking larger issues that are not within the scope of current standards.
Most interviewees from Toronto and multiple others mentioned the Local Food Plus standard as a positive example of a local food standard. Interviewees described Local Food Plus as a standard that combined the rigor of organic standards with aspects of animal welfare, workers’ rights, and energy use, all while being accessible to local farmers that were not ready to go through the process of becoming Certified Organic. Interviewees familiar with the Local Food
Plus program said that it had many positive aspects including facilitating lasting connections between producers and consumers, providing a starting foundation for a local food distribution business, shifting supply chains, and engaging school and university cafeterias. Interviewees said that ultimately the program failed before it could be fully implemented across Canada because the level of rigor and administration was unsustainable. These accounts by interviewees are consistent with articles that have been written about Local Food Plus (Campbell & MacRae,
2013; Louden & MacRae, 2010).
In Victoria, restaurants can join the Vancouver Island Green Business Certification program and go through the process of an environmental audit checklist to compare themselves with other restaurants and measure their own performance over time (Vancouver Island Green
Business Certification, 2017). While this program has a relatively low level of rigor, it is designed to encourage corporate social responsibility, and gives restaurants a way to start the conversation about their environmental impact. As this program evolves, it could incorporate
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ways to include more detailed accounting measures and higher standards, while remaining accessible to small restaurants.
Interviewees mentioned other standards and labels such as HACCP, Oceanwise,
Mealshare, Food for Life, and LOCO. HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point safety standard) was specifically mentioned by interviewees as a barrier to institutional procurement of local food. Oceanwise was mentioned as a positive standard by multiple interviewees, but one interviewee said they stopped using it because of the negative association with Vancouver
Aquarium’s marine mammal captivity program. Mealshare was mentioned as a positive program that allows restaurants to contribute to food access and food security for vulnerable citizens.
One common sentiment among interviewees is that there is no standard definition of local food, nor does there need to be one. The value of local food can come from reduced energy and travel costs, fresher products, and higher levels of nutrients, but local is not the only determinant of these measures. Additionally, interviewees mentioned that a significant value of local food comes from the social connections and diverse, interconnected local economy that it fosters.
Results Related to Secondary Research Question: Local Government Support
A secondary research question was “how can local governments support restaurants and food retailers in contributing toward food systems goals?”. The role of all levels of government came up in the interviews. Federal food policy (or lack thereof) and international trade are not the focus of this research, but are supported by the literature (MacRae, 1999). When the Federal
Government did get mentioned it was related to the lack of coordinated food policy.
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Most interviewees described the role of government as challenging because of the complexity of food systems and the many areas of society that it relates to. Agriculture and food- related policy is often embedded in other initiatives and because of this it only gets a superficial treatment or consideration. This superficial treatment does not achieve the complexity required to solve many of the systemic issues related to food systems. One interviewee said that due to these complex challenges, often the policy process is more important than the result. By working across departments and building networks of capacity within government and CSOs, governments can empower actors to consider food systems regardless of whether it is their focus.
Policy jurisdiction. A common idea that was mentioned by most interviewees is that local governments increasingly seek opportunities to develop food policy. A lack of coordinated food policy at the senior government level, combined with local governments having direct exposure to the consequences of public health and food access, has led to this emergence in local government food policy leadership.
Policy tools. Most interviewees cited agricultural standards and regulations as impediments to the development of local food infrastructure. One example is how slaughterhouse regulations led to the closure of many small local facilities. While these regulations were put in place to protect consumers, small producers of animal products could no longer make a profit because of the longer distances to slaughterhouses and the scale of production required. There is a need for more flexible standards that address food safety risks while meeting the needs of small producers and consumers.
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Other areas where federal policy could help strengthen local food systems are standards and labelling. Interviewees mentioned a recent consultation by Health Canada regarding labelling standards for sugars, sodium, and saturated fat (Health Canada, 2017). This type of labelling standard was described as an area where federal policy could help set standards for more transparent information about the source of packaged food. Restaurants, other food retailers, and consumers could use these labels to make more informed decisions about food purchases.
