Port Moody cooking up mandatory food-recovery rules for new grocery stores
On April 22, council unanimously voted for staff to develop a policy that would require all new grocery stores to partner with food-recovery charities in an effort to tackle food waste, support food security, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Mayor Meghan Lahti, who introduced the motion, said the best way to ensure participation of future grocery stores is to require it from the outset.
'This is something that I believe that we need to get behind,' she said. 'I'm happy to hear that there are other participating grocery stores in the city, but I know that it took a lot of work and a lot of time and effort to get them on board.'
The practice of grocery-food recovery involves rescuing surplus edible food that would otherwise be discarded, and redirecting it to charities and non-profits.
The proposed policy would require partnerships be formed between grocery stores and organizations looking to redistribute food – such as Coquitlam's
Food Link Society
– during the planning stages of new developments.
The benefits of such a policy are wide-ranging, according to the motion. Besides providing meals for residents struggling with food access, the policy aims to reduce methane emissions from landfilled organics and cut disposal costs for businesses.
Nicole Blades, a coordinator with Food Link Society in Port Moody, said the organization's local distribution centre collects approximately 1,000 kilograms of recoverable food every Sunday from four local grocery stores, which is then distributed to 100 households.
In total, the organization collects from 28 grocery stores, feeds 107,000 people, and reduces 4.5 million pounds of CO2 emissions annually, according to Blades.
She said if government can create policies that regulate corporate waste, groups like Food Link Society can save valuable staff resources and focus on delivery, distribution, and public education.
'It's a lot of food, and it's also a lot of administrative work,' Blades said. 'The policy will help balance the division of labour.'
Port Moody currently has three major developments in the pipeline that include grocery stores – Wesgroup's Coronation Park site, Edgar Development's Portwood community, and the PCI Development's transit-oriented tower project.
The motion is drafted to align with council's strategic plan by promoting healthy community development and advancing climate change mitigation.
Coun. Samantha Agtarap said she supports any way council can change habits to better utilize food resources, and suggested council should encourage all food-based businesses to enact similar practices.
She referenced data from Global Food Waste Statistics showing that just 25 percent of the food wasted globally each year could feed 870 million people, while also pointing toward 2018 Statistics Canada data indicating 1.2 million Canadian children live in food-insecure households.
'I still don't think people understand the sheer volume of food that's wasted,' Agtarap said.
Coun. Amy Lubik praised Food Link Society's work in the community, and was also supportive from both a climate and equity perspective.
She said council should be helping foster connections to non-profits and reducing their administrative costs.
'Feeding over 100,000 of our neighbors per year is incredible, especially in such a time when people are having trouble making ends meet,' Lubik said. 'This just makes sense.'
Following council's decision, Lubik introduced a motion for staff to report back on options to incentivize low-cost cooperative and ethnic grocery stores in development proposals.
While council cannot mandate these types of grocery stores in new developments, Lubik said they can encourage them through policy directives or the sustainability checklist.
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