Local Food Environment

Middlesex County and the City of London's local food environment or “food system” includes all processes and infrastructure involved in feeding our population (e.g. growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items).

The local food environment includes:

• Where food is grown or produced (for example, on a farm, on a rooftop or in a back yard garden).
• How food is grown (for example, without pesticides, sustainable methods used).
• How food is processed (for example, at a factory, at the farm, or in your kitchen).
• How food gets to where we buy it (for example, by truck, by plane, on foot).
• Where we get our food (for example, farmers market, grocery store, corner store, food bank).
• Quality and nutrition value of the food (for example, freshness, healthy food).
• How we prepare and eat food (for example, making a soup from a recipe or eating it raw).
• How we get rid of food waste (for example, composting, donating, gleaning programs).