Fwd: Making Food Matter - Fall 2010

[VIPIRG Communications and Outreach]

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From: Community Social Planning Council <m...@communitycouncil.ca>
Date: Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Subject: Making Food Matter - Fall 2010
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	Issue 13, Fall 2010 This Issue: Welcome Planning for food security in BC's Capital Region Eating locally over the winter Hot Topics from the Region Quarterly Update on the Activities of CR-FAIR Communications and Networking Food Policy and Planning Emergency Food Provision - Increasing Food Flow Access to Farmland and Farm Viability Working Group CR-FAIR-Steering Committee and Roundtable Membership Planning Annual Roundtable and Advisors Meeting Building Networks and Linkages Community Announcements and Submissions The Local Food Puzzle What is a Community Kitchen Anyway? Food Security and "Growing Young Farmers" Food Security Action on Salt Spring Island SSFPA Wants Fair and Equitable Treatment Haliburton Community Organic Farm business opportunities Trees and Bushes for Bees Help Make Victoria Into a Permaculture City! Fernwood Urban Village - Making Community Matter! Creative Volunteer Opportunity Navigating the Georgraphies of Food People's Food Policy - Survey New Book: American Wasteland JAFSCD Seeks Authors and Peer Reviewers Island Updates VIFN Network Launch Great Vancouver Island Links Food Security Articles Food Empires Creating Agriculture Crisis San Franciso Bans the Happy Meal Wal-Mart to Buy More Local Produce Sobey's to Build $31-million grocery distribution centre Regional Food Events calendar Local Foods Recipes: Sweetie Pies The purpose of this newsletter is to inform and connect people in BC's Capital Region who are working on, or have an interest in local food security issues. For more information and to keep up on events as you're planning yours, have a look at the CR-FAIR Calender or to have your food-related event, course, workshop or market added to this calendar, email makingfo...@gmail.com. Please forward the newsletter through your networks, encourage others to subscribe, and send information you would like to share to in...@communitycouncil.ca. Here is an update from the CR-FAIR Coordinator, Linda Geggie highlighting some of the hot topics from around the region as well as a report on the important work being done by food and farm groups through CR-FAIR to increase food security and food sustainability in the region. Welcome Report by Linda Geggie Hello to all of you from around the region who are interested in connecting about food issues and what is happening around the Capital Region to create health oriented, equitable and sustainable food systems. Top Planning for food security in BC's Capital Region Eating locally over the winter? One of my favourite things about the fall is the abundance of the harvest.  I love to look with satisfaction at my rows of canning jars on the shelf and a full freezer.  Every year as the winter blues hit, I find myself opening a can of fresh salsa just to get an instant taste of summer and lift my spirits.  Coming from the Okanagan with its fabulous climate for fruit production, we always canned in our family.  Now my sister and I both also find ourselves continuing this tradition.  My husband still can’t get used to the fact that I am up and busy till the wee hours pulling another batch of jars out of the steaming water of the canning pot with a slightly exhausted yet happy grin on my face! As people in this region look to living more sustainably there is a lot of interest in eating local food year round.  This can be a challenge especially as we head into the winter months.  We are now used to diets that have no relation to the seasons, and moving to meals anchored by cooler weather leafy greens and root vegetables is a leap for most families.  I know I find it a challenge to be creative and find things my kids will eat in the cooler season. Luckily, for us there are many resources that provide the tools and information that help us on our way to making adjustments that lighten our load on the planet at the same time as benefiting our health and the local economy.  Here are a few tips to help move you along the spectrum of eating more sustainably and healthily this winter. Eating locally costs too much?  Cost is often seen as a barrier when seemingly “cheaper” imported food is more accessible. Besides considering that local products are often superior to food that travels a long distance, some strategies that can help with accessibility issues are to use whole ingredients, that is, cooking more from scratch. Making big batches with friends or as part of a community kitchen also allows for bulk buying and usually someone has good large batch recipes they will share. Always in a hurry at the end of the day?  Invest in a crock pot.  I have had amazing results throwing ingredients together into the pot in the morning and coming home to a hot meal at dinnertime.  There are lots of recipes on the internet. Trouble finding local foods over the winter?  If you can shop at local markets (there will be a weekly winter market in Market Square this year over the winter) or be part of a local farmers’ box program, you will be introduced to a variety of winter greens and root vegetables. Often they include recipes that help to make delicious meals of winter veggies. Getting those greens in ya? The deep leafy greens, are extremely important to our health, but eating them, let along getting the kids to eat them? Tough!  My trick is using the blender.  I find steaming or stir frying them and then adding to pasta sauces or, and a proven winner in my house, on pizza!  The root vegetables and squashes?  Soups!  