Food Security Initiative Terms of Reference

Mission

The Food Security Initiative serves as an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder platform for students, academics, and practitioners to collaborate in promoting food security solutions through cross-campus, regional, and national collaboration and inclusive, student and faculty-led research opportunities. We aim to create scalable solutions to further policy and advocacy work and practices as part of our effort to transform food and social systems.

Target

The target of the Food Security Initiative is to reduce the prevalence of food insecurity at UBC by 2025 (Wellbeing Strategic Framework target).

Goals

The Food Security Initiative has the following three goals and initial priority actions:

1. Deepen our understanding of food security within the University context

Collect and evaluate food insecurity prevalence data for a representative sample of students, staff and faculty.
Supporting student and faculty-led research: Understanding the lived experience of food insecurity on campus, including affordability and barriers to accessing resources.
Assess “Community Food Security” components (e.g. food literacy, access to culturally appropriate foods).

2. Alleviate immediate pressures of food insecurity and enhance community food security at UBC

Put in place short-term relief solutions for food insecure populations, including an online food hub (one-stop shop to find food and financial resources) and a stigma free digital meal donation program.
Enable systemic and inclusive approaches to community food security: enhance food skills, increase opportunities for food growing, promote dignified access to healthy, sustainable, and culturally appropriate foods. E.g. by scoping for physical food hubs as activation centers on each campus.

3. Foster knowledge exchange and advocacy efforts within UBC and beyond

Host a food security conference at UBC as part of activities to scale up on local, provincial, and national partnerships to foster knowledge exchange on food insecurity and advocacy work.
Identify assets and create resources to support advocacy work internally and externally, to prevent food insecurity and address affordability.

Policy/Strategic Plan Alignment

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing → addressing food insecurity which has shown to impact health, wellbeing, performance + taking into account the economic and social inequalities

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities → urban food production, community food security and wellbeing

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Goal 13: Climate Action → addressing food systems transformation

UBC Strategic Plan

Strategy 3. Thriving communities: Support the ongoing development of sustainable, healthy and connected campuses and communities, consistent with the 20-Year Sustainability Strategy and the Wellbeing Strategic Framework.

Okanagan Charter

Supports the vision, calls to action and principles set out in the Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities & Colleges.

Wellbeing Strategic Framework

Supports UBC’s Wellbeing Strategic Framework “Food & Nutrition” priority area, in particular target to “Reduce food insecurity for UBC community members by 2025 (targets to be developed based on 2019 baseline data).”

See appendix 1 for additional policy/strategic plan alignment.

Food Security Initiative Structure

Initiative Roles and Responsibilities

Backbone

Role

Provide support for Initiative related to strategic planning, facilitation, implementation, evaluation and research support for relevant focus areas.

Responsibilities

schedule meetings
distribute agendas, meeting minutes
co-chair/chair meetings
attend all meetings
report initiative results to VPS

Meetings:

Attend all meetings

Time Commitment

Full time ( 5 days per week)

Core Team

Role

Actively participate in advancing the UBC Food Security Initiative by adding capacity, expertise and decision making capabilities to implement focus area actions.

Responsibilities

Be informed about the committee's mandate, policies, and initiatives.
Be prepared for and attend core team meetings (~2 per month)
Review communications, documents and provide feedback and recommendations.
Serve and/or support the development of other ad-hoc working groups or task forces aligned with annual priorities.
Inform and engage others about the work of the Committee and link to the community and stakeholders.
Regularly report to the Food and Nutrition Committee and the Food Systems Project and engage groups in relevant decision making.

Meetings:

Attend at least 75% of all meetings to remain on the committee (send alternate if unable to attend)
Attend core team meeting (~2 per month) and food security initiative meetings (~1-2 per year)

Time Commitment

1-2 days per week be involved in food security work in your area
2 meeting per month
1-2 hours preparation/ communications per week

Advisory Team

Role

Provide content and/or context* experience to initiative and relevant focus areas.

*Context expertise includes people with lived experience

Responsibilities

Be informed about the committee's mandate, policies, and initiatives.
Review communications, documents and provide feedback and recommendations as appropriate.

