Welcome! This is the second issue of the new Making Food Matter e-newsletter.
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.
This newsletter is focused on reporting to you the work that is taking place by a wide range of individuals, community food, health, and environmental groups and organizations, as well as local businesses and decision makers to engage in policy, planning and action around food. It is also here to let you know what is coming down the pipe and how you can get involved.
We would like to recognize significant actions that promote food security in the Capital Region:
Monday May 28, 2007, 1:00pm - 7:00pm
City Hall ante-chamber, City of Victoria
The purpose of this forum, hosted by the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable (CR-FAIR) and the Healthy Communities Subcommittee of the CRD Roundtable on the Environment (RTE HCSC), is to bring a wide range of citizens, planners, decision makers, community associations, local businesses, and the food and farming community together to
Honouring people making a difference in regional food security: let us know who you think should be recognized for their outstanding contributions. Send us their name and a brief description by Friday May 4 - a selection group will review submissions for recognition at "Food Matters!"
Travel and child care subsidies available on request
This event is free but we need to know who is coming: RSVP to info@communitycouncil.ca or tel: 383-6166 by Tuesday May 22, 2007.
September 2006 to March 2007, 8 Strategic Working Sessions Later...what did we learn? what did we do? what's next?
A healthy community is "One that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources that enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and in developing to their maximum potential"
Judy Brownoff, CRD Board of Director
This idea is the basis from which our work and vision on food security springs. That is, a city, a region seeking to plan and work together in proactive and positive ways to advance our collective vision and reality of regional food security.
CR-FAIR and RTE HCSC are working collaboratively with a broad range of partners to develop a vision, and plan of action for building greater food security in BC's Capital Region. Working together through a project called Putting Food and Food Policy on the Table, we are focusing on the adoption of a Regional Food Charter, the development of a Regional Food and Health Action Plan and the establishment of a formal Food Policy Council. The course of action is an evolutionary participatory planning process that works on building key interconnected strategies. The work is focused on "planning and learning" but is accompanied by "doing and action".
Read more on the background of the project...
Building Foundations for Food Security in the CRD!
Objectives:
Coming to a menu near you! Island chefs and farmers team up
Scores of new connections between our local farmers and chefs were made recently as over 100 local chefs, food producers and industry professionals got a chance to meet, mingle, make business contacts and exchange information at the Annual Farmer Chef Meeting.
Read more...
Urban Agriculture Resolution passed by the City of Victoria
Urban Agriculture is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of activities involving the production, processing, marketing and distribution of food in urban and peri-urban areas. There are many examples of urban agriculture in pockets throughout the City of Victoria, and soon there may be more. On May 15, the City of Victoria passed a resolution to support and encourage Urban Agriculture.
Read more...
This was the question posed at a recent community workshop hosted by CR-FAIR and the CRD Roundtable on the Environment Healthy Community Sub-committee. Over twenty people from communities across the region attended the session, which was held at the Vic West Y on the same evening as the Vic West Farmers Market. The participants toured the Vic West Market and community gardens then got down to the business of learning about pocket markets.
Read more...
Langford takes actions on agricultural land
Food policy and long-term planning are important pieces in creating regional food security. A key strategy in planning around food is maintaining and enhancing the vitality of local farmlands. On October 16, 2006 at a City of Langford Council Meeting, Mayor Stewart Young announced a new policy for Langford’s agricultural lands. The new policy states that "every development will contribute, at the time of rezoning, $500 per residential unit and/or $500 per 3000 sq. feet of commercial floor area, to an Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) Acquisition Fund."
Read more...
Agriculture Land Reserve Maps - Then and now in the CRD - Now available to view on-line!
Ray Zimmerman and his industrious sidekicks at the Sea to Sea Greenbelt have done some incredible research and have digitized information on the location and amount of land in the CRD that was designated as ALR land in 1974, and which remains currently. There is both a regional map as well as maps showing data for each municipality.
To see the maps check out the Sierra Club website.
Food buying decisions and public institutions on Vancouver Island
A group of Vancouver Island agencies and businesses are working to help unravel the local food access puzzle by gathering evidence of the demand for local foods. The project will reach out to all non-profit and public agencies that serve food on Vancouver Island and the smaller islands to understand how they make decisions about their food purchases.
Over the past five months, as part of the Putting Food and Food Policy on the Table project, a group of individuals and agencies has been meeting to discuss Local Purchasing Policies and how we can create policies within institutions and public agencies to replace products that are coming from outside our region. Jane Sterk, Esquimalt Councilor, has been moving forward a proposal for the City of Esquimalt Food Services as a pilot project.
Read more...
Vancouver Food Charter adopted by City of Vancouver
On February 15, 2007, Mayor and Council unanimously adopted the Vancouver Food Charter. This is an important step forward on the path to a just and sustainable food system for the city and its residents. The Charter is an ambitious, forward-thinking document that promotes education, celebration and real projects for a healthy economy, a healthy ecology, and a healthy society.
Read more...
The BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands has recently released an interesting report that examines the impacts of changing eating habits and a changing population on the level of food self-reliance in BC. An excerpt from the report Executive Summary states:
"Given the production technology available today, over half a hectare of farmland (0.524 ha) is needed to produce the food for one person for one year. This is roughly equivalent to 6 city lots. In order to produce a healthy diet for British Columbians, farmers need 2.15 million hectares of food producing land of which 10% (215,000 hectares) needs to be irrigated. In 2005 the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands estimated that approximately 189,000 hectares of farmland had access to irrigation.
To produce a healthy diet for the projected B.C. population in 2025, farmers will need to have 2.78 million hectares in production of which 281,000 will need access to irrigation. To maintain the current level of self-reliance through to the year 2025, farmers will need to increase production by 30% over 2001 levels. The increased production will be concentrated on the land that has access to irrigation – land that is typically near the urban centers."
Read more...
Facts excerpted from the Cost of Eating in BC Report 2006, published by the Dietitians of Canada and the Community Nutritionists Council of BC. See our sidebar Resources section for a link to the full report.
Nettle (Urtica) Pesto
All around Vancouver Island you can find beautiful patches of nettles that can be eaten when they are young. Nettles contain significant amounts of protein, chlorophyll, vitamins A, C, and D, and minerals iron, calcium, potassium, and manganese. They’re a perfect spring food! Wearing gloves, harvest by picking the new growth from early spring to summer. The greens need to be dried or steamed before consuming due to their stinging hairs.
Ingredients:
If you have any questions or ideas about the newsletter please contact us. Please do forward this newsletter to others who are involved in this work.
The work of CR-FAIR is supported by Vancity, Roundtable on the Environment Healthy Communities Subcommittee, LifeCycles,
Community Council and CR-FAIR Steering Committee members.
Financial support for this project provided by Vancouver Island Health Authority's "Community Food Action Initiative" through ActNow BC - the government of BC's investment in promoting healthy choices through a partnership-based, community-focused approach to improve nutrition, increase physical activity and reduce tobacco use.