Collective Impact is a way to tackle deeply entrenched and complex social problems. It is an innovative and structured approach to make collaboration work across government, business, philanthropy, non-profit organizations and citizens to achieve significant and lasting social change.
What is the Problem?
Food security is an urgent issue in Surrey. Over 7% of Surrey residents, or approximately 35,000 people, report that they sometimes or often do not have enough food to eat and nearly 80% of Surrey residents are not getting the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Solving the issue of food insecurity requires that we create change at the individual, community and systemic levels. Particular attention must be paid to the key drivers of food insecurity: the income of residents; the cost of healthy food in our communities; the ability to access healthy food and the knowledge and skills to prepare food. These factors combined with the need to enhance social capital, connectedness and resiliency are essential to addressing food security.
Target Populations
Food insecure population in Guildford & Newton (low income families, immigrants and First Nations are particularly vulnerable) – this is the target population for this phase of the initiative, with assumption that focusing on particularly vulnerable populations here, will build capacity towards improving food security for all.
Why Guildford and Newton?
Guildford:
Many families in Guildford are stretched to make ends meet; 43% of renter households spend 30% of more of their income on rent (31% of households are rented, which is more than double the rate in South Surrey and Cloverdale).[1] These issues are intensified in Guildford West, where 42% of children and youth are in families living in poverty, and nearly a quarter of families are led by a single parent. [1] These single parent families have an average household income of $42,000, more than $30,000 less than couples with children in the same neighbourhood. 46% of residents in Guildford are immigrants, and 47% of residents speak a language other than English as their mother tongue. 40.5% of residents in Guildford report household incomes under $40,000 (compared to 33% in all of Surrey).
Newton:
Families living in the Newton neighbourhood are also experiencing challenges. 19.1% of children under the age of 18 live in a low-income household and lone-parent families make up 14.2% of all families in Newton (United Way, 2015). Although these percentages are lower than other Surrey neighbourhoods, the large population in Newton means that there are more children living in poverty and more lone-parents families in Newton than in any other Surrey neighbourhood. Newton also represents one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in Surrey: 48.3% of Newton residents are immigrants and 2% report Aboriginal ancestry (United Way, 2015). The Aboriginal population is particularly noteworthy as 25% of Aboriginal people living in Surrey report experiencing food insecurity (Fraser Health, My Health My Community, 2015).[1] 42.7% of residents in Newton report household incomes under $40,000 (compared to 33% in all of Surrey).