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This map shows where to get free meals, low-cost food in Richmond

Hoping to make low-cost food more accessible for Richmondites in need, Richmond Public Health has partnered with Richmond Food Security Society and UBC Land and Food systems to create a map of food-related resources in the city.
Richmond Community Food Asset Map
The Richmond Community Food Asset Map has nearly 100 points indicating free or low-cost food options. Image: Richmond Community Food Asset Map/Google Maps

Hoping to make low-cost food more accessible for Richmondites in need, Richmond Public Health has partnered with Richmond Food Security Society and UBC Land and Food systems to create a map of food-related resources in the city.

With points labelling free or low cost meals, kitchen programs and community gardens, the Richmond Community Food Asset Map is interactive, providing detailed information on where Richmond residents can find healthy food options.

Paige Inglis, education program coordinator at Richmond Food Security Society explained that Vancouver currently has a similar map.

“It’s been very successful in Vancouver and many other municipalities in Canada have them as well,” Inglis said.

“I believe there’s just a lack of knowledge of where you can access community food services and maybe lower-cost food or fresh food from farmers markets.”

Inglis said the hope is that “anyone in the community that is looking for food” will use the resource, which is hosted on Google Maps to ideally make it easy for anyone to use.

The map, which was released last month, has been in the works since last year. Inglis added that other organizations will likely be added to the map in the future.

For now, however, there are nearly 100 points on the map.

“You’ll find where there’s community orchards in Richmond, so places where you can actually go and pick your own (fruit) for free as well as places that are growing food like the community gardens and where there is garden programming and education,” she said.

“Basically anything to do with food – if you want to learn about it, if you want to eat it, if you want to source it.”

To see the interactive map, visit https://www.richmondfoodsecurity.org/richmond-community-food-asset-map/.