In 2022 over a dozen partners came together to develop the first-ever VSB Food Framework, with the vision that “every student has access to nourishing food at school … [and] develop the skills they need to choose, eat, grow, prepare, and share food through VSB School Food
programs.”
With municipal, provincial, and federal funding in place for a National Food School Food Program, my motion asks that a Food Committee be established to bring together people with a wide range of expertise and experience to act as a resource and sounding board for implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the VSB Food Framework.
This is an essential next step in providing sufficient, nutritious, safe, environmentally sustainable and culturally appropriate food to all Vancouver students in an accountable way.
Watch my video about this motion here.
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Text of Proposed Motion
TO: Board of Education
FROM: Jennifer Reddy, Trustee
RE: Motion – Establish VSB Food Committee to be a resource and sounding board for implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the VSB Food Framework.
PROPOSED MOTION:
That whereas the VSB Food Framework endorsed in June 2022 has been underway and now includes welcome and necessary resource commitments from the Vancouver School Board, City Council, Provincial Government, Federal Government, Private Partners, and Civil Society partners and;
That, as per the VSB Food Framework, the VSB form a Food Framework Advisory Committee that includes expertise from a wide range of disciplines and experiences and that it be utilized as a resource and sounding board for implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the VSB Food Framework and;
That the Food Framework Advisory Committee representatives include but not be limited to, community and civil society partners, students, parents, teachers, other employee groups, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver Food Policy Council, Coalition for Healthy School Food, post-secondary partners, Breakfast Club of Canada, subject matter experts, VSB staff, VSB trustees, DPAC members, and partners with broader links to food literacy and food program, with particular invitations to people from marginalized communities and;
That the Food Framework Advisory Committee commence its work in Fall 2025 and provide regular updates to the Education Plan Committee and Board.
RATIONALE:
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (1997) recognized that countless studies have found “universal school food programs can help families immediately by taking pressure off household budgets, improving children’s long-term physical and mental health, and improving student performance”.
As such, and given Vancouver School Board commitments, along with financial contributions from Vancouver City Council via the Food Policy Council, BC Provincial Government Feeding Futures Fund, National School Food Program, Private Partners, Civil Society partners, the Food Framework Advisory Committee (as outlined in the VSB Food Framework) is necessary for the ongoing development of food programs across the District and may include work on food literacy for students, meal provision, a District approach to school gardens, universal school food programming, and the provision of culturally appropriate food to students.