Preparing batches on the weekend helps make sure they don’t get skipped over in the busy week. Space to grow?  Surprisingly we can grow food year round in the Capital Region, want to learn how?  For starters see Carolyn Herriot’s article "Eating from your winter vegetable garden" or Year-Around Harvest:  Winter Gardening on the Coast, by Linda Gilkeson.  Take in a course offered by many local growers and organizations  (see the CR-FAIR Calendar for dates for workshops) According to Linda Gilkenson for Winter Crop Planting Dates-Try these! February and March:  Leeks April-May:  Swiss Chard, parsley Early June:  Brussel sprouts, winter cabbage Mid to Late June:  Purple sprouting broccoli, winter cauliflower, winter cabbage Early July:  Carrots, beets, endive, and swiss chard, beets, kohlrabi Late July to Early August:  Arugula, fall and winter lettuce, mustards, spinach, onions Late Aug to mid Sept:  Corn salad, cilantro, arugula, winter lettuces October:  Garlic and broad beans Another great guide is the West Coast Seeds Winter Guide and Planting Chart available free at: http://www.westcoastseeds.com/admin/files/west-coast-seeds-winter-guide.pdf Want to learn more about actually making the shift to eating more locally?  The Continuing Studies Program at UVic will be offering a seasonally based course in February, April, and September called a “Busy Person's Everyday Guide to Eating Locally”.   See the UVic Continuing Studies Calendar for more information and to register. Also here are a couple some local Food Blogs to check out: Heidi Fink Lipsmacking Blog http://www.chefheidifink.com/blog/ http://goodfoodca.blogspot.com Top Hot Topics from the Region: Vancouver Island Food Network Launched: Food and Farm organizations and people interested in more sustainable food systems have joined forces to share information and work together through the creation of the Vancouver Island Food Network.  They have developed a pretty good website that lists island groups and food happenings.  Read more…. Sustainability Planning and Food Policy for the Region The CRD is currently revising the Regional Growth Strategy, and actually shifting to a Sustainability Strategy.  Kudos to Regional Planning Staff!  The CR-FAIR Food Policy Working Group has been working with the CRD Staff to put together a background Food Policy Paper that will inform the Sustainability Strategy.  Over the next few months you will have the opportunity to add your 2 cents!  Read more…. Update on Agriculture Area Planning in the Region: Agriculture Area Plans (AAP’s) are tools utilized to plan, support and sustain agriculture in a region.  In the CRD, AAP’s are underway in the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, Metchosin, Island Trusts - Salt Spring, North Saanich, and Central Saanich.  In 1997 an Agriculture Strategy was also completed for the Peninsula. Most the plans were created under the auspices of an Agriculture Advisory Committee that hired consultants to help them undertake the process and write the plans.  There has been talk by the Food Policy Working Group and the CR-FAIR Roundtable of the benefits of developing a Regional Agriculture Economic Strategy or Regional Food Strategy that works to tie these sub regional agriculture plans together and is part of the Regional Sustainability Strategy. Click here to learn more about planning in the region and the Central Saanich Area Planning Process. Permanent Downtown Public Market The Downtown Public Market Society has now been established to bring us a year round permanent farm and food market downtown.  To raise awareness and build support for the market the group held a food festival in Centennial Square called Eat Here Now!  In anticipation of continued support the group has established a weekly winter market,Read More... Bee Quarantine Fight Continues - 7-minute Video Released – Watch it! Last year we lost between 85% and 90% of managed Island bees.  It may be the worst collapse in bee populations that we have seen on the Island if not in Canada.  During this crisis the BC Ministry of Agriculture, under threat of a lawsuit from a commercial bee operation, lifted quarantine on the importation of bees.  The “Swarm the Legislature” Rally at the Parliament Buildings brought the voice and deep concerns of beekeepers about lifting the quarantine to Provincial Government and raised public awareness about an issue of great importance to local beekeepers as well as island bee populations.  There is a great video, "Stung: Vancouver Island Honey Bees at Risk," that has been created by Greg Horne that explores the issue. You can find the video on www.islandbees.ca, Household Organics Collection:  Waste and a Resource With a target of 60% waste diversion from the landfill by 2013, the CRD has been exploring the collection of household organics. Recently CRD staff person Wendy Dunn presented to the Peninsula Agriculture Commission on the plan. The CRD hopes to start a program for collection in May of 2012. They have worked to create an RFP process and screen potential candidates to look after the collection and processing of the household organics waste stream. The agriculture community, facing high input costs for fertilizers, sees great potential for recycling this waste as a nutrient source for local agriculture. Key in this is that there is no co-mingling of the household organics with sludge. Currently an Ad Hoc Task Force has been set up to take a closer look at the process and potential for end use designation of this potentially valuable regional resource. The Town of Sidney recently passed a motion on November 8, sending a message to the CRD that “kitchen scraps/organic resource processing stream remain separate and distinct from future bio-solids management” and that “regional farming sector be assigned priority in the supply of kitchen scraps compost”. We will be hearing lots on this over the next little while as the issues and costs are debated. Stay tuned.  