Some interviewees also mentioned federal policy as an opportunity for enabling innovation in food production. Interviewees described the federal government as having the power to develop funding programs and fiscal policies that enable innovation. These actions could have a positive effect on agriculture and food producers, leading to more opportunity for restaurants to source a wide variety of products locally.
Provincial examples. Most interviewees provided ideas about how provincial governments can support restaurants and local food systems. These ideas included developing policies and bylaws enabling local government action, protecting agricultural land from development and incentivizing its productive use, marketing local food to residents and visitors, financial tools such as tax breaks, and coordinating policy development across areas of environment, education, and health.
Some interviewees said that while most provincial governments lack a cohesive food strategy, there are several examples of programs and initiatives supported by provincial governments and provincial public health agencies that are successful and seen as strengthening
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local food systems. One of the provincial programs that was mentioned is Foodland Ontario, a program founded in 1977 that markets local food to Ontario residents (Foodland Ontario, 2017).
This program was also mentioned by interviewees in B.C. as an example that B.C. could follow.
The 2017 mandate letter to the B.C. Minister of Agriculture includes direction to “bring back an enhanced Buy B.C. marketing program to help local producers market their products, and work with local producers to expand market access in the rest of Canada and abroad” (Province of
British Columbia, 2017).
Local government examples. Relating back to Victoria’s OCP, there are specific tools, policies, and actions that can help to achieve the food system benefits described by interviewees.
These actions include addressing food infrastructure needs, supporting other actors like health authorities and school districts, and incorporating food considerations into processes like neighbourhood planning.
Several interviewees described local government as not only providing leadership but also acting as a barrier. Like other levels of government, ensuring that food systems are a priority across all departments of the organization is important. Food considerations should be embedded in economic development plans, land use development guidelines, and regional urban containment strategies. By building food systems literacy within the local government organization and staff, and by involving a wide range of actors in the development of food strategies and plans, local governments are in a better position to access and coordinate available resources to support the food system. Interviewees identified a need for local government to engage with senior levels of government and access infrastructure and grant programs using a
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food systems lens. They also stressed the importance of local governments working with and learning from other communities through organizations like the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities, ICLEI, Urban Sustainability Directors Network, and C40 Cities.
Local government can enable land uses that support food production, processing, distribution, retail, and waste recovery. This can be done by encouraging inclusion of food assets in new development. One action that some interviewees mentioned is updating zoning definitions to allow food processing outside of industrial areas. One interviewee said that
“retirees and citizens under the age of 30 have the energy to grow more food, but little access to land”.
Interviewees involved in local government said that there is great value in incorporating food systems in planning and strategy development, and in creating or supporting local food policy councils and other CSOs working in food systems. Most interviewees pointed to their city’s food charter or food strategy as providing valuable focus and necessary justification for specific actions and initiatives. Because of the broad nature of food policy work and the congruence of policy statements between OCPs, food charters, food strategies, and other documents it is important to focus efforts and create links between the groups and individuals involved. Related to this is the importance of having an active working relationship between city staff, elected officials, and FPCs and other advisory groups.
Some interviewees described the importance of local government showing leadership in their own corporate operations. This can take shape in city-controlled facilities through
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initiatives like local food procurement in food services, demonstration food gardens, and organic waste diversion systems.
Most local governments have a responsibility for waste management, and with that they have an opportunity to recycle organic waste and valuable nutrients back into the ecosystem.
Several interviewees said that organic waste from residential and commercial sources is an important component of the local food system, and that local governments can make it work.
How organic waste diversion helps the local food system depends on where composting facilities are located and what technology is used. When the City of Victoria and the CRD first introduced an organic waste diversion program, they used a local facility. The facility is no longer being used because neighbours complained about the smell, and the organic waste is instead being sent to Vancouver. Appropriate siting of facilities and proper use of available technology is important for a successful organic waste diversion program.
