The by-design, vertically integrated, local and regional food economy. Part two

Supper the other night —al fresco— at a new restaurant downtown. Every sprout, every salad green and root vegetable, even the ribeye steak sourced locally.

The farm-to-table movement is one element of the vertically integrated local and regional food economy I wrote about in part one.

The farm-to-table movement and many of the elements of a local food economy are in place now. Missing is an organizing authority to work with each element, to coordinate, to grow the mutually advantageous elements of the local food economy ecosystem.

This requires a rethinking of the role of the City’s economic development arm. A reversal of focus from searching far and wide for the large branch plant employer to nurturing and growing the resilient local economy. Craft producers — brewers, wineries, distillers; startups, farms, market gardens, restaurants, farmers' markets, specialties and related enterprises.

1. My small neighbourhood—Old City—currently has a Greek restaurant, Tex-Mex, Italian, Japanese, a Cupcakery, specialty food import + cheese shop, beer+wine store, 2 coffee bars, 3 lunch cafes, 3 pubs w/ kitchens. New Japanese restaurant opening soon.Confident it'll also do well.

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) May 19, 2018

With the foundational work described in part one done, local economic development would hold monthly public presentations on starting a business in the local food economy, connecting startups and established businesses with resources: legal, accounting, marketing, regulatory.

And one econ-dev function would be to invite submission of business ideas. Qualifying ideas would go into an intense incubation period, the outcome of which would be a completed business plan ready to present to lenders and investors. Alternative business models like co-ops and social enterprises should be stressed. And City economic development would be looking to partner with financial institutions especially Island-based credit unions to create innovative financing and investment tools.

I took just such an incubator at VIU years ago that resulted in a business my wife and I grew and sold in 2009. Joint federal funding was available for this incubator then and no doubt would be now.

A re-focused economic development arm would investigate local applications of concepts like import replacement and economic gardening (an entrepreneurial approach to economic development that seeks to grow the local economy from within). Economic gardening is being applied successfully on a large scale, growing already large enterprises larger. Local focus would be to identify smaller enterprises in need of financial or marketing, planning or legal assistance, to grow larger, each creating new employment.

Earlier post : On a self-reliant, resilient and regenerative local economy. 1 Next : up the chain to the downtown public market catalyzing renewal in the urban core. Part three.

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