Perhaps you’d like to have a garden and grow your own food, BUT . . . you don’t have access to a suitable plot of land you don’t have tools […]
Archive for year: 2019
Network Meeting Summary
March 6, 2019
Secwepemc Word of the Month: Teyt (Tie-et) = hungry
Circle Introductions:
A project that gives me confidence we are moving in the right direction on household food insecurity is…
When it comes to household food insecurity, we cannot neglect to…
KFPC Board Update
Board and staff are participating in Conversations around Indigenous food sovereignty, truth and reconciliation and unpacking structural racism in the food system with Dawn Morrison.
Developing more sustainable core funding is higher priority right now, so that staff are better able to address community needs as they arise.
The Board agrees in principle to write a letter of support for the recommendations offered by the citizen science pollinator project. This will be sent to the City of Kamloops later in March.
KFPC Staff Update
KFPC, with several partners, is hosting a dialogue on household food insecurity in Kamloops on March 29, 8 – 4:30 PM at TRU. Registration is by donation, with a suggested donation of $15 – $40. There are two main areas of focus for the Nourish forum: 1) Indigenous food systems and how colonization has impacted food insecurity, including the over-representation of Indigenous people experiencing food insecurity and 2) meeting the needs of food insecurity and addressing the root causes through poverty reduction. For more information and to register, visit the Nourish website: nourishkamloops.org
Spaces are filling up. Folks are strongly encouraged to sign up soon to save their spot.
KFPC will be posting two summer positions in mid-March. New rules mean that applicants do not need to be students, but must be between 15 and 30 years of age. One posting is for the GAP Program Leader position for 12 weeks, with the possibility of extending the position into the fall. The second posting is for the Social Enterprise Program Leader position for 10 weeks. Both positions are for 30 hours per week at $15 per hour.
Garden Collective is gearing up in McDonald Park, using part of the Public Produce space, with funding from United Way. Intended for beginner and new gardeners from the neighbourhood, this program will provide workshops to facilitate skill building within the collective. It is $20 to join the collective. There are five or six spots left.
KFPC will be hosting a Kitchen Table Conversation for the Downtown Plan on March 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 at Red Collar. Input will help shape policies on topics such as transportation, environment, parks, and housing. If you are interested in joining in, please email info@kamloopsfoodpolicycouncil.com.
Michelle attended a workshop by Dignidad Migrante Society (Dignidad) at the Certified Organic Associations of BC conference. Dignidad is a non-profit worker’s organization, focusing on agricultural workers because it is a labour sector with the biggest needs, greatest vulnerability, and strongest discrimination (there are 10,000 migrant farm workers in BC). That being said, Raul indicated that he is looking for work placements for 15 Guatemalan women who have open work permits, as a result of proving that they had been abused by the employer who hired them with a temporary foreign worker permit. If you know of anyone who is looking for staff on their farm, Raul’s email address is imfarmworker@gmail.com and you can find more information on Dignidad’s website: dignidadmigrantesociety.org.
Social Enterprise has developed a fourth popsicle flavour and had their first public sale at the SEED screening. Keep your eyes open for upcoming pop-up locations to try them out!
Community Updates
Retirement Party Planning for Laura Kalina – The May KFPC Network Meeting will be a celebration of Laura’s career and contributions to the community. We are looking for folks who might want to share stories of how they came to know Laura and her work, photos/videos, and help with spreading the word that there is a party for her on May 1st. The more the merrier! If you have photos/videos and/or would like to share stories, please contact Simone at Simone.Jennings@interiorhealth.ca
Community Spotlight ~ Sneak Peek into Nourish Household Food Insecurity Forum
~ There is an acknowledgement that food programs weave a tighter social fabric, but don’t tackle the ever-increasing number of people who don’t have enough to eat. This requires ‘and’ thinking, so that people are running programs AND looking at policy to impact food insecurity.
~ Moving from feeding (programs) to policy takes around 10 years for a community.
~ Change will happen at the local level, especially when creating parallel systems (e.g., community gardens, food centres) while also advocating at the provincial level.