Institutional procurement. Institutional procurement represents a growing trend and was mentioned by most interviewees as an opportunity for government and business to work together. Public institutions like hospitals, schools, and universities consume a lot of food and employ chefs and food service staff. Several interviewees said that institutional procurement can be an effective policy tool to increase the amount of food consumed locally. One interviewee said, “because food is often an ancillary service in public institutions, it does not receive public funding, and that institutional procurement could be catalyzed by making food a core service”.
There is an opportunity to partner with restaurants and local food producers to add credibility and provide familiar, desirable food products to clients. There is also an opportunity to improve
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the experience of clients (e.g., students, patients, etc.) by feeding them fresh, nutrient-rich food, and help contribute to positive health outcomes. Some interviewees emphasized the opportunity in hospitals and related it to the practice of doctors prescribing organic food to treat illness.
Including local food targets for public institutions helps to build small-scale distribution infrastructure in which restaurants can be a beneficial partner, and institutions often have access to public land that can be used for food production and education.
Results Related to Secondary Research Question: Food Policy Frameworks
A secondary research question was “What are the common aspects of urban agriculture and food policy frameworks that have been developed for Canadian cities?”. Societies, not-for- profit organizations, food policy councils, and other CSOs play an important role in the food system between government and the private sector. Several interviewees mentioned CSOs as sources of leadership within the food system.
Food policy councils. FPCs were a focus of the research and several of the interviewees were either currently or previously members of a food policy council. Those not associated with
FPCs also mentioned the organizations as showing leadership, demonstrating their reach and impact. At the same time, some interviewees described the local food community as “always the same people showing up to meetings and events”, and said that it was a challenge to expand the reach.
Some interviewees described the role of FPCs as a disruptive manipulator and opportunistic catalyst for local food policy. The role was also described as network and capacity building through providing a space and forum for people from different organizations and sectors
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to come together and find common ground. One interviewee described the value of a FPCs as
“generating activity in civil society and small business, connecting people with the skills and energy, and providing service at low cost”. FPCs were described as most effective when there is a formal link to local government and staff support, as is the case in Halifax, Toronto, and
Vancouver.
Another role of the FPC that was mentioned by interviewees is funding coordination. The importance of maintaining ongoing relationships with funders was mentioned, as many food systems investments have multiple outcomes and do not yield enough return to be justified in isolation.
Other civil society organizations. The role of CSOs was described as providing links to communities, developing financial tools and business services, building relationships, and providing valuable community-based research. Examples of impactful CSOs mentioned include
Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, FoodShare in Toronto, FarmFolk CityFolk in Vancouver, and
Lifecycles and CRFAIR in Victoria. While some of these CSOs involved chefs, the links to restaurants were described by interviewees as a weakness and an opportunity for further engagement. CSOs can engage more restaurants and producers by providing business, marketing, and advocacy support to those that are focused on their own operations. One interviewee said, “a key role of civil society is to bring people together in a meaningful way”. For a chef or a farmer to step outside of their daily duties and engage with food systems initiatives, they need to see a clear return on investment for their valuable time.
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Other Common Themes
Several interviewees mentioned other themes that are outside the scope of this research, but warrant acknowledgement. One of these themes is that access to healthy food is a basic human right, yet remains an issue across Canada. This was mentioned in the context of the role of government and prioritizing food systems, as well as in the literature (Rideout, Riches, Ostry,
Buckingham, & MacRae, 2007). One interviewee said that “we should use our shared Canadian value of universal access to health care as leverage and extend it to include healthy food”.
Another interviewee said that “there is good evidence supporting putting public money into healthy food initiatives”.
Another related theme mentioned frequently by interviewees is the power of food to connect people to themselves and to each other. Food can be used as a tool to build healthy communities, welcome newcomers, and foster an understanding of ecosystem services and the natural environment. The simple act of preparing and sharing a meal together is a powerful tool.
There is an opportunity to move past simply eating local food, said one interviewee, and “use it to define how we feed ourselves and grow as a community”.