Click here to read the motion. Top		This eNewsletter is brought to you by CR-FAIR The Community Social Planning Council is the legal sponsor of Capital Region-Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable (CR-FAIR) Visit the CR-FAIR website Community Stories Gorge Tillicum Urban Farmers win Saanich Environmental award for Sustainability Feasting for Change Get your updates on Indigenous food issues from Feasting for Change Watch the Digital Harvest Stories gathered at the April Conference on the Traditional Food of Vancouver Island First Nations Read more Community Stories in past issues of Making Food Matter Resources NDP Food Policy Food for Thought Click title for full report Click here for Executive Summary Feeding the City Series A series of articles from looking at farms, businesses and agtivists reinventing urban food systems Southern Vancouver Island Direct Farm Marking Association Up to the minute information on in-season farm products Processors Directory now online Provides buyers with a link to BC food and beverage processors Policy Guide on Community and Regional food planning Google Groups of a list of food policy/charters Whole Measures for Community Food Systems New planning and evaluation tool for Community Food Systems Food Security Gateway brought to you by the Provincial Health Services Authority and the Public Health Association of BC Working together for local food: Co-operative Profiles and Resource Guide Produced by the Canadian Co-operative Association What Can and Should Local Governments do to Protect and Enhance Local Agriculture? CRD Roundtable on the Environment: Food and Agriculture Subcommittee West Shore Harvest Food resources for West Shore consumers and growers Enabling language for urban agriculture in Official Community Plans A sample of OCPs and other planning documents from BC that have included either food security or supports for food production Capital Region Food Charter Vancouver Fruit Tree Harvest Report 2009 Food and Health Action Plan Booklet for BC's Capital Region Snapshot of Food Security Initiatives in BC's Capital Region Guide to starting a community garden Report on the Cost of Eating in BC Maps of ALR in the CRD Putting Food & Food Policy on the Table: Phase I Report Baseline Assessment of Food Security in BC's Capital Region Past Issues of Making Food Matter Other Food Related Newsletters Fernwood Urban Village Newsletter newSprouts - Cowichan Green Community's newsletter A Future Beneath the Trees Food Link Nanaimo Community Food Security Coalition Islands Agricultural News Powell River Food Security Manitoba Food Charter newsletter TLC's The Cultivator newsletter Links and Listservs Peninsula Agricultural Commission Island Farmers' Alliance Seeds of Diversity Vancouver Island Farm Fresh Directory LifeCycles' Good Food Directory Vancouver Island Diet VIHA Community Food Action Initiative Want to get more information about food issues? Join some great listservs. Email contacts below to join these listservs: British Columbia Food Systems Network food-...@bcfsn.org PAFN –Planning for Agriculture and Food Planning-for-agricultur...@googlegroups.com LifeCycles in...@lifecyclesproject.ca Food on Video Food Matters! Forum delegate videos Link one Link two A Disappearing Lifestyle? Small-scale farming in BC Link one Link two Watch Stung: Vancouver Island Honey Bees at Risk Watch the Digital Harvest Stories gathered at the April Conference on the Traditional Food of Vancouver Island First Nations Great short video on food statistics The Garden Box Planting up Your Lawn or Patio Enjoy this video produced on Vancouver Island for the 100 Mile Diet Society in Vancouver, BC Home is Where the Food is
	Wildlife serious issue for local farmers.  What to do? Deer, rabbits, and geese are continuing to raise havoc for local farmers and backyard growers.  It is a really challenging issue as a number of species are really taking a toll on food production and the issue sits in shared jurisdictions.  Implementation of wildlife management strategies such as culls can be a very contentious issue.  Many municipalities are currently wrestling with deer and rabbit populations, and for farmers our resident geese continue to chew their way through profits.  Recently the Peninsula Agriculture Commission submitted a proposal to develop a Geese Management Strategy to the BC Agriculture Council’s Agriculture Research Development Corporation Agricultural Environment Wildlife Fund. This would involve a multi stakeholder approach to the creation of a much needed regional strategy.  I would imagine that we will see this approach also needed for deer and rabbits, and it won’t be long in coming.  Island Agriculture Survival Forum:  $100 fee for farm organizations explored to support the BC Ag Council gets mixed reviews. In Cobble Hill on November 6th 2010, The Island Farm Alliance hosted the Island Agriculture Survival Forum II.  The forum started out with a with a panel of speakers (Gerry Pattison, Jaques Campbell, Gary Rolston, Ken Huston, John Braybrook)  who all echoed IFA President Bill Code’s message of changing the outlook of island farmers from “survive to thrive”.  Roundtables explored key issues and opportunities and an afternoon “Bull Pen” session saw a lively discussion of the $100 farm levy recently proposed by the BC Agriculture Council (BCAC).  This was followed by the AGM of the Island Farm Alliance, which lives to ride again with the election of the new and returning board.   There is a great report on the event from Barbara Souther with photos from Bob Thompson in the Farmlands Trust Newsletter. Quarterly Update on the Activities of CR-FAIR Taking Stock:  What is CR-FAIR? Is our work valuable to the residents of the region?  