Charlottetown sets table to improve local food system

The City of Charlottetown has taken a first step towardbringing together food-related assets or resources to create a better community city council approved what is called a food charter at its Monday meeting.

The Charlottetown Food Council is a city council working group and was formed last year toidentifyand improvebarriers to good, healthy food in the city.

The charter sets guidelines covering all aspects of food in the city, including the promotion of local food production and procurement, improving food security, reducing food waste, and using culinary assets in the community to connect locals and visitors with food.

Karen Murchison, chair of the 15-member food council, believes the charter could have an impact beyond the city's borders.

"We're hoping that what we do here will have impact in adjacent and neighbouring communities, just because we're so tightly knit here as a province," said Murchison.

Charlottetown based its food charter off others in dozens of other Canadian cities.

The council is currently developing a list of the city's food-related assets such as the Farmers' Market, Legacy Garden, Canada's Smartest Kitchen, the Culinary Institute, Food Technology Centre and asking how they can bring those assets together to achieve the goals in the charter.

More P.E.I. news