This report provides an overview of the key federal investments and initiatives under the Food Policy for Canada between 2019 and 2024. It highlights progress made toward addressing critical food system issues and fulfills reporting commitments established when the Food Policy was introduced.
Food is central to the health of Canada's people, environment, and economy and the Food Policy for Canada was designed to ensure inclusive engagement and coordinated actions that collectively improve and support food security, sustainability, and economic growth.
Through the Food Policy for Canada, significant investments have been made to improve access to healthy food, strengthen connections within food systems, and support community food security, particularly in Northern and Indigenous communities. Accomplishments include funding for over 1,000 community food infrastructure projects, the development of a National School Food Policy and Program, and support for 50 initiatives to enhance local production and food systems in the territories. Additionally, 42 innovative solutions were supported to reduce food loss and waste. Key advancements in policy coordination included the establishment of the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council, which provided Ministerial advice, facilitated national dialogues, and contributed to the development of Canada's National Pathways as part of the United Nations Food Systems Summit.
Looking ahead, the Food Policy for Canada will build on accomplishments by supporting greater collaboration between federal, provincial and territorial governments, as well as among communities across the country to improve food systems and address critical gaps. Future efforts will focus on strengthening investments in community food security to create resilient food systems and improve social and economic conditions for people in Canada.
The Food Policy for Canada
The Food Policy for Canada (the 'Food Policy') provides a framework to enhance collaboration across government and with diverse stakeholders and partners to address key challenges in Canada's food systems. It outlines a vision and identifies priority outcomes to support better long-term planning across food priorities and introduced the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council to provide advice to the Minister. Targeted investments to support the Food Policy addressed key gaps to improve access to healthy food by supporting connections within Canada's food systems, enhancing food security for Northern and Indigenous communities, and reducing food waste.
Improving access to healthy food
Access to healthy food and making nutritious choices significantly impact the health of people in Canada. Many communities in Canada face challenges in accessing safe and healthy foods due to several factors, such as geographic isolation, limited economic resources, and inadequate infrastructure. Under the Food Policy, the Government of Canada launched the Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF) and the Tackling Food Fraud initiative and delivered on mandate letter commitments aimed at strengthening food security in schools.
Local Food Infrastructure Fund
The Government of Canada invested $70 million over 5 years (from 2019 to 2024) in the LFIF to help community organizations make healthy foods more accessible. By March 2024, $65.3 million for 1,112 projects had been approved, which included small-scale equipment purchases and large-scale initiatives involving production and distribution. An internal program analysis found that LFIF funding enhanced the ability of organizations like food banks and community gardens to offer nutritious, culturally appropriate food to a broader population facing, or at risk of, food insecurity through funding for improved infrastructure. LFIF-funded recipients confirmed projects were effective at increasing capacity to grow, store and distribute healthy food on a more consistent and timely basis.
Additionally, the program analysis highlighted that on average, LFIF-funded recipients reported increases in the availability of food for clients, in the volume of food provided, the number of meals served, and the number of clients served. Recipients overwhelmingly noted improved availability and access to healthy and nutritious food, emphasizing the positive impact of LFIF funding to bolster food systems, foster partnerships and enhance food security.
Tackling Food Fraud
Tackling Food Fraud is an initiative led by the Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to ensure the safety and accurate representation of food sold in Canada. With an investment of $24.4 million over5 years (2019-2024) and an additional $5.2 million, the CFIA has strengthened efforts to prevent, detect, and deter food fraud. Key activities include risk monitoring and analysis, public awareness campaigns, collaboration with international counterparts, and targeted surveillance of high-risk commodities like honey, fish, and olive oil. The CFIA has successfully prosecuted numerous cases of food fraud and raised public awareness through extensive outreach, including podcasts and videos on specific issues like honey adulteration and fish mislabeling. Recognizing food fraud as a global challenge, the CFIA has also engaged in international efforts to share best practices and collaborate with other countries.
National School Food Program
The commitment to work toward a National School Food Program was first introduced under the Food Policy in Budget 2019. After this commitment, the Government of Canada engaged stakeholders as well as provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners through bilateral meetings and thematic roundtables as well as the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council and the Canadian Agriculture Youth Council. The public was also consulted through an online questionnaire. The feedback from the engagement process informed the National School Food Policy, which outlines the government's long-term vision and objectives for school food programming in Canada. Budget 2024 included a $1 billion investment over 5 years (2024-2029) for a National School Food Program.
Connecting to Canada's food systems
The agriculture and agri-food sector is a principal component of Canada's economy, made up of many industries like horticulture, grains, and meats. As food systems evolve, there is a growing demand for transparency that reflects the values and priorities of people in Canada.
In response, the Agri Communication Initiative (ACI) was established to increase appreciation and pride in the contribution of farmers and the food industry and enhance public trust. The ACI has established over 200 partnerships and generated significant engagement, including 30 million social media views and outreach to over 3 million people in Canada at events. Additionally, the initiative provided over $6.5 million in funding for 24 projects, promoting consumer awareness and environmentally sustainable practices. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) also introduced the Taste the Commitment campaign and a refreshed Canada Brand to support sustainable agriculture promotion. Research studies commissioned by AAFC aimed to deepen the understanding of changing consumer perceptions regarding sustainable food and practices.
Supporting food security in Northern and Indigenous communities
Northern food systems face unique challenges and opportunities, consisting of 3 interconnected areas: the market system (domestic and imported foods), the country food system (traditional and wild foods), and a growing system of locally-grown foods (such as community greenhouses and farmers markets).
