Current Projects
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Economic Analysis on the Relationship Between Housing Affordability & Food Expenditure in Vancouver
Vancouver is one of the most expensive cities globally to live in, creating a very specific housing crisis. We also hear that Vancouverites spend a large portion of their income on housing, which is a fixed expense, leaving a lower percentage of their income to spend on variable expenses, including food.
More and more, even middle-class individuals, are looking to community food organizations for affordable food programs that can help navigate tight household budgets.
Based on a preliminary literature review, there is very little if any research exploring the nexus between the unique and current Vancouver housing affordability crisis and household food insecurity.
Working with a UBC Masters of Food and Resource Economics Student, along with the Vancouver Food Justice Coalition we hypothesise that the Vancouver housing crisis is the most significant driver of household food insecurity locally within this historical political economic context and are using a data-driven economic study applied specifically to the Vancouver context to assess this question.
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Advancing the Right to Food in Vancouver with Adequate Funding: City of Vancouver 2026 Budget Brief
This brief urges the City of Vancouver to uphold the right to food by embedding it in budget decisions. Food is a human right and an inherent part of the right to life. A rights- based food system, as recognized in international treaties and declarations ratified by Canada, obligates our government to uphold people’s dignity and agency in feeding themselves. This means ensuring access to food that is free from stigma, shame, and oppression, while protecting the fundamental right to health and well-being.
The Vancouver Food Strategy (2017) and the Parks Local Food Action Plan (2021) provide strong frameworks for advancing a rights-based food system, yet neither explicitly recognizes the right to food. Embedding this right into City of Vancouver budgeting decisions would create the accountability needed to ensure dignified, non-charitable food access, and strengthen resilience in times of emergency.
Greater action is needed to properly address food insecurity, as current social policy does not fully respond to the social, political, and economic realities we face. While all levels of government have obligations to act, municipalities play a key role in ensuring food security and justice. Strategic investment in local food systems also delivers proven health, economic, and climate benefits. goes here