By Cheryl Jahn

Food Council sought

May 15, 2025 | 2:44 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – It took a pandemic for consumers to appreciate food security. And now, Food Systems North are working to create not only a local food charter.

“Food charters are tools that various different communities all over the world have, and they’re essentially a set of guiding principles for a local government to be able to promote and foster things that create healthy food systems and protect against things that might create unhealthy food systems,” explains Emma Faulkner, food charter advocate.

And the Council, which is also being considered, would ensure the policies set out in the charter are being followed. In the meantime, the Official Community Plan is still up for approval by City Council, and the hope is to have the food charter incorporated in that document.

“There was detailed stuff in our previous Official Community Plan and a Select Committee on Poverty Reduction that was struck that recommended these as tools that allow cities to have healthy, thriving food systems. So we’re just bringing it out into the public eye and into the light in the hopes that these will become realities for Prince George.”

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The first time this region became acutely aware of food security was with the wildfires of 2017, when the highway was cut off and food was in short supply.

“The writing’s on the wall that this is just going to keep happening. We did historically have healthy local food systems, and the economic models that the world has chosen have made us really vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. So our goal is really to be proactive around that so that we can keep people healthy in the case of disaster or a calamity.”

Faulkner says the global nature of food supply has left communities like ours vulnerable. And Dr. Annie Booth agrees.

“The more you grow in your own country, the less you rely on other sources in countries that may or may not have the best interests of Canada, that certainly probably do not share the food security standards that Canada might actually want. For example, one of the moves that the US government has just made is to remove all inspectors from food.”

There is one local community garden in the city near the Hudson’s Bay Nature Park. But there is a much bigger picture than just community gardens.

“Community gardens are one tool,” explains Faulkner. “Community kitchens, commercial kitchen spaces where local farmers could process their food. Local abattoirs where local meat producers could process their food. Indigenous food systems. Where traditional foods and medicines are recognized and upheld and embraced as part of our food system.”

Folks with Food Systems North will be hosting an online seminar on Wednesday, looking at both food charters and Councils.