Time for some browsing over the holidays?
On our “Links” page, along with our list of useful websites and external reports, check out our latest resources: the websites of the Australian Food Hubs Network, and the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet).
Watch the YouTube videos of the launch of the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, starting with the panel “sustainable. food. systems.”, followed by guiding words for the Centre’s future activities, and capped by the keynote address by Brian Givesy of YU Ranch and ALUS. Go to our video page…
Cardiff has been selected as one of just six cities in the UK to share in one million pounds of funding to be invested in improving food culture and support its efforts to become a Sustainable Food City. Read more…
For the first time, the European Commission is working towards a Communication on Sustainable Food. An important milestone in the move towards a more resource-efficient food system; Slow Food is actively encouraging the initiative, as well as the efforts of the Commission to open up the debate on this topic. Read more…
Foodlink Grey Bruce, Dec 10 2013
In the spirit of solving the terrible problem of hunger in our communities it’s vital to explore underlying issues. When we see headlines like: Food costs eating up limited incomes about the annual Ontario Nutritious Food Basket survey that measures regional costs of basic healthy food, the real issues can get obscured. One could also say that “rent costs are eating up incomes” or any number of other causes; see Open meeting this Friday to discuss poverty … It’s a good opportunity to say a few important things that relate to local food. Read more…
Many budding entrepreneurs start off by making their products in their kitchens at home, but depending on the type of product it is, they might have to make it in an inspected commercial kitchen facility, or quite often to take the next step up, they have to purchase equipment they just don’t have the capital for. This is where the Island Chefs Collaborative has stepped in… with a commercial microloan system. Read more…
The Environmental Studies Program at the University of Montana is pleased to announce that a new report is available titled “Local is Delicious” But It’s Not Always Easy: A Case Study of the Western Montana Growers Cooperative.
The research presented not only answers questions of interest to the Cooperative and its partners, but also contributes to a general understanding of small-scale cooperatives operating as food hubs, values-based supply chains, and the possibilities and challenges associated with building a more democratic, regional food system in a large rural area.
To access the report, go to: http://www.lakecountycdc.org/_
“If you’ve seen one food hub, you’ve seen one food hub.”
– Rich Pirog
It took 18 months and $650,000 to turn the Kalamazoo Street warehouse into a food hub, with the help of dozens of business and artisans who discounted their services or worked for free. Along the way, two layers of ugly ceiling tile were torn away to reveal a pleasant surprise: the graceful arched ceiling of the building’s first tenant, Kircher Grocery Store. Read more…
Join academics and community members from across Canada on Dec 9th, from 2:00-3:30 pm EST
Activating Change Together for Community Food Security (ACT for CFS) project is a 5 year Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) based out of Food Action Research Centre (FoodARC) at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The project utilizes participatory approaches in all aspects of research, including the development of ethics applications. … This has proven to be a messy and long process, but also one that has made ethics more meaningful to team members in community and academic settings alike. Read more…
Join the Guelph Food Researchers Group on December 5th, 2-4pm, Hutt Building room 234 on the campus of the University of Guelph, for a panel featuring Dr. Manish Raizada with the Plant Agriculture Department; Brendan Johnson, who works with numerous NGO’s on food systems including Everdale Farm and the Guelph Neighborhood Support Coalition; and Tony McQuail who heads Meeting Place Organic Farm and is a longtime practitioner of holistic farming.
Through these speakers, we will get an better understanding of what resilient and/or sustainable farming practice looks like within different contexts, and how resilience and sustainability can be achieved within particular agro-ecosystems. Finally, we want to ask whether resilience and sustainability are still useful terms for understanding agro-ecosystems.
3e colloque annuel de la Chaire Unesco
Vendredi 31 janvier 2014 (9h-18h) à Montpellier SupAgro
La consommation alimentaire des ménages est identifiée comme un enjeu majeur en matière de durabilité, notamment pour réduire les impacts des activités humaines sur l’environnement et améliorer la santé des populations. Dès lors se pose la question des incitations possibles (et de leur efficacité) pour faire évoluer les modes de consommation alimentaire. Quels sont les leviers et les freins qui peuvent intervenir dans l’accompagnement des changements de pratique ? Quelle en est l’acceptabilité par les consommateurs ? Quels types de modèles alternatifs participent au changement ?