~ The Farm to School/Fish to School/Local Foods to School/Traditional Foods to School movement was discussed as a way to transform the food system –> bringing local foods into schools, hospitals, daycares and building food literacy.
~ Household food insecurity can be very invisible, with only 25% of people who are food insecure accessing any kind of support.
~ More than 60% of people living with food insecurity are working and a large portion of them are single mothers.
Key Insights:
~ Our ecosystem is changing and we need to step up our sustainable thinking (a very cool idea for a pay-it-forward food truck was presented to the group!).
~ Climate change considerations need to be addressed in planning/strategizing.
~ Ways to transition away from the food bank model were discussed through creating parallel systems and disrupting the status quo.
Who’s Who
BC Green Party
Friends of Kamloops
Interior Community Services: Mount Paul CFC
Interior Health
JUMP
Kamloops Farmers’ Market
Kamloops Naturalist Club
KFPC
Lived Experience Community
Open Door Group: Gardengate
Permaculture Kamloops
Thompson Shuswap Master Gardeners
TRU
Announcement
Farm to Cafeteria National Conference (first one ever!)
May 15 – 17, Victoria
Next Network Meeting: Wednesday, April 3, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
** The March Network Meeting ended without finding who our chair and set-up/clean-up helpers will be. If you are interested, let us know at info@kamloopsfoodpolicycouncil.com **
Chair:
Note taker: Michelle Tsutsumi
Set up:
Clean up:
March Network Meeting
In preparation for the upcoming Nourish event, our March meeting will be focusing on dialogue around the root causes of household food insecurity. We will be piloting a facilitation method that is held in the round, promoting authentic dialogue between speakers and the audience. We will be featuring Joanne Bays, a population health nutritionist, and founder of Farm to Cafeteria Canada, as well as local speakers who will discuss the relative affordability of food in BC, and the factors that result in so many people experiencing food insecurity.
For more information about Nourish, please visit www.nourishkamloops.org
Network Meeting Details:
Wednesday, March 6, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Chair: Glenn Hilke
Set up: Shelaigh, Alexis
Clean up: Teresa, Rachel
Please bring a dish to share!
As the saying goes – spring is just around the corner, and there’s something in the air that makes me want to get out my seed packages and a bag of soil and plant something!
In the 1980’s, when I started gardening, shopping for seeds and plants was not nearly as interesting as it is today. Tomato hybrids like Better Boy and Early Girl were at the height of popularity and there were usually only 5-6 varieties of tomato plants available at garden centres. The choices in other vegetables were even more limited. With a resurgence of interest in open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables, shopping for plants or seeds today is becoming so much more exciting! Tomatoes and most other vegetables come in every size, shape and colour, and the flavours are just as varied. Purple potatoes, watermelon radishes, lemon cucumbers?! The hardest thing is not going home with many more seeds or plants than you need.
Still, we apparently have nowhere near the abundant choices that we once had. It’s estimated that over the last century, something like 90% of our seed biodiversity has been lost as large seed companies took over ownership of seed stocks and let unusual varieties dwindle in favour of the most popular commercial varieties. The National Geographic infographic below, illustrates the scope of the problem.
To get some insight into this issue, join us on Wednesday, February 27 at the TRU Alumni Theatre for a screening of SEED: The Untold Story. It’s a beautifully crafted and visually stunning documentary following some of the world’s most passionate and dedicated seed savers as they battle to preserve some unique and valuable seed varieties. It’s both an inspiring story and a call to action. Following the movie, we will have a panel discussion and Q&A with some local seed champions to help us learn what we can do to help save our remaining food biodiversity. Show time is 7pm – doors open at 6:30. Admission is by donation. There will be popcorn available as well as a surprise treat from our Social Enterprise Project! Please bring your own water bottle.
Network Meeting Summary ~ February 6 2019
Secwepemc Word of the Month: s7istk = winter; c7ístkten = winter home
Table Introductions: Who was your most memorable teacher?
