Food Systems Snapshot Project

The Food Systems Snapshot project is a multi-year, community-driven research project that’s facilitating conversations, and gathering critical information to better support and plan for sustainability and growth in our local food system. Led by One Straw Society, this project is about peer to peer connections. and draws conclusions from the lived experience of our farmers and food systems actors on the ground. 

There are a lot of studies out there… a deeply researched Agricultural Area Plan, land use surveys, economic impact studies, and the StatsCan Agricultural census. None speak to the practical details of the Sunshine Coast to truly impact innovation and investment locally, but cumulatively, they’re an informed launch pad for diving deeper.

• Providing baseline data from which to work and measure future initiatives 
• Bridging the gap between local production and emergency food
• Providing insight into how we can combat food waste at every stage from field to plate. 
• Highlighting the important, lived experiences of our local food producers
• Showcasing business opportunities that have the potential to contribute to overall increases in food security.

Compounding on the 2021 Agricultural Census and the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s Agricultural Area Plan, One Straw Society is leading a project to gather this critical, missing data on what we produce, where we produce it, how much, who buys and eats it, barriers to change or producing more, and how that compares to previous and future years in our region and others. 

It’s difficult – if not impossible – to measure any impact our activities may have on the food system overall without relevant and context specific data. We need data for funding to help improve food security on the Coast. The information will be gathered from peer-to-peer, farmer-to-farmer, interviews and will be mainly qualitative over quantitative data.