As an organizational entity CR-FAIR is not a non profit agency, private business or government body.  It is a roundtable of groups and organizations that see the value in working together strategically to share resources and coordinate effort focused around a sustainable and health oriented regional food culture and economy.  Our structure is that of a roundtable.  We are a “gathering of groups” where an annual meeting of the roundtable groups sets our direction and a Steering Committee that meets monthly directs our key activities. Our Chair is Lee Fuge and Linda Geggie is a part time Coordinator.  Our primary activities are: Communications and information sharing Building Capacity to work together Doing work together!  Working groups focus on areas of interest and opportunity: Food Policy Working Group: food policy and planning in the Region Food Access and Recovery Working Group: supports coordination and capacity of agencies providing food to individuals and families in economic need Farmlands Working Group: supports the enhancement of farmland and viability of farmers in the region. In a tight funding climate we see the resilience of organizations like CR-FAIR.  The Community Social Planning Council provides a home, and the majority of our activities are conducted by representatives from organizations working together.   CR-FAIR can be seen as a container for activity and a convener of thinkers, actors, towards solution based approaches. Some key benefits that we can point to that have been achievements of our collective efforts: Creation of a Regional Food Charter Development of a regional food and health action plan Creation of a Food Policy Working Group and advocacy for food policy that is now being taken up in the CRD through the Sustainability Plan Contribution to municipal policy related to food and agriculture (i.e. Urban Agriculture Resolution, City of Victoria, Community Gardens Policy, Saanich, Farmworker Housing, Central Saanich) Food Resources Directory that provides a listing of food and meals services in the region Food networking and public engagement events such as the annual Food Matters! and the Our Farmlands, Our Foodlands, Our Future conferences Making Food Matter quarterly newsletter and regional calendar-so that you can know what the key issues are and what is going on in the region Monthly networking roundtables connecting people around issues they want to work on. Top Communications and Networking Monthly Roundtables:  Each month CR-FAIR works with a local host to hold a monthly networking roundtable for people interested and involved in the local food system and interested in food security.  Generally these meetings are held between 11-1 pm the second week of the month, but this is flexible.  At times the agenda is entirely open for the people who come to share what they are doing or to put out questions to the group.  At times the host might propose a specific topic relevant to their region or their work.  Again, the format is fairly flexible. The responsibility of the host organization is to provide the space to meet and tea, and get the word out to their networks. CR-FAIR will also promote the meeting through our networks, newsletter and website, and our coordinator will support the meeting. These are very rich meetings and we have found excellent spaces to learn about what is going on around the region.  Please contact in...@communitycouncil.ca  if you would like to host a roundtable or discuss this further with us. This fall at the September Roundtable “An Embarrassment of Riches” looked at the plethora of buy local and food events listings that are offered in the region. The groups present discussed ways of sharing newsletters, calendars and look for ways to continue to increase collaboration on the Buy Local Directories. The groups present noted that the ways of sharing information need to consider that we are reaching different audiences with different needs and comfort level with technologies. While younger audiences are more comfortable with the new social medias, older audiences most favoured email and listservs that brought messages right to their inbox.  We also learned that groups were interested in CR-FAIR continuing to provide a central calendar for event listings, and would appreciate if CR-FAIR could be a clearing house that provided links to the various organizations, directories and resources. Outreach:  Over the summer and early fall we were able to reach out directly to an estimated 5,000 people.  We set up our new display at the North Saanich Market (300,) Saanich Fair (60,000,) and Eat Here Now Event (1000.)  Over the fall there are also a number of outreach activities that we will have a presence at including the release of FRESH (200) as well as the UVic Forum on Food (150.) We also presented about our work to the National Social Economy Hub in October. Millie and Charlie, heritage Mil Fleur Bantams, will be new fixtures with handler Marilyn Soames to our tabling of events as urban chickens seems to be a great area of interest to the public.   We gained 50 new subscribers to our communications through the tabling events at Eat Here Now and the Saanich Fair. Newsletters:  We will plan for four newsletters again this year and will have a call out for submissions for the Winter newsletter in February. eBriefs:  Mary Katharine continues to circulate information to our distribution lists and post to the calendar.  To submit an event to the CR-FAIR calendar please email her at in...@communitycouncil.ca with the following information in text format (not a pdf), and "Calendar Submission" or "For the calendar" in the subject line, name of event or workshop, date, start and end time, repeats (more than one day,) location with address, type of event: (CR-FAIR event, Food or Pocket market, Food related course or workshop, Food related event.) and a description.   