Advocacy and Policy

Sharing information is one of the main objectives of FoodNet Ontario. In this Policy and Advocacy section we have provided a brief description of and links to many relevant documents. As you can see from the left-side navigation column, these documents have been divided into several types.

If you have any policy or advocacy documents you would like to share with others, or suggestions about other materials to add to this site, please email them to info[at]foodnetontario.ca. The usefulness of this site depends on your contributions.

When you submit your suggestions, please use the following format:

Name of Document
URL
Author, Date
One or two lines of text that describe the document

Below are some definitions of advocacy and policy.

Advocacy

• To actively support a cause;
• To protect or advance the rights of our communities;
• To increase social acceptance and system support for a cause;
• To influence policy change at a systems level.

Sample Advocacy Actions

• informing people of your issue or concern;
• requesting support on long-term strategies;
• requesting acceptance or rejection of particular legislation.

Community food security advocacy attempts to enlarge the range of choices that people have by increasing their power to define problems and solutions and participate in the broader social and policy arena, thereby improving community food security.

Policy

• outlines rules;
• provides principles that guide actions;
• sets roles and responsibilities;
• reflects values and beliefs;
• states an intention to do something.

Policies guide our actions. They state what is to be done, who is to do it, how it is to be done, and for whom it is to be done. There are personal policies, organizational policies, and public policies. Public policies, which are created by all levels of government (federal, provincial and municipal), are developed with input from citizens, government staff, and elected officials. As described in Thought About Food? A Workbook on Food Security and Influencing Policy, public policies can have a profound positive or negative impact on people’s lives.