The city has launched a new initiative to collect information from residents to build a more sustainable and resilient food system for the Calgary Region.

The Calgary Food Committee launched the Food System Assessment and Action Plan on Thursday and will gather input from Calgarians through the winter and spring.

The goal of the Food System Assessment and Action Plan is to evaluate the current food system, examine a range of food issues and provide important baseline information.

The information will be used to create a report that will be taken back to the Standing Policy Committee on Community and Protective Services in April 2012.

The Calgary Food Committee includes: City of Calgary staff, farmers, local businesses, chefs, educators, industry experts, members from Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Alberta Health Services and other key players in the local food system.

The committee will be led by the Office of Sustainability at the City of Calgary.

"Our vision is to create a sustainable and resilient food system within the Calgary region," said Carolyn Bowen, Manager of the Office of Sustainability. "This is about every Calgarian having access to more local, healthy and environmentally friendly food."

The Food Assessment will also provide Calgarians with a clear understanding of the connections between food production, processing, distributing, consuming and recovering food waste and to make recommendations for an action plan.

"The Food Assessment is about gathering all of the information and work being done in the city so that we can prioritize actions in order to strengthen the local economy, improve access to healthy and affordable food, and reduce our impact on the environment," said Alderman Gian-Carlo Carra.

The assessment will include research in the form of a baseline report and a land inventory to identify existing assets and gaps in the city's food system.

An Action Plan will then be submitted to Calgarians that will identify priorities and make recommendations on moving forward.

A public event is being held on Saturday January 28th at the Ant Hill Building in Kensington to showcase the many businesses, organizations and individuals who are working in, or connected to, the food system in the Calgary region.

For more information on the initiative, visit the Calgary Food Committee website.