Burnaby Food Security Pilot

Burnaby recently had a housing initiative where homeowners could apply for grants to help them modify their homes to have rental suites or laneway homes.

While I'm sure this will increase the amount of rental inventory available, I felt that for the average person, the barriers to participation were too high, primarily:

• Not even knowing how to get started evaluating whether they could add a rental suite or laneway home.
• The cost of doing so even with the grant.

I wondered how homeowners could use their properties to help Burnaby in an extremely simple way, and with GROK AI we came up with the idea of micro-farms. It addresses climate change, water conservation (or at least better water usage than grass), and food security. And all the homeowner needs to do is sign up and not interfere. No access to their home would be necessary, just access to their lawn and external power and water outlets.

I'm sure the implementation will end up more complicated than we imagined, but I hope any implementation will retain the extremely low barriers to homeowner participation.

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Subject: Proposal: Burnaby Food Security Pilot – Easy Micro-Farming on Small Lawns

Dear Mayor Hurley,

I propose a food security pilot transforming 1,000 Burnaby lawns (50 m² each) into micro-farms, yielding 68,020 meals for food banks and a $510,026 profit. Unlike laneway homes ($200,000+, larger lots), this uses small lawns with zero homeowner effort—just sign up and don’t interfere.

Homeowners cover water/electricity ($55/year), saving on lawn care ($500–$1,000/year) and water (crops vs. lawns). Volunteers from BARAGA, Sharing Backyards, and university programs (e.g., UBC, SFU) manage tasks via external access. Homeowners get free produce (7.5 kg/garden).

Program Summary:

• How It Works: Volunteers farm 950 gardens (assuming 5% discontinued for abuse), producing 95,000 kg. 80% is sold ($170,050), 20% donated (68,020 meals). Homeowners allow access; insurance ($47,500) protects properties.
• Net Profit: $510,026 (costs: $1,007,950; offsets: $1,517,976).

Grok’s analysis, detailed in the appendix, aligns with Burnaby’s Food System Strategy. It reduces emissions ($475,000) and engages waitlisted gardeners, addressing 12.7% food insecurity. I respectfully suggest forwarding this to the contacts below for their expertise.

Suggested Contacts for Forwarding:

• Councillor Sav Dhaliwal: Leads food security grants, ideal for municipal funding.
• Councillor Maita Santiago: Focuses on equity, key for community impact.
• MLA Rohini Arora: Supports resilience, can advocate for provincial grants.
• MLA Anne Kang: Prioritizes well-being, aligns with health benefits.
• MLA Raj Chouhan: Backs community safety, relevant for partnerships.
• MLA Janet Routledge: Supports resilience, can push for funding.
• Minister Sheila Malcolmson: Oversees $200 million food security funds, critical for $1,137,600 grants.
• Parliamentary Secretary Megan Dykeman: Manages non-profit funding, key for partnerships.

Please have your analysts review and consider municipal grants or provincial support. Contact BARAGA or Food Banks BC for partnerships. Thank you for your leadership.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information, if desired, or leave blank]
Burnaby Resident and Community Advocate

Appendix: Financial and Program Details

• Total Yield: 95,000 kg (950 gardens × 50 m² × 2 kg/m²).
  • Homeowner “pinching”: 7,125 kg (7.5%, $17,813).
  • External theft: 2,850 kg (3%, $9,500 fencing).
  • Sales: 68,020 kg (80%, $170,050 via Burnaby Farmers’ Market/grocers).
  • Donations: 17,005 kg (20%, $42,513, 68,020 meals).
• Costs: $1,007,950
  • Setup: $221,750 (planning: $160,000; outreach: $38,000; assessments: $23,750).
  • Operations: $632,800 (labor: $420,000 for 6 horticulturists; materials: $212,800).
  • Distribution: $6,900 (transport: $5,000; packaging: $1,900).
  • Miscellaneous: $146,500 (insurance: $47,500; training: $9,500; evaluation: $80,000; fencing: $9,500).
• Offsets: $1,517,976
  • Produce sales: $170,050 (market/grocer sales).
  • Food security savings: $60,326 ($42,513 donations, $17,813 “pinching”).
  • Grants: $1,137,600 (80% of original $1,422,000 from BC’s Local Food Infrastructure Fund [$64.8M], Critical Food Infrastructure Fund [$14M], Food Banks BC [$15M], for 68,020 meals).
  • Partnerships: $50,000 (in-kind from Food Banks BC [transport], United Way BC [packaging, outreach], per $20M funding).
  • Sponsorships: $100,000 (Choices Markets, Donald’s Market, West Coast Seeds for branding/seeds).
• Net Profit: $510,026 ($1,517,976 − $1,007,950).
• Labor Sources:
  • Community Gardeners: ~900–1,800 volunteers from BARAGA (three-year waitlist) and Sharing Backyards, replacing $1,200,000 in seasonal worker costs.
  • Student Farmers: ~50–100 students from UBC (Sustainable Agriculture), SFU (Environmental Science), Kwantlen (Sustainable Agriculture), replacing $50,000 in coordinator costs, motivated by experience/credit.
• Additional Benefits:
  • Environmental: $475,000 (9,500 kg CO₂ reduction).
  • Economic: $50,000–$75,000 (jobs, spending).
  • Social: $20,000–$40,000 (healthcare savings).