Discussion
The academic literature surrounding local food policy in Canada is rich regarding subjects like food system governance, preservation of farmland, urban agriculture, public health, and social issues related to food access and food security. There are also examples of studies on the marketing of local food (Curtis & Cowee, 2009). The literature specific to the role of
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restaurants and the small business-local government interface is relatively light (especially in
Canada) compared to the subjects mentioned above. This research and the recommendations for further study could contribute to the existing theory on food systems in the Canadian context, especially as it relates to restaurants and other small food businesses. The area where this contribution could be most useful is describing the roles of restaurants and FPCs as they relate to each other. Considering the current state of food policy in Victoria, the significant role of restaurants in the local food system, and the potential for the formation of a regional FPC in the near future, this research can immediately inform how restaurants can participate in emerging food system governance for common benefit. This section brings together the research results and the literature to discuss the roles of restaurants, local government, and civil society organizations in facilitating the participation of restaurants in the local food system and helping
Victoria achieve its food systems goals.
The Role of Restaurants
There are several specific actions restaurants can take to strengthen the local food system and help Victoria achieve its food systems goals. The focus of these actions involves working with local producers and distributors to grow the local supply chain. This occurs through direct relationships between chefs and farmers, but there is an opportunity for restaurants to work together and use their collective impact to support small-scale distribution networks (Sharma,
Moon, & Strohbehn, 2014). Restaurants with experience and established relationships in sourcing local products can work with other restaurants and the CSOs that support them. The value of encouraging greater interaction between actors in the food system and increasing social
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capital has been well studied regarding farmers and producers (Pretty et al., 2001), but restaurants and retailers could apply similar lessons. There are seeds of this happening in
Victoria and other Canadian cities, and like-minded businesses can look to other places like the
United Kingdom for examples of successful food business cooperatives (Seyfang, 2006).
Restaurants in the case study cities have limited representation on FPCs and sometimes find it difficult to engage with local government initiatives. Restaurants and supporting organizations in Victoria could look to the formation of a FPC as an opportunity to build stronger relationships. Restaurants can also leverage the trend toward institutional procurement to gain access to a more diverse and stable supply of local products (Barbolet et al., 2005; Barling et al.,
2002; Vancouver Island Community Research Alliance, 2011). The volumes of food required to meet institutional procurement targets could allow restaurants to partner with these institutions and source local specialty products at a lower price than is currently available. Farmers may be willing to try growing new products if they can enter into a supply agreement with a group of restaurants and institutions (Stott et al., 2014). Restaurant staff partnering with institutions like hospitals and schools on menu design and food literacy projects can also build credibility and help restaurants to be a valued member of the community (Hild, 2009).
Another set of actions that restaurants can take to strengthen the local food system is to use their position in the food chain to educate consumers and connect them with the story of the food. This education starts with actions that can be taken inside the restaurant and extends to partnerships with other restaurants and participation in broader initiatives. The research shows that there is a growing demand for local food and that consumers want to know where their food
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is coming from (Geggie, 2013; Perkins, 1999; Stott et al., 2014; Vancouver Island Community
Research Alliance, 2011). Restaurants can find the right amount of information to provide to customers to provoke further inquiry without making them feel intimidated. This specifically involves including information on the menu and in the restaurant and ensuring the serving staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions.
This opportunity for educating consumers can extend beyond the restaurant by participating in broader initiatives. In Victoria, restaurants have the opportunity to engage with existing initiatives like the Island Chefs Collaborative, FarmFolk CityFolk, and the Food Eco
District. A simple first step for restaurants is to become certified through the Vancouver Island
Green Business Certification program, display a sticker in the front window, and explain to customers the actions they have taken to gain the certification.
The Role of Local Government
Local government has a role to play in strengthening local food systems and the actors within them (Geggie, 2013; Pothukuchi & Kaufman, 1999; Wegener et al., 2012). Based on other cities in Canada, there are several pathways to an effective policy framework that Victoria could follow. These pathways typically begin with an assessment of the current situation and food-related policy statements in strategic planning documents like the OCP. These pathways continue with the development of a food charter and coordinated food strategy. In Victoria, the strongest leadership has come from non-profit CSOs like CRFAIR and Lifecycles, enabling the
City to move straight to action through the Growing in the City set of initiatives. Existing groups at the municipal and regional levels have set the stage for the establishment of a Capital Region
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FPC. Because of the large number of small municipalities in the region, it is imperative that municipalities work together to align their efforts and make the best use of staff resources and volunteer capacity.
