Food Justice

Collaborating with various partners, the Food Justice program explores food justice and food sovereignty in action.

We are working to strengthen the local food system, to identify gaps in services, and to provide access to nutritious food for all community members.

The Food Justice program is a United Way BC funded regional community food hub, a network of food system players that share a unified goal of building a community centered around food and offers no-low barrier food access programming.

Our partners offer the following programs:

• Abbotsford Youth Commission – nutritious snacks and monthly dinners at MRC and ARC youth centres
• Ek-Oh-Ung-Kaar Alliance – meal outreach for individuals experiencing homelessness
• Mill Lake Church – community food cupboard
• Sts’elemeqw Residential School Thrivers Society – greenhouse in Sumas First Nation
• CEDAR Outreach – nutritious hampers and meals at the Nest

Archway’s Food Justice Program, in collaboration with the City of Abbotsford’s Abbotsford ACCESS, Fraser Health, the University of the Fraser Valley’s Food and Agriculture Institute, and the Abbotsford School District, has also launched the Abbotsford Food Charter, a key milestone in advancing the City of Abbotsford’s commitment to creating a sustainable, equitable, and resilient local food system.

We hope to empower the community through skill building, education, and knowledge-sharing programs.

 Who We Help

• All are welcome. We aim to serve those experiencing food insecurity or food injustice

To Access the Food Justice Program

• Please contact us to discuss how we can help you. 
• FoodJustice@archway.ca or 236-380-4301

Affordable & Free Food Options in Abbotsford

We’ve compiled a map that allows community members to see places in Abbotsford that offer affordable or free food and meal options. If there is a low-cost grocery store or service that is missing, please let us know.

The Bulk Buy Collective

The first service of the Food Justice program is the Bulk Buy Collective. which provides produce at reduced prices through bulk purchasing power. 

The Bulk Buy Collective began in June 2021, and as of June 2023 there are more than 1000 individuals, including 450 children in 290+ households, who benefit from this shared purchasing power.

Structural Inequalities & Food Insecurity

Food insecurity is a term that is often misunderstood. For many, it is believed to be an issue of the individual and not that of the system. Food insecurity is so much more than not having enough to eat. It is a complex social issue with multiple causes, opinions, and approaches.

It is important to shed light on the issue within our society to better understand how the insecurity is caused and how it can be alleviated. One in eight households in Canada was food insecure in 2018, amounting to roughly 4.4 million people, including more than 1.2 million children living in food-insecure households.

Food insecurity is not only an issue for those without housing or employment, in fact, more than 65 per cent of those experiencing food insecurity are working. With the gap between wages and the costs of living growing immensely, many individuals are left unable to afford food.

Household food insecurity in Canada is tightly linked to income. As a household’s income declines, the risk of food insecurity increases. However, it is not a perfect correlation. Being on social assistance, old age pension, and disability poses an extremely high risk of food insecurity. Over half of households reliant on social assistance were food insecure in 2018, and in some areas of Canada this rate rises above 80 per cent. The reason for these shocking statistics is that the amounts received from these government programs simply do not cover all living expenses.

The impacts of food insecurity extend beyond diet and nutrition, and it does not affect people equally. Food insecurity has systemic inequalities that predominantly impact marginalized communities and restrict access to nutritious, culturally appropriate foods. This results from environmental and social injustices, including poor working conditions for food-service workers and farmworkers.

Issues within our food system originate from colonialism, capitalism, and institutional racism that continues to perpetuate the racial divide. Social stigma regarding access to food services also plays a major role in food insecurity as many feel as though not being able to provide for yourself and your family is their own fault and seeking help is shameful.

It is important to recognize these deep interconnections and build linkages with intersecting causes and work, such as anti-racism and poverty reduction, and reducing societal stigma towards food access. While civil society groups continue to do their best to help those struggling with food insecurity, reducing inequalities requires changing the social, economic, and environmental conditions that affect the costs of food production and distribution, as well as people’s income and ability to afford food.