KFPC Board Update
Glenn and Joe addressed the decrease in accessible meals by hosting a meeting with 25 people who are providing emergency meals in Kamloops. Many had been doing this for years without having met each other. A student, Emily, through the United Way, will be developing an assessment strategy to look at gaps in meals, particularly when five meals per week are stopped over the summer. The aim is to maintain the current level of meals and add one or two more per week.
The KFPC Board wrote a letter to the City of Kamloops regarding the Noble Creek Irrigation System, asking for more time for a solution to be found. The City has delayed the closure of the Noble Creek Irrigation System until September 2021. City staff have been tasked with looking at this more closely.
KFPC Staff UpdateKFPC, with several partners, is hosting a dialogue on household food insecurity in Kamloops on March 29, 8 – 4:30 PM at TRU. Registration is by donation, with a suggested donation of $15 – $40. There are two main areas of focus for the Nourish forum: 1) Indigenous food systems and how colonization has impacted food insecurity, including the over-representation of Indigenous people experiencing food insecurity and 2) meeting the needs of food insecurity and addressing the root causes through poverty reduction. For more information and to register, visit the Nourish website: nourishkamloops.org
Join us for a preview of the facilitation methods that will be used at Nourish during the March network meeting!
Social Enterprise has developed three recipes for popsicles, one of which is vegan. There will be pop up opportunities to sample them in the coming months!
The Policy Implementation Project, funded by the Real Estate Foundation, started in the fall when Bonnie and Michelle reviewed several plans/policies and highlighted seven areas of shared aspiration. These were presented to an initial collective in mid-January, including representatives from the City of Kamloops, TNRD, Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, Skeetchestn, Venture Kamloops and Community Futures. Based on the shared aspirations, the collective selected four areas to focus on: expanding land to grow food, food hub/social procurement, training initiatives (e.g., incubator farm/farm school), and processing facilities.
SEED: The Untold Story will be screened as part of TRU Films for Change on February 27th at TRU Clocktower (see poster at the top of the post). Doors at 6:30, film starts at 7 PM. Admission by donation. Following the film, a panel discussion will take place with Mojave Kaplan, Daniela Basile, and Robyn McLean. ** Volunteers are needed for set up, selling popcorn, and clean up. Please contact sandra@kamloopsfoodpolicycouncil.com if you are interested in helping out that night **
Incorporating Seed Growing Into Your Farm or Garden, February 28 from 1 to 4 PM, is an opportunity for market gardeners and people who are interested in growing seed on a larger scale to attend an information session, followed by a demonstration of how to use the winnower and thresher. To register, visit Eventbrite.
Garden Collective will be starting in McDonald Park, using part of the Public Produce space, with funding from United Way. Intended for beginner and new gardeners from the neighbourhood, this program will provide workshops to facilitate skill building within the collective. It is $20 to join the collective.
A Local Workshop Leaders page has been added to the KFPC website to help people find facilitators for a variety of topics. Share the word and if you would like to add your own details, send them to sandra@kamloopsfoodpolicycouncil.com!
Farm to School Update
The Kamloops region has 13 schools participating in the Farm to School program, engaging in activities such as: growing microgreens, building compost, growing gardens, dehydrating fruit, and engaging in field trips. Two new schools are joining this year: McGowan Park Elementary has involved the whole school in caring for four chickens, with a new class feeding them, collecting eggs, and finding innovative ways to use the eggs each week. Dallas Elementary has started a garden with a focus on growing grain. They will also be planting the three fall sisters: popcorn, winter squash, and dry beans, which will be better suited to the school calendar.
A Spring Celebration will be taking place in May at the Mount Paul Community Food Centre. Grade 6 students will be engaging with stations in the hall, kitchen and garden — a fun day with loads of hands-on activities.
