What is Food Security?

Food security is described as the condition in which all people at all times can acquire safe, nutritionally adequate, and personally acceptable foods in a manner that maintains human dignity.

Growing Food Security in Alberta (GFSA) has  come to understand food security as the satisfaction of five elements:

• Availability – sufficient supplies of food for all people at all times

• Accessibility – physical and economic access to food for all at all times

• Acceptability – culturally acceptable and appropriate food and distribution systems

• Adequacy – nutritional quality, safety, sustainability of available sources/methods of food supply

• Action – ensuring the social and economic infrastructures are in place to enable action that will ensure the previous four elements of food security.

(Adapted from the work of Rod MacRae)

Food Security includes the circle of:

• Planting • Growing • Harvesting • Transporting • Shopping • Preparing • Eating, and • Preserving our environment.

Food Security means Equity and Choice at every point.

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