Oxford County’s Food Charter: Our Common Ground
Vision: Oxford will be a food secure community where all residents have sufficient access to healthy food to meet their dietary needs.
What is Food Security? “Food security exists when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.(1)
Purpose: This Food Charter identifies the basic principles shared by the community in relation to food security (eliminating poverty and increasing healthy eating). This charter will guide all levels of government, businesses, non‐profit organizations, communities, families and individuals by linking food security policies to community action.(2) Solutions must involve everyone working together to assist with 1) immediate short term relief, 2) building community and individual capacities, and 3) economic and social policy changes that promote long term solutions.
Oxford’s Food Charter Commitments:
1. To support, participate in, and advocate for policies and community initiatives that increase food security and support a socially just and environmentally sustainable regional food system.
2. To understand the municipal, provincial, federal and global backgrounds contributing to food insecurity and to create movement towards a fair and democratic food system.
To implement the above commitments, the Oxford community will work together to:
1. Establish
a working committee responsible for managing the principles of the Food
Charter.
2. Build
a cross-sectoral network for coordinated action based on the principles of
collaboration and open dialogue.
3. Establish
working groups that will identify and focus on specific action items.
4. Evaluate
and assess activities on an ongoing basis.
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(1) Canada’s Action Plan for Food Security: a response to the World Food Summit. Ottawa: Agriculture and Agri‐Food
Canada; 1998.
(2) Adapted from London’s Food Charter (Ontario), 2010.