Planting the seeds for a sustainable future - City of Kamloops

Urban agriculture connects urban dwellers with the food that they eat and local farmers. It has the opportunity to instilla greater appreciation of local food and producers in the population; in this sense, it has an important role in educatingand promoting the local agricultural sector.The Kamloops Food Policy Council, a local food security advocacy group, has been a leader in raisingawareness about the important of nutritious, local food and implementing successful urban agricultureprojects within the City. They were an important stakeholder in the development of the SustainableKamloops Plan and continue to partner with the City on projects that empower people to provide forthemselves by growing their own food.While urban agriculture plays a vital role in terms of education and promotion of the benefits of local food production, it cannotalone feed a growing population. The BC MOAL estimates that another 225,000 acres of irrigated farmland would be needed toproduce a healthy diet for the people in BC in 2025.For more detailed information on food security and urban agriculture, please refer to the Kamloops Social Plan. The KamloopsSocial Plan has been determined to be the appropriate document to address the City’s role in supporting urban agriculture,given that urban agriculture is at the micro-level of food support and security. The Social Plan is slated for review and updatein 2013 through 2014. It is anticipated that this stakeholder-driven process will result in a much more detailed urbanagriculture component in the Social Plan.CITY OF KAMLOOPS 16