Month: June 2017

We look forward to welcoming you to the 19th BCFSN Annual Gathering, July 14-16 on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people, at UBC Farm.

Space is limited so sign up as soon as possible –registration closes Monday, July 3 at midnight.

Please go to Eventbrite to register. We look forward to seeing you there!

This year’s theme is Cultivating Change: Building Our Food Movement.

Over the course of the weekend, we are excited to have a variety of conversations in plenary and workshop sessions to dig deeper into how the broader food movement in BC has evolved, where there are opportunities to engage more strategically towards systems change, and unpack issues around inclusion and equality, paying particular attention to who and what have been left out of the movement.

Full details can be found on our website here. If you have questions please contact Carrie at gathering@bcfsn.org.

Off the Grill, Britannia Community Services Centre summer youth meal program kicked off last week with healthy food prepared by and served to youth free and community members for $5. Supported by the Grandview Woodland Food Connection, Off the Grill runs every Wed and Fri (as long as it is not raining) outdoors in the Britannia plaza. A huge thank you to Pasture To Plate Organic Whole Animal Butcher Shop for their generous donation of grass fed meat to this program providing healthy grass fed and protein rich food for our youth.

It’s exciting that we may get a National Food Policy after many years of lobbying and advocacy by groups such as Food Secure Canada and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Most encouraging is a focus on food access, health, and environment (climate change in particular). Take the survey….It does not take long.

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From Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Government of Canada launches online survey to support the development of a food policy

May 29, 2017 – Toronto, Ontario – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Food matters. Canadians make choices every day about food that directly impacts their health, environment, and communities. The Government of Canada is committed to helping put more affordable, safe, healthy, food on tables across the country, while protecting the environment.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister, Lawrence MacAulay, announced today that the Government of Canada is launching consultations to support the development of A Food Policy for Canada. An online survey is now open at www.canada.ca/food-policy and Canadians are encouraged to share their input to help shape a food policy that will cover the entire food system, from farm to fork. Canadians can share their views on four major themes:

• increasing access to affordable food;
• improving health and food safety;
• conserving our soil, water, and air; and
• growing more high-quality food.

A Food Policy for Canada will be the first-of-its-kind for the Government of Canada, and is a new step in the government’s mandate to taking a collaborative and broad-based approach to addressing food-related issues in Canada.

The online consultation is the first of a number of engagement activities planned with a wide range of participants to inform the development of a food policy. Feedback from the consultations will provide the federal government with a better understanding of Canadians’ priorities when it comes to food-related issues. The results will help inform key elements of a food policy, including a long-term vision and identifying actions to take in the near term.

Quotes

“Food plays a critical role in the health and well-being of Canadians, while also having a direct impact on our environment, economy, and communities. Developing this food policy is an exciting opportunity for Canadians to have their say about how government can help address those opportunities and challenges that exist in our food system.”

– Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Quick Facts

• A food policy is a way to address issues related to the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food.
• In addition to the online consultations, the Government of Canada will be holding broad consultations through events taking place throughout the coming months.
• A wide range of stakeholders will be invited to Ottawa for A Food Policy for CanadaSummit, to take place June 22 – 23, 2017. The Summit is designed to provide a space for stakeholders, experts, and key policy makers to share views on the development of A Food Policy for Canada.

Associated Links

• A Food Policy for Canada

 

A friend took this beautiful photo of the main Britannia School Garden

We celebrated our last day of school gardening this past week with a garden harvest and fresh salad. The 4 classes that we worked with through the year were divided into smaller groups to plant their own plots, which each choosing what veggies they wanted to grow (and eat). Through the spring the students were able to observe their plants grow which we harvested for our salads. Was a great way for the students to see tangible outcomes from their work and enjoy eating healthy food, which most students all thought was very tasty.