To strengthen and support food systems in remote Indigenous and northern communities, the Government of Canada created the Northern Isolated Community Initiatives (NICI) Fund. This fund enhances local production and community food systems in the territories, focusing on innovative solutions to improve food security and reduce reliance on imported foods. With $15 million allocated through Budget 2019, NICI has supported approximately 50 projects, with nearly half benefiting Indigenous recipients. Examples include funding for revitalizing the Mackenzie Delta reindeer herd and deploying a mobile abattoir in Yukon. Additionally, the Northern Food Innovation Challenge stream of NICI, provided nearly $5 million for community-led innovative projects that improve local food systems, such as a country food subscription service in Iqaluit and a teaching kitchen for First Nations youth in Whitehorse. This multifaceted approach addressed the unique challenges and opportunities of northern food systems, while fostering economic development and food security in Indigenous communities.
Prior to the launch of the Food Policy, the 2018 Fall Economic Statement introduced funding for the Harvester Support Grant, increasing access to country foods by supporting traditional hunting, harvesting and food sharing in isolated communities.
Reduce food waste
Food loss and waste (FLW) in Canada represents a significant issue. In 2019 when the Food Policy for Canada was launched, a report from Second Harvest, The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste, estimated that over half (58.1%) of the country's food supply was discarded annually. Consumers and food businesses in Canada have been taking action to reduce FLW and a 2024 update report highlights that the overall amount of FLW produced by the food system has declined by 20%, including a 30% reduction of food waste in households. This shows that food businesses and households in Canada are becoming more efficient with their food. However, nearly half of the food supply (46.5%) is still lost or wasted. Further, avoidable food waste (that is, food that was at one point edible and could have been consumed if better managed) has gone up by 6.5% reaching an estimated value of $58 billion annually. This shows that FLW remains a significant economic and environmental burden and that more needs to be done to reduce FLW to make Canada's food systems more efficient and sustainable.
A key action as part of the Food Policy was a $20 million investment in 2020 to launch the Food Waste Reduction Challenge (FWRC) to address FLW through innovative and creative solutions. The FWRC received nearly 600 applications across various innovation streams aimed at developing effective solutions to FLW. The Challenge featured 2 sets of streams. The Business Model Streams focused on preventing and diverting food waste and the Novel Technologies Streams aimed at extending the life of perishable foods and transforming food waste into useful products. Using a stage-gated approach, 42 organizations were supported in advancing FLW solutions under the 2 sets of the Challenge streams. The Challenge also supported recipients through activities such as mentoring and skill development, media exposure, organizational capacity building and opportunities to build collaborative partnerships.
In spring 2024, 2 recipients were announced under the Business Model Streams and 2 recipients were announced under the Novel Technologies Streams. The Challenge model's inclusive approach, combined with effective Gender-Based Analysis Plus strategies throughout its 4 years, ensured strong representation of equity-deserving groups at all 3 stages. This included achieving gender parity at each stage of the Challenge and among the final recipients. Beyond the Challenge, the Government of Canada is enhancing its understanding of FLW through research, stakeholder collaboration, and measurement frameworks to track progress. AAFC is also working on reducing its own FLW footprint by donating surplus food and sharing best practices with other federal departments and agencies that includes working alongside the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Centre for Greening Government.
COVID-response initiatives
The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted Canada's food systems, particularly affecting the restaurant and hospitality sectors, leading to surplus food that could not be sold through retail channels. The pandemic also increased household food security challenges, placing additional pressure on food banks to expand their services at a time when their operating models were disrupted by physical distancing protocols.
As part of the COVID-19 response, the Government of Canada implemented 2 funding initiatives. The Surplus Food Rescue Program allocated $50 million to organizations with the capacity to efficiently redirect highly perishable surplus food from producers and processors and redistribute it to people at risk of food insecurity. The Emergency Food Security Fund provided $330 million to local food banks and relief organizations to support increased distribution of food for people at risk of food insecurity. A 2021 Auditor General report noted that these emergency programs were vital for sustaining Canada's food systems during the pandemic and highlighted the need for improved national emergency preparedness.
Food policy governance
Coordinated and coherent actions are required when addressing the social, health, environmental, and economic impacts of food and tackling complex food problems. To improve collaboration on priority issues, the Food Policy created the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council.
The Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council was launched in 2021 as an external advisory body to provide advice on key priorities of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to achieve the Food Policy's objectives. The advice the Council provided to the Minister informed key food-related policies and investments, including investments in school food and community food security as part of Budget 2024.
Participation in international Initiatives
In 2021, Global Affairs Canada and AAFC co-led on Canada's participation at the United Nations Food Systems Summit, that included extensive consultations with stakeholders and partners through Member State Dialogues. AAFC further led on a coordinated federal response, developing Canada's National Pathways document to promote positive change in Canada's food systems and make progress toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the vision for the Food Policy for Canada.
The path forward
The Food Policy for Canada will continue to provide a framework for advancing coordinated actions and addressing critical gaps to improve food-related outcomes. It will provide a means to build more resilient food systems that support social, health, environmental, and economic goals and help ensure continued progress. This includes building on both existing and new investments from Budget 2024 to strengthen local food security and improve access to culturally significant foods. Key investments include $1 billion over 5 years in a National School Food Program; $62.9 million to renew the LFIF, which includes $20.2 million for the School Food Infrastructure Fund and $14.9 million to expand the NICI Fund across all of Inuit Nunangat, $25.1 million to expand the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program and $2.8 million to support the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan Measures, enhancing capacity for Inuit organizations to co-develop legislative and policy options for the production, sale, and trade of traditional and country food.