Beyond supporting the development of coordinated policy frameworks, there are specific opportunities and examples of how local governments can help small businesses, like restaurants, become valued contributors in building a stronger local food system (Bouris et al., 2009). Local governments can support the small-scale distribution systems that restaurants rely on for local products by supporting the development of infrastructure like food hubs and local distribution centers. Other land-use related actions local governments can take involve developing zoning bylaws and definitions that do not relegate food processing and storage infrastructure to industrial areas.
Where local governments have control over community facilities that serve food to customers, they can set targets for institutional procurement of local food. In Victoria, opportunities for this type of action exist through partnerships with the school district, Island
Health, and through community centres. There are opportunities in Victoria to include food assets like gardens and community kitchens as public spaces and facilities get redeveloped (e.g.
Ship’s Point, David Foster Pathway, Crystal Pool, etc.).
Opportunities for action also exist at a regional level within the CRD (Capital Regional
District, 2016). Urban containment boundaries protect valuable farmland from development, and projected population growth suggests increased pressure to develop that land for housing
(Capital Regional District, 2003). Municipalities can use their own development strategies to
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focus the population growth in existing residential areas through increased density and mixed- use developments. Every municipality in the CRD has signed the voluntary Climate Action
Charter which commits to building “compact, complete, energy-efficient communities”
(Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, 2013).
The CRD can also use the momentum of its recently completed Food and Agriculture
Strategy to move forward with developing a regional FPC or similar coordinating advisory group
(Capital Regional District, 2016). Restaurants exist in Victoria at a higher rate per capita than most other cities in Canada (TripAdvisor, 2017d), which suggests the restaurant sector has an important role to play in an emerging FPC.
Evidence from other jurisdictions, especially Ontario, suggests that a catalyzing component in many of the previously discussed actions is a third-party verification system for local and organic food (Maxey, 2006). This is an area where local government can provide support through partnerships with local, regional, and provincial designation systems (Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). As the food system develops to favour products with a lower environmental impact and a connection to place, a trusted and transparent system of tracking, monitoring, and certifying aspects of food products give consumers information they are seeking to make purchasing decisions. As with the experience of Local
Food Plus in Ontario, these certifications can also enable significant volumes of local food to be purchased through institutional procurement programs (Friedmann, 2007; Louden & MacRae,
2010).
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The Role of Civil Society Organizations
As is evident from the case studies and the literature, CSOs play a significant role in convening and connecting actors with shared priorities (Baker et al., 2010; MacRae & Donahoe,
2013; Mah & Thang, 2013; Sonntag, 2008). Examples of successful local food system policies are abundant, and CSOs in Victoria can learn from the actions and approaches of other cities.
Fortunately for Victoria, CSOs like the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives
Roundtable, Island Chefs Collaborative, and Lifecycles are well established and have already been leaders in the local food system for many years.
An important consideration for CSOs in an urban center like Victoria is to maintain strong links to the surrounding rural areas with food production capacity. A successful model of a regional urban-rural food system has been described by Gail Feenstra (1997) as having three elements: leadership, collaboration, and citizens working together to foster the politics of civic renewal. CSOs working regionally can connect businesses and people living in the urban core with food production and food literacy initiatives in the nearby agricultural areas of the Saanich
Penninsula and Cowichan Valley.
