Food waste, strategic plan on council agenda

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This article was published 18/10/2021 (1838 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon City Council will be asked to consider a plan to take advantage of food that would otherwise be wasted at its meeting on Monday.

On the agenda for the meeting is a presentation from the John Howard Society of Brandon’s Ross Robinson.

In a document attached to Monday’s agenda, Robinson states that the society wants to partner with the city to act on an opportunity to receive surplus food from suppliers in Winnipeg and redistribute it.

“The challenge is there is no place in Brandon to receive, store or break down large loads to a size suitable for Brandon’s not-for-profits or families,” the document reads.

According to a report linked in the document from Second Harvest, the largest food rescue organization in Canada, approximately 60 per cent of food produced in Canada — 35.5 million metric tonnes — is lost annually.

Of that amount, Second Harvest states that 32 per cent of the food lost — 11.2 million metric tonnes — can be avoided and sent to people and communities that need it. The total financial value of this lost food is apparently $49.46 billion.

To help take that potentially wasted food from Winnipeg, the John Howard Society is looking for a plot of light-industrial-zoned real estate similar to the land the Brandon Humane Society occupies, to sort and process the food.

Complicating matters is that the society’s current freezer space has to be returned by Nov. 1, and it needs a new location to complete projects going forward.

Probably the highest-profile food effort put on by the society is Everyone Eats Brandon, which prepares low-cost or free meals for those in need multiple times a week out of its current home at Prairie Oasis Seniors Centre.

Another member of the public, Ben McGillivary, is listed on the agenda to deliver a presentation to council regarding his concerns about accessing the city’s records and public hearings.

City manager Ron Bowles, who started work at the city earlier this year, will give one of his biggest presentations to council yet, when he shows off an update on the city’s strategic plan.

According to the agenda, the plan has identified 40 projects or initiatives that support the city’s plan to support economic development, infrastructure, downtown resurgence, community safety and social issues.

While the city has launched an economic restart program to help businesses invest in their future with the aid of grants up to $2,500, the strategic plan lists an economic incentive program for businesses as in development and is expected to be launched by the end of the year.

In a related effort, the city states it is undertaking consultations with the Brandon Downtown Development Corporation for an incentive program for downtown businesses. The expected completion date for that program is Dec. 31, 2022.

Under the recreation category, there are several programs in early stages.

The Sportsplex Canteen will look for a contractor to provide hot-food service and a renovation is planned for the space.

Earlier this year, a group of residents expressed interest in bringing some kind of water park to Brandon, and it appears the city is kicking some tires on that front.

The strategic plan states that a grant application for a potential outdoor water recreation facility has been submitted to the Investing in Canada Infrastructure program and a feasibility study to determine what kind of land it would require and what location would be best will be included in the city’s 2022 capital plan.

Rounding out the agenda for Monday’s meeting include presentations from councillors on the Brandon Police Board and the finance committee, a potential amendment to the city’s sump pump and backwater valve regulations and a final vote on adding the city manager as a non-voting member to the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council.

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