Meetings

Optional attendance at monthly core initiative meetings.
Attendance may be required 1-2 times per year for overall initiative meeting.

Time Commitment

Variable - stakeholder and project specific

Partners

Role

Participate in relevant focus area actions as appropriate

Responsibilities

Be informed about the committee's mandate, policies, and initiatives.
Provide feedback and recommendations on communications upon request
Participation in relevant focus area actions as appropriate

Meetings

Invited as on needed basis

Time Commitment

Variable - stakeholder and project specific

Reporting

A reporting template will be drafted by the backbone team with input from the core team. Reporting on established indicators may occur 1-2 times per year at the broader Food Security Initiative meeting.

A six-month, 12-month, and 24-month progress report on mid-year funding will be provided to the VPS.

The backbone support team will contribute to relevant UBC Executive and Board of Governors reports upon request.

Ongoing progress reporting and consultation will occur to relevant committees, including but not limited to: the Food and Nutrition Committee, Wellbeing Strategic Support Team, UBC Food Systems Project.

Initiative leadership will be provided by the Vice President Students and the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Okanagan Campus, who will report to the UBC Board of Governors as appropriate.

Decision Making

The Core team has authority for decision making, however will engage the advisory group (mainly the Food and Nutrition Committee and the Food Systems Project) and relevant partners for appropriate decision making. Additionally, the Core team will aim to engage the UBC community and students with lived experience to inform appropriate decision making.

Key decisions that need to be presented to the UBC Board of Governors or Executive will be brought forward by the Vice President Students and the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Okanagan Campus.

Meeting Frequency

Core team meeting ~every 2 weeks
Food Security Initiative may meet 1-2 per year
Ad hoc working meetings as needed
Any UBC community member can request to be involved in focus area work/groups

Attendance requirements within roles and responsibilities above.

Membership

The backbone support team is:

UBC Wellbeing: Sara Kozicky | Food Insecurity Project Manager
Campus Community + Planning: Nelly Leo | Food Security Applied Research Coordinator
Postdoctoral Fellow TBD | Faculty of Land & Food Systems (limited administrative duties – primarily research & evaluation support)

Core team members are as follows:

UBC Wellbeing: Matt Dolf | Director, Strategic Support
UBC Wellbeing: Natasha Moore | Planning and Evaluation Advisor
First Nations House of Learning | Siera Indigo Stonechild, Indigenous Student Coordinator
Campus Community + Planning: Liska Richer | Manager, SEEDS Sustainability Program
Student Housing and Community Services: Melissa Baker | Manager, Nutrition & Wellbeing
UBCO Student Housing and Community Services: Julie Stachiw | Manager, Nutrition & Wellbeing
UBCO Campus Health: Casey Hamilton | Campus Health Specialist
Graduate Student Society: Nicolas Romualdi | President
AMS: Dani Stancer | AVP Sustainability
AMS: Cali Schnarr | Food Bank Coordinator
UBCSUO: Pantry Coordinator

Proposed advisors may include:

Context experience: The specific engagement plan for advisors with context experience will be determined as part of the initiative, however, we will aim for our work to be informed by people with lived food insecurity experiences.

Content experience:

Members of the Food and Nutrition Committee and the Food Systems Project will be the main advisors for the initiative. Additional advisors not involved in either group may include:
Faculty of Land and Food Systems: Candice Rideout | Senior Instructor, Food Nutrition and Health, Co-Chair Food Insecurity Action Team (FIAT)
Student Housing and Community Services: Andrew Parr, SHCS | Associate Vice President, Co-Chair Food Insecurity Action Team (FIAT)
Food Insecurity Postdoctoral Fellow TBD: | Land and Food Systems
AMS: Julia Burnham | VP Academic and University Affairs
AMS: Christina Ilnitchi | VP External Affairs
AMS: Abdul Alnaar | Student Services Senior Manager
Faculty of Arts: Sinikka Elliott | Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
Faculty of Health and Social Development UBCO: Joan Bortoff | Professor, School of Nursing
Faculty of Health and Social Development UBCO UBCO: Mary Jung | Associate Professor, School of Health and Exercise Science
Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences UBCO: Lesley Lutes | Professor, Department of Psychology