Facebook Page:  I have created the skeleton of a Facebook page which we hope to begin to use as a way to let people know about our members, issues and events.  We also have a student intern looking into how we can utilize social media tools better for engagement and communications efforts. Food Policy and Planning The newly established CR-FAIR Regional Food Policy Working Group hit the ground running this spring, with their first task being to work with the CRD on the development of the Food Policy Paper for the Sustainability Strategy.  Over the summer a subcommittee provided overarching policy goals and recommendations for status quo, medium and significant change actions that could be part of the Sustainability Strategy.  Over the Fall the Food Policy Working Group will be working with the CRD to undertake the public consultation phase of the input process. Other activities of the Food Policy Working Group over the last quarter include: Consultation on the Saanich Animal Control Bylaws for Urban Chickens Consultation on the City of Victoria OCP Food related Strategies Consultation on the City of Victoria Animal Control Bylaws-Urban Chickens and Livestock Research Projects looking at Food Policy and Programs implemented by Municipal Governments that contribute to reducing GHG and climate action plans as well as looking at models and potential for end us designation for household compostables directed towards local agriculture. Members traveled to Vancouver to learn about and participate in the Metro Vancouver Sustainability Planning Process related to the development of their food strategy Food Policy Working Group Calendar - the group meets on Tuesdays from 12-2:30pm. Meeting dates are November 23, February 15, 2011, April 19, and June 14. Purpose of the Working Group is to bring together cross sectoral expertise to:   support local and regional governments and authorities in their role to plan and implement policy and programs related to the regional food and agriculture system. Members of the Food Policy Working Group: Bob Maxwell, Peninsula Agriculture Commission, Farmer David Coney, CR-FAIR, policy analyst Rob Kline, Regional Agrologist, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands Lee Fuge, CR-FAIR Chair, and Food Roots Distribution Diane Andiel, District of Saanich Community Services Kristina Bouris, City of Victoria Planner Alice Finall, Mayor North Saanich Deb Curran, Environmental Law Center Linda Geggie, CR-FAIR, Office of Community Based Research, UVic Dr. Aleck Ostry, Michael Smith Chair, University of Victoria Pat Reichert, Island Natural Growers, CR-FAIR Christina Peacock, CR-FAIR Rupert Downing Community Social Planning Council Paula Hesje, CR-FAIR Emergency Food Provision - Increasing Food Flow CR-FAIR continues to work with a broad range of agencies in the region to explore ways to better coordinate food recovery and redistribution.  Many of the agencies who deliver a wide range of food access programs in Victoria have been meeting and planning on how they can work in a more coordinated way to organize food donations, volunteers as well as share transportation and storage.  Over the past year, on behalf of CR-FAIR and the organizations, we have been working with researchers to better understand the capacities and the needs of the agencies and how greater cooperation could increase the food flow.  As a result of this research, a project has been launched to look at the best methods for interagency collaboration and the potential for utilizing a “virtual organizing hub”.  The Food Access and Recovery Working Group, made up of organizations that provide food and meals in the region, oversees the project. With funding from the United Way, we are looking to models from across North America, and how to adapt them to meet local needs. Working through Food Security listservs has been very useful in this process.   In the interim until we have set up an online sharing tool - a simple food distribution listserv.  Please join us on November 30, from 9-11:30 when we will meet at the Salvation Army to hear a presentation about what we have learned and gather further feedback on the proposed tool.  Access to Farmland and Farm Viability Working Group The Our Farmlands Our Foodlands Our Future Findings Report is available on the CR-FAIR website.  It outlines the broad range of strategies to ensure that farmland is accessible for farming and that farming is viable today and into the future. Currently we are working on developing a series of workshops and exploring a partnership with the Planning Institute of BC to deliver workshops to municipal planning staff, and elected representatives.  Paula Hesje is organizing a Fall/Winter Workshop in partnership with the Planning Institute of BC.  Deb Curran from the Environmental Law Center will act as our Agriculture Land use planning specialist and key speaker.  Currently we are surveying the Municipalities to determine their key interests and “hot topics” that we will cover in the workshops.  If you are interested in this please contact Paula at phe...@gmail.com. CR-FAIR-Steering Committee and Roundtable Membership Planning Annual Roundtable and Advisors Meeting The annual member/advisors meeting will be held on December 9.  