CSOs geared toward supporting small businesses like the Food Eco District also have a significant role in the local food system. One of their challenges (as described by several interviewees) is to provide a good return on investment for the time and money businesses spend engaging with their initiatives. Services like marketing, energy efficiency, local food supply and distribution, and lobbying for changes to public policy can be a benefit to small businesses and are more effective at economies of scale. It is important that CSOs and other groups engaging
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with restaurant owners and other food businesses understand the operational focus of their audience. Many restaurants share environmental values but do not have the time or expertise to make systemic changes in their business operations to reflect these values. This is a growing role for CSOs and especially relevant to Victoria with its large number of restaurants and food businesses.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Restaurants can strengthen Victoria’s food system by working together and leveraging their collective impact to improve local food supply and food literacy. Many restaurants in
Victoria share common goals with other actors in the local food system, and have the potential to realize positive outcomes through collaboration.
The purpose of this research was to determine the actions that restaurants in Victoria can take to build a sustainable food system, by exploring relevant examples from other Canadian cities. This exploration resulted in several examples of successful partnerships between private sector restaurants, CSOs, and local government. It also resulted in identifying a proven path of local food policy development that Victoria can look to for inspiration. Finally, it resulted in a set of themes that describe successful arrangements of, and relationships between, actors in the food system. Below are specific recommendations for three main groups of actors.
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 72
Recommendations for Restaurants
Restaurants should look for opportunities to work together to support local producers and distributors, advocate for supportive public policy, participate in civil society initiatives, and educate consumers about the story of their food.
Victoria currently has a diverse restaurant sector with many connections to local producers and distributors. Victoria also has a mayor and council who support the development of local food policies and support CSOs working in the space. There are connections to neighbouring municipalities, the CRD, and the Provincial Government through staff and elected officials. These supports and connections present an opportunity for restaurants to advance food policy and local food system infrastructure.
Recommendations for the City of Victoria
The City of Victoria should take a leadership role in establishing a regional food policy council that recognizes and builds on the history of food-focused civil society initiatives. The
City should use the neighbourhood planning process to reinforce food system goals, develop action plans, and dedicate staff and resources to coordinate the efforts.
This research found that actors in Victoria’s food system can learn from relevant examples of successful restaurant initiatives and food policies in other Canadian cities. Some
Canadian cities are a few steps ahead of Victoria in food policy and local food system governance, which presents an opportunity to leverage others’ experience to establish progressive governance models and systems of measuring impact.
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 73
Recommendations for Civil Society Organizations
CSOs with a mandate to support the food system should look for opportunities to engage the private sector in a way that provides a high return on their time and money invested. They should continue to convene groups with common goals, and identify where there are strategic opportunities for systemic change. CSOs should also work as a bridge between government and the private sector to tell the story of the local food system and embed ways of measuring social, environmental, and economic impact.
This research explored opportunities for restaurants to be involved in the development of strong, locally-rooted food systems. The evolving relationship between what people eat and the implications of busy urban lifestyles, results in opportunities for restaurants to be a significant force of system change. This research is just one piece of a wealth of knowledge about the dynamics of food systems in Victoria and in Canada, just as restaurants are one piece of a complex web of interactions within the global food system. What the results have shown, is by using a common purpose to work together across sectors and organizations, mutually beneficial initiatives emerge that have the potential to strengthen food supply, grow food skills and knowledge, and build a more cooperative society in the process.
THE ROLE OF RESTAURANTS IN VICTORIA’S FOOD SYSTEM 74
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Appendix 1 - Interview Questions
• How long have you lived in (city)?
• What makes a sustainable food system?
• Can you describe your role and experience with the organizations you have worked with?
• What are some of the most sustainable practices you have observed in the food system?
• Wherse in the food system do you see the most leadership occurring?
• What has helped to foster this leadership?
• What do you see as the specific role of restaurants in a sustainable food system?
• What are the barriers to taking leadership and where are these barriers coming from?
• What solutions can you think of to remove or reduce these barriers?
• Where in the food system are there areas for improvement and innovation?
• Can you describe the context of Victoria’s restaurants? Benefits and tensions?
• Are you aware of any innovative practices that are happening in restaurants outside of Canada
that could be relevant to Canadian restaurants wanting to be more sustainable?
• Do you have any other comments about the role of restaurants in a sustainable food system?