Course:LFS350/Projects/W2018/VFPC

Project Summary

Title: What’s for lunch? Understanding school lunch programming across BC.

The Vancouver Food Policy Council (VFPC) is a member of the national Coalition for Healthy School Food, an organization requesting an investment from the federal government for a universal school food program.

Research has shown that:

• only one-third of children in Canada between the ages of 4-13 eat the recommended daily servings of vegetables and fruit;
• diet-related diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in Canadians and the biggest driver of health care costs, costing Canadians $26 billion annually
• 1 in 3 elementary aged children and 2 in 3 students in secondary schools do not eat a nutritious breakfast before school;
• food insecurity is an urgent public health challenge, affecting 1 in 6 children in Canada;
• a recent UNICEF report ranked Canada 37th of 41 high-income countries around the provision of healthy food to children; and
• Canada is one of the only industrialized countries without a national school food program, which has been called for by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food;

Both ‘health’ and ‘education’ fall under provincial jurisdiction. As a member of the Coalition, the VFPC is working with other BC-member organizations to advocate for a universal school food program. In order to be more effective in this advocacy work, more information is needed on the BC context.

Organization Information

Name

“Children and Youth Food working group” of the Vancouver Food Policy Council

Mission + Vision

The Vancouver Food Policy Council (VFPC) is an official civic agency that advises City Council and staff on improving food sustainability in Vancouver, including program and policy changes to improve the local food system.

The Vancouver Food Policy Council works to help improve food sustainability in Vancouver, where food is:

• Safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate
• Affordable, available, and accessible to all
• Produced, processed, marketed, consumed, and waste products reused or managed in a manner that is:
• Financially viable, protects the health and dignity of people, and minimally impacting the environment

Guiding Principles + Values

As an advisory group to City Council, the VFPC operates under the same principles as the City of Vancouver.

• We believe that people who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.
• We promise that the public's contribution will influence the decision.
• We promote sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision-makers.
• We seek out and facilitate the involvement of people potentially affected by or interested in a decision.
• We seek input from participants in designing how they participate.
• We provide participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.
• We communicate to participants how their input affected the decision.

Primary Contact

• Contact Person(s): Vicky Baker and Tara Moreau
• Email: vicky.baker@ubc.ca , tara.moreau@ubc.ca
• Address: UBC
• Phone: 778-836-4580 / 604–690–5375
• Website: http://www.vancouverfoodpolicycouncil.ca/
• Best time(s) method(s) to contact: By phone during the work day, or email anytime.

Project Description

The Vancouver Food Policy Council (VFPC) is a member of the national Coalition for Healthy School Food, an organization requesting an investment from the federal government for a universal school food program.

Research has shown that:

• only one-third of children in Canada between the ages of 4-13 eat the recommended daily servings of vegetables and fruit;
• diet-related diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in Canadians and the biggest driver of health care costs, costing Canadians $26 billion annually
• 1 in 3 elementary aged children and 2 in 3 students in secondary schools do not eat a nutritious breakfast before school;
• food insecurity is an urgent public health challenge, affecting 1 in 6 children in Canada;
• a recent UNICEF report ranked Canada 37th of 41 high-income countries around the provision of healthy food to children; and
• Canada is one of the only industrialized countries without a national school food program, which has been called for by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food;

Both ‘health’ and ‘education’ fall under provincial jurisdiction. As a member of the Coalition, the VFPC is working with other BC-member organizations to advocate for a universal school food program. In order to be more effective in this advocacy work, more information is needed on the BC context.

Goals of the Project

The goal is to have a better understanding of the landscape in BC as related to school meal programs. The students will develop a literature review including:

• Information on school food programs existing in BC
• Review of relevant policy documents (provincial or municipal)
• Relevant publications or reports by non-profit organizations
• Relevant government or ministry resources from elsewhere in Canada
• A comparable case study from Toronto or other major Canadian city (time permitting)

Skills Preferred + To Be Developed

• Research skills
• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Self-motivated

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

• The work hours are flexible. Both Vicky and Tara are volunteers; meetings would be coordinated during the work day.

Project/Partner Orientation

We propose a 30 min orientation meeting to share background relevant to the project. Please visit websites below as a starting point.

• Vancouver Food Policy Council
• https://foodsecurecanada.org/coalitionforhealthyschoolfood

Students are welcome to [[ http://www.vancouverfoodpolicycouncil.ca/monthly-meetings/%7Cattend both working group and larger VFPC meetings]]. The students have the opportunity to present to the working group, and also potentially the VFPC.

Expected Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

• I hope students will learn about the VFPC and its projects, as well as the national Coalition for Healthy School Food
• I think students will come to appreciate the complex nature of jurisdictional policies.
• Students will develop a sense of how real-world advocacy happens.

Organizational Outcomes

• We look forward to collaborating working with an engaged set of students!