Community Updates
Retirement Party Planning for Laura Kalina – The May KFPC Network Meeting will be a celebration of Laura’s career and contributions to the community. We are looking for folks who might want to share stories of how they came to know Laura and her work, photos/videos, and help with spreading the word that there is a party for her on May 1st. The more the merrier! If you have photos/videos and/or would like to share stories, please contact Simone at Simone.Jennings@interiorhealth.ca
Elaine Sedgman, from the Thompson Shuswap Master Gardeners, provided an overview of the Citizen Science Pollinator Final Report, including six recommendations:
~ protect nesting sites
~ install nesting boxes in parks
~ plant 3-season pollinator friendly forage
~ plant native shrubs and flowering plants
~ pollinator corridors with forage plants are needed to reduce forage islands
~ enhance and enlarge existing bee habitats
~ embed protection of bees in landscape management policy
Letters can be sent to the City of Kamloops, encouraging them to implement these recommendations and adhere to their landscape management policy.
The Big E has just released their second issue. Vendors get 100% of the profits and the paper provides an alternative to panhandling. Anyone can submit something to The Big E by the 20th of each month, whether it be writing, photography, poetry, artwork, or short stories. March will be an A to Z focus on women in the non-profit world titled, ’50 Shades of Greatness,’ and April will focus on the environment.
A new youth environment leadership program, Next Generation Naturalists, is starting in March for 17 to 22 year olds. The Kamloops Naturalist Club has partnered with TRU to offer 35 youth a learning opportunity that spans three years. Learning sessions will take place in the afternoons of the first and third Saturday, approximately 6 – 10 hours per month. Also included is a 40 hour paid practicum. If you, or someone you know, might be interested in this, please encourage them to apply as soon as possible: http://kamloopsnaturalistclub.com/nextgen/
Kamloops Permaculture Group meets every second Thursday at Living Arts Studio and is open to all. They will be setting up a display at Green Living Expo and regularly host workshops. Having helped to design a healing garden with Qwemtsin Health Society and a school garden in Skeetchestn, there will be a need for volunteers this spring to help create the garden spaces.
ICS is holding Food Friday, a drop in cooking program that runs each week at the Mount Paul Community Food Centre from 10 AM to 1 PM. Entirely free, everyone is welcome to arrive, enjoy a coffee and visit, cook and eat together.
The 7th Annual Family Day Festival will be held at Tournament Capital Centre on February 18th from 10 AM to 2 PM. KFPC and Farm to School will be there, so stop in and say hi as you check out the various activities there.
Who’s Who
BC Food Security Gateway
Interior Community Services
Interior Health
JUMP
Kamloops Naturalist Club
KFPC
Lived Experience Community
Open Door Group: Gardengate
Permaculture Kamloops
Thompson Shuswap Master Gardeners
TRU
Next Network Meeting: Wednesday, March 6, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
With special guests, March’s network meeting will be a sneak-peek into the facilitation process that will be used during the Nourish forum.
Chair: Glenn Hilke
Note taker: Michelle Tsutsumi
Set up: Alexis, Shelaigh
Clean up: Teresa, Rachel
February Network Meeting
February 6, 2019 | 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Welcome back! We’re looking forward to seeing everyone after the December/January break and, of course, enjoying our legendary potluck with you.
Because it’s been a while since our last network meeting, we thought it would be nice to have the space for the network to update each other on what is happening these days. Please bring your projects, needs, and offerings to share with the group.
Please bring a dish to share!
Few things on Earth are as miraculous and vital as seeds. Worshipped and treasured since the dawn of humankind.
SEED: The Untold Story follows passionate seed keepers protecting our 12,000 year-old food legacy. In the last century, 94% of our seed varieties have disappeared. As biotech chemical companies control the majority of our seeds, farmers, scientists, lawyers, and indigenous seed keepers fight a David and Goliath battle to defend the future of our food. In a harrowing and heartening story, these reluctant heroes rekindle a lost connection to our most treasured resource and revive a culture connected to seeds. SEED features Vandana Shiva, Dr. Jane Goodall, Andrew Kimbrell, Winona Laduke and Raj Patel.
Part of the Films for Change series
Sponsored by TRU’s Office of Environment and Sustainability
A panel discussion to follow the screening | Admission by donation
Doors open at 6:30, film starts at 7 PM
TRU Alumni Theatre (Clocktower) | 900 McGill Road
The Kamloops Food Policy Council is dedicated to safety and inclusion for all. We are committed to creating a positive and supportive space where everyone is welcome.
