Calgary: Mapping for Access
Using data and community advocacy to illuminate and eliminate food deserts.
Making the Invisible Visible
In a sprawling, car-centric city like Calgary, access to fresh, affordable food can be deceiving. While some neighbourhoods boast a wealth of grocery stores and farmers' markets, others are "food deserts"—areas with limited access to nutritious food, often impacting low-income communities, new immigrants, and residents with mobility challenges. The first step to solving this problem is understanding it. In Calgary, community organizations, researchers, and the municipality are collaborating to map these access gaps with precision.
This data-driven approach is critical for effective advocacy and targeted interventions. By overlaying maps of food retail locations with data on income levels, public transit routes, and population density, advocates can create a clear, evidence-based picture of food insecurity. This information empowers community groups to lobby for better transit, advocate for new grocery stores, and implement their own solutions, such as mobile markets and community gardens, exactly where they're needed most. Calgary's story is one of using information as a tool for justice, ensuring that urban planning and food policy are guided by the principle of equitable access for all.
Data, Dialogue, and Direct Action
Calgary Food Policy Council
A multi-stakeholder group that has been instrumental in researching and raising awareness about food deserts. Their reports and maps are crucial resources for policymakers and community groups working to improve food access across the city.
The Leftovers Foundation
One of Western Canada's largest food rescue charities. While focused on reducing food waste, their distribution network provides invaluable data on where food is needed and helps service community agencies located within identified food deserts.
Fresh Routes Mobile Grocery Store
A direct response to the problem of food deserts, Fresh Routes operates a "grocery store on a bus." This social enterprise brings fresh, affordable produce and other healthy foods directly to neighbourhoods with limited food retail, breaking down transportation barriers for residents.
Community Kitchen Program of Calgary
This organization provides residents with access to commercial kitchen spaces and bulk purchasing opportunities, allowing them to cook healthy, affordable meals together. Their locations are often strategically placed to serve communities with poor food access.
From Data to Systemic Change
The mapping of food deserts is not just an academic exercise; it's a powerful tool for change. Armed with clear data, community advocates have been successful in influencing municipal policy. This includes pushing for changes to zoning bylaws to make it easier for smaller grocery stores and markets to open in residential areas, and advocating for public transit route adjustments to better connect residents with existing food retail.
This work has also spurred the creation of Calgary's Food Action Plan, a municipal strategy aimed at building a more resilient and equitable local food system. The data collected by community groups provides the evidence needed to justify investments in urban agriculture, mobile markets, and other community-based food infrastructure. By making the problem of food access tangible and measurable, Calgary's food advocates are holding decision-makers accountable and paving the way for long-term, systemic solutions that will benefit the entire city.
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