Conférence inaugurale par Jean-Pierre Poulain
Sociologue de l’alimentation (Université Toulouse II), titulaire de la chaire « Food studies: food, cultures and health », Taylor’s University (Kuala Lumpur/Toulouse)
Pour rappel, les liens vers nos deux éditions précédentes :
Upcoming webinar Pod-Cast:
Wednesday, December 11, 2013 12-1 p.m. EST
Join Community Food Centres Canada for a webinar Pod-cast with Jessica Powers from the U.S. organization WhyHunger on the work they do to support emergency food providers to go beyond charitable food access programs and create initiatives that foster a more inclusive and sustainable food system. The webinar will cover key principles underlying this work, drivers for transforming organizations, redefining relationships with funders, inspiring examples of change, useful resources and more.
When: Wednesday December 11, 2013 from 12 to 1 p.m. EST
Where: Your Computer – Register Here! – https://cfccanada.webex.com/
How Much: Free!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ross Curtner at ross@cfccanada.ca.
Join us for the 2014 National Food Security Forum hosted by University of Guelph’s Food Institute.
Links: Program Schedule | Registration Information
This is the second of two consecutive forums designed to showcase Canada’s expertise in global food security as well as to explore and address the physical, biological and socio-economic constraints that limit food production and the ability of people to access a healthy diet. The Guelph forum will explore food processing, retailing, distributing and consumer trends in the food industry and extend discussions of the food continuum.
For more information, contact program manager, Erin Camm, ecamm@uoguelph.ca
We are launching a crowdsourcing contest and inviting submissions from high school, university and college students to design a local food distribution system for Northwestern Ontario – it is called NWO FoodEx.
Please see our website (foodinnovation.ca) which describes the contest and how it fits into the larger project. We also have a Facebook group, which provides a forum to ask questions, and a link to our handout which has the full details of the contest.
The research team includes Connie Nelson and Mirella Stroink from Lakehead University. We have been studying for the last few years the emergence of local food hubs in Northwestern Ontario. One of the realities is that the local producers and processors that are widely distributed from the Manitoba border to White River currently have no distribution network to assist them in marketing their local products across Northwestern Ontario. We need a more efficient and effective distribution system for local food in the region. Students can participate in solving a major issue for the local food movement in Northwestern Ontario!
We are advertising the contest to secondary schools in Northwestern Ontario and to universities and colleges in Northern Ontario. We actually see this contest as applicable to many departments – Science, Geography, Environmental Science, Math, Computer Studies, and Food and Nutrition Science, etc. We would like it to be widely distributed to principals, teachers, and students.
The deadline for submissions is MAY 15, 2014. We encourage teachers and professors to incorporate the contest into assignments, projects and theses.
Questions about the contest can be directed to info@foodinnovation.ca, the Facebook group, or the Contact Us form on the website.
A Festival of Food Ideas Welcomes Food Leaders From Across Canada in Montreal
MONTREAL, November 20, 2013 – Food organizations from across Canada will be joining Montreal-based food groups for a feast of good food ideas on Tuesday November 26th. Over 200 individuals and organizations are expected to take part in the event, which is catered by Montreal’s food movement including restaurants and food banks, much of it with local and sustainably sourced ingredients, as well as guest speakers and live musical entertainment.
The Festival of Food Ideas is being hosted by Food Secure Canada as part of activities surrounding their Annual General Meeting (AGM) being held in Montreal the next day. Over the course of the evening, participants will share food and stories about food, as well as discuss their challenges, successes and hopes for an equitable, healthy and more local food system.
Award-winning Abenaki film-maker Alanis Obomsawin will open the evening with a song and acclaimed Quebec writer and social activist Laure Waridel will deliver a keynote address. Featured speakers will talk about the on the ground solutions to our broken food system. They include Nick Saul (co-author of The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement) and Debbie Field (Executive Director of Toronto’s FoodShare which delivers healthy, locally sourced meals daily for over 150,000 kids) and Isabelle St-Germain (who will speak of Equiterre’s groundbreaking work on food from the farm to the court room). Musical entertainment is being provided by jazz pianist and singer Jessica Vigneault (daughter of Gilles Vigneault), Juno award-winner Paulo Ramos, and percussionist Daniel Bellagarde (draft program).
The event is the Montreal launch of Food Secure Canada, whose bustling head office was opened in Montreal just over a year ago. Major partners for the event include Espace La Fontaine, a beautiful bistro in the heart of the park, as well as USC Canada, a leading development organization that has just launched a global seed map and the J. W. McConnell Foundation, and UNIFOR. Several community organizations – Santropol roulant, Regroupement des Cuisines Collectives, Moisson Montréal and local businesses are also supporting the event. See the complete list of sponsors.
The event is free and open to the public. A donation in the amount of your last restaurant meal is suggested for those who would like to contribute towards the cost of the event.