The city’s new Local Food and Urban Agriculture Study is complete and now available online, city council was told at its meeting on Monday.

“The (study) provides a cross-departmental work plan that, through implementation, can help to lead Whitehorse towards a more food- secure future over the next 10 years, and beyond,” says the study’s executive summary.

“It identifies opportunities for the city to confirm its commitment to supporting a robust local food system that is sustainable, resilient, and accessible to all Whitehorse residents.”

Work on the study began in 2016 and involved numerous public engagements and two online surveys.

A draft of the study was made available in August and received 549 views during the one-month public review and comment period.

The study will help inform the current review of the Official Community Plan, council was told.

The study includes eight overarching goals and 67 potential actions.

“Many of the actions build on initiatives and themes that the city is currently working on, while others reflect new ideas, directions, and partnerships,” says the summary.

The study, for instance, identifies 31 action items directed at increasing local food production from backyard plots to commercial farms and on public lands.

There are nine action items to provide system-wide support to advance all local food components.

Four action items are aimed at increasing opportunities for distributing and retailing locally sourced food.

Promoting the production of local food is good for the economy by creating jobs in the green sector, and it’s good for the environment by reducing the distance the food travels from the source to the table, says the study.

Increasing the production of local food certainly contributes to food security, Coun. Steve Roddick told his colleagues.

City planner Erica Beasley told council agriculture has traditionally involved large tracts of land, but the study looks to encouraging production on smaller plots of land, down to a couple of hectares.

She said while there are opportunities for two-hectare parcels, the initiative has not really been activated yet.

The city is in discussions with the Yukon government to explore its particular interest in looking at agricultural opportunities on land that would remain under the control of the government, she said.

She noted there have been 40 hectares identified in the area of the Cousin’s Airstrip.

Members of council congratulated city staff for the effort they’ve put into the study.

There were, however, a couple of concerns raised about the potential of creating more wildlife-human conflicts by increasing the amount of agriculture in the city.

Of the 67 action items, 27 are intended to occur in the next five years, seven in the next five to seven years and 33 are intended to be ongoing, the summary points out.

“Policies and objectives for the plan are being drafted to reflect the findings of the study,” says the administrative report to council.