Every year we bring food and farm organizations from the region and the members and advisors of CR-FAIR together to look at highlights of issues and opportunities for the year and key areas for collaboration in the coming year. Building Networks and Linkages Participated in info sharing with VIHA Island Food Security Hubs’ monthly conference calls Associate Member of Peninsula Agriculture Commission (monthly meetings) Member of Vancouver Island Food Network Member BC Food Systems Network (Annual Meetings and Coordinator participation on Board of Directors) Top Community Announcements and Submissions The Local Food Access Puzzle Submitted by: Carolyn Herriot The conclusion of another fast-paced year approaches, one in which I have been immersed in discussion of food security issues, and witnessed many inspiring initiatives to jumpstart a local food revolution. It’s no wonder so many British Columbians are concerned about food security; it only takes reading the daily papers to realize that the situation has sunk to an all time low. Here are some key facts I gleaned from newspapers recently, which shed further light on the current puzzle to access to local food. Read more... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What is a Community Kitchen anyway? Submitted by: Tracy Cullen, Victoria Community Kitchen Network People have been gathering together to cook, share experiences and resources and eat together since the beginning of time. At the turn of the century, with the dawn of the “nuclear” family, groups of people were discouraged from cooking together. And, with the plethora of single serving and family-serving fast and convenience foods, this trend has been reinforced. Read more... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Food Security and "Growing Young Farmers" Submitted by: Dave Friend, Friendly Organics Ninety eight percent of Canadians (basically, you and me) have become dependent on imported food. To such an extent, that should the transportation bringing our imported food come to a grinding halt (for whatever the reason) we have only 72 hours of food supply in our supermarkets, restaurants and fast food outlets. And this is where that 98% (you and me) source our food! So says Dave Friend aka Mr. Organic. Friend goes on to say; Why are we sitting back and waiting for this crazy and frightening scenario to happen?..We need more Canadians growing more health-friendly ‘organic’ food - now!  Read more... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Food Security Action on Salt Spring Island Submitted by: Patricia Reichert Island Natural Growers & Save Salt Spring Lamb Planning Group Save Salt Spring Lamb is the rallying call for building an abattoir on Salt Spring Island.  Earlier this year a study conducted by Margaret Thomson and  Patricia Reichert showed that lamb production is down by 44% and poultry down by 52% over the past five years.  This dramatic drop is largely the result of the new BC meat regulations which gave local farmers no option but to take their animals to Vancouver Island for processing.  The trip is expensive and very stressful for both the animals and the farmers.  So…many farmers went out of animal production. Read more... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Creative Volunteer Opportunity from Fieldstone Community Farm Society The board of Fieldstone Community Farm has a volunteer opportunity for a creative writer/graphic artist to produce a professional communications piece for the farm. Contact Marria Gauley at mar...@fieldstonecommunityfarm.org or 250-385-8587. To find out more about the farm, please visit our website at: www.fieldstonecommunityfarm.org. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SSFPA wants Fair and Equitable Treatment Media Release: The Small Scale Processors Association (SSFPA) wants Fair and Equitable Treatment - Imported Food Products must be subject to the same rigorous inspection as Local Food Products. Click here to read the full media release. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Haliburton Community Organic Farm business opportunities Submitted by: Wanda Gursuch A set a of business opportunities are available at Haliburton Community Organic Farm (Victoria, BC) for January 2011 to December 31st 2014 (with potential for extension). Please click here for more information. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Trees and Bushes for Bees Submitted by: Diane Akey, Starry Night Farm As gardeners we are all aware of the vital role that bees play in nature. Gardeners are constantly being encouraged to grow pollen and nectar rich plants to feed the bees, especially anything that flowers very early in the year when the bees are starting to forage. Here are some ideas of what trees and bushes a gardener. Read more... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Help make Victoria into a permaculture city! Submitted by: Tamara SunSong Concerned about fossil fuel dependence and the lack of local self-reliance in food?  Help make Victoria into a permaculture city!  The Food working group of Transition Victoria is a great way to get involved at the grassroots level.  Some of our ongoing projects include the "Capital Nut Project" -- all about supporting the planting and maintenance of edible nut trees on both public and private land in our region -- and the stewardship of Spring Ridge Commons, Victoria's oldest and largest public forest garden.  We're also open to new ideas for projects and would love help in the process of figuring out how to wean our local food system off of the fossil fuel addiction!  Contact us through our website, or email Tamara SunSong or Libby Seabrook to get involved. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fernwood Urban Village - Making Community Matter! The Fernwood Urban Village is a new cohousing community located in the rapidly evolving district of Fernwood in Victoria, BC! Cohousing is a collaborative, intentional community designed to facilitate social networking, sustainability and security. Cohousing members may participate in community life, governance and shared facilities.   Read more.