You contacted your Councillors and asked them to support TEA’s recommendations for an improved Local Food Procurement policy at October’s Council meeting.
Toronto’s youngest activists deliver a message to City Councillors: “Buy Local Food First!”
The City's Government Management Committee plan suggested a phased approach for implementation beginning with the Children’s Services Division, without targets and without any mention of local sustainable food. To make this plan meaningful, you asked your Councillor to support:
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A goal to buy 50% local food as soon as possible, with annual measurements gauging progress, and
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A means to purchase an increasing amount of local sustainable food, in recognition of the fact that local sustainable food yields the greatest greenhouse gas and smog related emissions reduction potential.
Torontonians Called, Wrote or Emailed their City Councillor with a message similar to the sample letter below:
Dear Councillor,
At your October City Council meeting, I urge you to vote in support of local and sustainable food for Toronto. In particular, please adopt the Toronto Environmental Alliance’s amendments that ask for the plan to explore a 50% local food purchasing target and initiate the purchase of local sustainable food.
Local food is fresher, tastier and helps reduce greenhouse gas and smog emissions because it’s grown by our neighbours in the Greenbelt and surrounding areas.
The concept of buying local and sustainable food is simple: use the City’s purchasing power to promote local and sustainable food grown in the Greenbelt and southern Ontario. Sustainable means growing food that is good for the environment, for farmers’ incomes and for the workers who grow it.
In other words, buying local food helps everyone and harms no one. I know this is the kind of policy you can get behind. Please vote for the local food procurement policy and implementation plan at your next Council meeting!
Sincerely,
Your Name
Campaigner Jamie Kirkpatrick Encouraging Torontonians to Take Action!