We’re Engaging in the City of Victoria’s
Official Community Plan
And we want YOU to join us!
Imagine a city that was designed by people who are passionate about healthy, local, and regenerative foods. That is exactly what the Official Community Plan (OCP) update can do.
The City plans to build 34,600 new housing units for Victoria’s growing population. This has the potential to change the face of our city, influencing the food, climate, culture, transportation networks, and the neighbourhoods where we live. The question is, “how do we want our changing city to reflect our values?”
Here’s the problem, our current global industrial food systems contribute to ⅓ of all Green House Gas emissions [1], but Vancouver Island imports over 90% of it’s food supply [2] and 60-70% of fruits and vegetables eaten on the island are imported, primarily from California [3]. Let that sink in.
This means that the ways we eat in Victoria, the Islands biggest city, is directly contributing to the climate crisis and weakening our ability to remain resilient in the face of the climate emergency. How will we feed the population when the highways wash out, the power goes out, and high winds stop ferries?
Fortunately, the City of Victoria has one of the strongest chapters on food systems in it’s current OCP. Therefore, we have a strong foundation from which to strengthen our city’s priorities and increase local food supply and demand.
As members of the Urban Food Table, we value an economy that supports local food producers, farmers, and organizations putting local, healthy and regenerative food into your hands. We value the ecological systems that are essential to the health of our planet and see the environment as inseparable from the people who live here.
Will you join us in strengthening the Official Community Plan to ensure we have healthy, local and regenerative urban food systems? Read more to learn how…
What is an Official Community Plan?
The Official Community Plan (OCP) is a guiding document which sets the vision of the city. It’s informed by the residents and it’s meant to reflect the people who live here. As a visionary document, an OCP is pretty high-level, meaning it sets the overarching goals and priorities from which every strategy, decision, and dollar connects. It is a BIG deal.
Official Community Plan updates only occur once every 10 years. Which means that now is the time to take action to ensure your voice is heard.
Imagine if every backyard gardener, Indigenous knowledge keeper, aspiring soil scientist, restorative farmer, worm-bin composter, plant enthusiast, bee-lover, waitlisted community gardener, mycelium seeker, tree huger, food producer, climate advocate, and individual who has felt the abundance of growing their own food helped to design the future of Victoria. Imagine how different it would be.
How you can participate?
Complete the city of Victoria’s OCP update survey
Write an email or sign our click-to-email campaign about what you’d like to see in the update to your city council & the engagement team
Attend an upcoming engagement session, or take the engagement to your community with a “Meeting in a Box”
Resources to inform your discussions
We’ve made a number of resources to help you participate in this once-in-a-decade opportunity to update the Official Community Plan! We want you to feel supported and informed to activate yourself and your community to participate. Here’s what we’ve created:
Talking points to help you get the conversation started with your neighbours and with city engagement team
Sign our click-to-email campaign to have your voice heard directly with city council
Social media contents to share online and increase your reach (launching May 1!)
Citations:
[1] Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00225-9
[3] Available from: https://pics.uvic.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/WP_Food_Security_November2011.pdf