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Creative Volunteer Opportunity from Fieldstone Community Farm Society The board of Fieldstone Community Farm has a volunteer opportunity for a creative writer/graphic artist to produce a professional communications piece for the farm. Contact Marria Gauley at mar...@fieldstonecommunityfarm.org or 250-385-8587. To find out more about the farm, please visit our website at: www.fieldstonecommunityfarm.org. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Navigating the Geographies of Food The AAG Annual Meeting is an interdisciplinary forum open to anyone with an interest in geography and related disciplines. One special interest areas will be Navigating the Geographies of Food. Link to conference info:  http://www.aag.org/cs/annualmeeting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ People's Food Policy Project - Survey of 10 Appetizing Policy Ideas Tell us what you think! Each of the policy ideas (or proposals) are from a different discussion paper. Your opinion will be tallied with that of other Canadians and will help to advance the People's Food Policy.   Click here to complete the survey. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Book: American Wasteland By Jonathan Bloom I wanted to let you all know that my book on food waste, American Wasteland, is now officially out. The book examines where and why we squander so much perfectly edible food, delving into the environmental, ethical and economic impact. It also explores the link between hunger and waste, and offers potential solutions for our national habit. We talk a lot about sustainability with our food. Well, there isn't much as unsustainable as wasting nearly half of what we produce. Read more... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development (JAFSCD) Seeks Authors and Peer Reviewers The inaugural issue of the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD) is now online. The first issue of this international, peer-reviewed journal of applied research and policy analysis is available free to view at www.AgDevJournal.com. JAFSCD is for agencies, organizations, and academics interested in expanding local and regional food systems. The strong response we've received from authors means we need to expand our pool of reviewers, which presently includes over 100 reviewers from around the world. Please click the links below to get more information about writing or reviewing articles, or subscribing to the journal. Prospective Reviewers: Click here Prospective Authors: Click here New Subscribers Discount: Click here Learn about AgDevONLINE, the food system development community of practice website: Click here Top Island Updates Vancouver Island Food Network is Born! Food and Farm organizations and people interested in more sustainable food systems have joined forces to share information and work together through the creation of the Vancouver Island Food Network. They have developed a pretty good website that lists island groups and food happenings. The Vancouver Island Food Network is now up and running with an active listserv and website. You can check out their blog and subscribe to the RSS Feed and Twitter and Facebook. If you prefer face to face they are also organizing island educational and networking events that you can find on the website, along with a calendar of food films and island food events over the year. Their communications guru Lisa Macabe has done a great job of compiling links on the website and I have put them here for you. This information below is on their website and you are encouraged to take a peek it has many more great listings of food organizations and links on Vancouver Island and beyond. If you would like to join the Vancouver Island Food Network listserv, click here: http://bcfsn.org/mailman/listinfo/vifsn_bcfsn.org. The network website link is www.vifood.info. Click here for more on the Vancouver Island Food Network. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Great Vancouver Island Links! Regional Hubs Capital Families Association Cowichan Green Community CR-FAIR Eat West Coast LUSH Valley Food Action Society Mount Waddington Health Network Nanaimo Foodshare   Island Food Groups Alberni Valley Transition Town Society City Harvest Co-operative (Victoria) Coast Food Action Cowichan Community Kitchens Edible Strategies Feasting for Change Homegrown Collective Island & Coast Co-ops Island Farmers Alliance Island Farm Fresh LifeCycles Nanaimo Community Gardens Nanaimo Community Kitchens People for a Healthy Community (Gabriola) Small Scale Food Processor Association SSFPA Society for Organic Urban Land Care Solutions: A sustainability network Sustainable Farm Apprenticeship Program Sustainable Food Vancouver Island The Farm at Cedar Woods Tofino Community Food Initiative Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group Victoria Community Kitchen Network Farmers' markets Bowen Road Cedar Colwood Comox Valley Duncan Errington Goldstream Station Mayne Island Metchosin Moss St Community Nanaimo Downtown North Saanich Our Neighbourhood, Nanaimo Peninsula Pier Street Campbell River Port Alberni Qualicum Beach Salt Spring Island Sidney Summer Market West Island Food networks BC Food Systems Network Bits & Bytes Community Food Security Coalition Food Secure Canada Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) Indigenous Food Systems Network Manitoba Food Security Network Top Food Security Articles Food Empires Creating Agricultural Crisis Analysis by Frank Mulder Editor’s Note: Frank Mulder focuses on how agri-businesses, or “food empires,” are distorting markets and impacting farming systems. He presents competing viewpoints concerning concentration of power in the agri-business sector. Mulder concludes by discussing the rise of multifunctional farming in Europe and Brazil. UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Oct 18, 2010 (IPS) - Forget speculators, forget biofuel farmers. The real cause behind the permanent food and agricultural crisis is the imperial food regime, squeezing money out of agriculture, a Dutch professor says. Last month, the Food and Agriculture Organisation invited experts to talk about the increasing price of wheat. "Global cereal demand and production still appears in balance," they concluded, "and there is no indication of an impending world food crisis." "Lazy thinking," says Jan-Douwe van der Ploeg, professor of rural sociology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. "Almost one billion people are hungry and another one billion are chronically malnourished, while one billion others are obese. Isn't this a food crisis? Hunger has always existed, but for 50 years the phenomenon has been global and permanent." Read more... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ San Francisco Bans The Happy Meal San Francisco has banned the Happy Meal, on the day of the return of the McRib no less. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors earlier today passed an ordinance requiring meals that included toys with their purchase to meet specific nutritional guidelines. The vote, achieved with a Gavin Newsom veto-proof majority of 8-3, effectively bans the Happy Meal... Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/02/san-francisco-happy-meal-ban-mcdonalds_n_777939.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wal-Mart to Buy More Local Produce By Stephanie Clifford, New York Times Wal-Mart Stores announced a program on Thursday that would focus on sustainable agriculture among its suppliers, as the retail giant tries to expand its efforts to improve environmental efficiency among its suppliers. The program is intended to put more locally grown food in Wal-Mart stores in the United States, invest in training and infrastructure for small and medium-sized farmers particularly in emerging markets and begin to measure the efficiency of large suppliers in growing and getting their produce to market. Read more... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sobey's to build $31-million grocery distribution centre near Victoria Airport Sobeys will begin construction of a $31-million grocery distribution centre on 19 acres of land owned by the Victoria Airport Authority by next summer. The parent company of Thrifty Foods said the 150,000-square-foot facility is expected to be operational in late 2012. Read more... . Four days later, the following article appeared, 17 lose jobs at Thrifty Foods. Read more.... Top Regional Food Events Calendar Click here to see CR-FAIR's calendar of food-related events, courses, workshops, farmers' and pocket markets going on throughout BC's Capital Region. This calendar is accessible from CR-FAIR's webpage, so check back often and be sure to submit your food event information. CR-FAIR welcomes submissions to the calendar for all food related event, courses, workshop and market information happening in BC's Capital Region. Email in...@communitycouncil.ca to submit. Local Foods Recipes: Sweetie Pie by Nourish Garden Bistro Recipe by Hayley Rosenberg, Nourish Garden Bistro Have to share this little gem of a treat with you.  The very first dessert we ever made for the bistro consisted of these cute little tart shells stuffed with and apple compote. We swayed away from the filling but kept the shell to come up with this keeper recipe. If you are a pumpkin pie addict, your world will be rocked.  The sweet potato offers a much smoother consistency, but the spices are completely reminiscent of the beloved traditional holiday goodie. Need an excuse to have a dessert for breakfast?  Don't deny it, you want one... and, don't worry.  Recite after me:  Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A and beta-carotene. Great for the eyes, good for the skin, and feisty towards those little cold and flu critters. Almonds are chalked full of vitamin E, that valuable antioxidant with so many cancer-fighting qualities.  This little nut is also loaded with minerals like magnesium, phosphorus and zinc, as well as lots of healthy fiber. If you are totally convinced to have a bake off,  below you will find the recipe.  If you are totally convinced to eat them, you can find this yummy-ness at Nourish. The Filling: 3 pounds of yam/sweet pots - peel and dice them 2 eggs 1/4 cup sweetness ( agave/raw cane sugar/maple syrup) 1/4 cup milk (cow/almond) 1/4 cup butter 3 tbsp fresh OJ (1/2 an orange) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground cloves Throw the potatoes into a pot of boiling water and cook until super soft.  Get your multitasking capabilities on and beat the eggs while the potatoes are a' cooking.  Drain potatoes and cool.  Mix all ingredients together and don't stop until you have a fluffy mixture in front of you. The Shell: 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon 1/3 cup yellow sugar 3/4 cup almonds 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup butter 1 egg 1 tbsp honey 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 3 cardamom pods 2 tbsp milk Melt the butter.  Food process the almonds with 1/2 the oats.  Mix all ingredients together.  Mold the dough into individual serving shells, by using a muffin tin (A little time consuming, but just find your zen).  Bake for 12 min @ 350 degrees.  These tart shells freeze really well so you don't have to eat them all at one go. Bring it all together: Load in the filling to your desired liking.  Sprinkle top with chopped almonds and bake for another 20 min.  DON"T FORGET THE FRESH WHIP CREAM!! - (beat up 1/4 cup of whip cream, splash of maple syrup, sprinkle of cinnamon) Top

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