Leaning Into Uncertainty: Preparedness and Hope

On Wednesday June 1st we gathered for our second in person potluck since March 2020. As we get used to coming together again, we live in a place of both hope and uncertainty. As the spring arrives, the rivers rise and potential heat waves are upon us. We know we don’t know what this summer will bring, but what we do know is we can lean on each other and find creative ways to be more prepared together. 

To start off our meeting and get us thinking about emergency preparedness, we paired off and shared our hopes and fears for the season ahead. We then came back for what truly brings us together, food! A time to share our craft, make connections and fill our bellies with food made with love. After dinner, Emily Pletsch presented on the KFPC’s work in Emergency Response. As a community convener and source for sharing information, the KFPC has and continues to play an emergency response role in Kamloops. We learned about Green Social Work, the intertwined practice of environmental and social justice. The group discussed different types of food insecurity during an emergency: availability, accessibility, affordability and displacement. We shared challenges we have seen with hoarding policies as a barrier to food access for many groups and limited access to cooking for people displaced living in hotels. 

Emily presented on equity within emergency response and the importance of providing the appropriate support for unique individual needs. She then shared about work happening in our community related to emergency response and increasing equity through social sector response development. 

As a final activity we engaged in an open space activity where members put forward ideas to discuss in small groups. The three groups included: 

  • Shelf stable food in emergencies: skill development, storage, access and sharing
  • Grab and go bag event: co-creating emergency to go bags
  • Climate grief: sharing experiences and feelings of climate change 

Each discussion went past the 7:30pm mark, ideas and emotions flowing for how we arrive and exist in the times we are living. Exploring what it means to be more prepared and how we do this work together.  

It was a wonderful evening and we are so grateful for all those who shared spaced with us!

 

 

If you are interested in getting involved in these conversations and future events, we would love to see you at our next network potluck on August 3rd! Be sure to join the KFPC mailing list to hear the details about our potlucks and other opportunities.

 

Our KFPC potlucks have a well-deserved reputation as the best potluck in town! When we gathered together last month, for our first potluck since the start of the pandemic, I took my first bite and almost immediately had tears come to my eyes. Don’t get me wrong – the food was incredibly delicious – but that first bite represented both the deep joy of eating together again and the two years of loss and struggle our community has experienced. 

What is a potluck? What do they do for us, as a grassroots network working together for a more just and resilient food system? Like adrienne maree brown suggests in Pleasure Activism, we are learning to make justice and liberation the most pleasurable collective experiences we could have, and I think our potlucks – the joy of sharing food and company with each other – have been a big part of how KFPC has worked together so effectively over the last 25 years. 

The pandemic has required us to make so many changes, and losing the ability to gather and eat together has been something many of us have grieved. But, we also experimented with new options, and had the opportunity to do some important reflection about accessibility, care and safety. We’re asking ourselves the challenging question: what can we do to create truly welcoming and inclusive spaces for our network? This is a question that applies to those who are at high risk from COVID-19, but also to those who experience other barriers to participation, such as neurodiversity, social anxiety, or financial barriers. 

 “We have the opportunity to emerge from this time period with an enhanced understanding of what it means to be good to one another.” (DanceSafe and Consent Culture Initiative)

Here are some of the evolving principles and practices the KFPC will be keeping in mind as we plan ways for our network to gather, learn together and collaborate over the next season of the pandemic:

  1. We think creatively about how we gather. We acknowledge that not every meeting or gathering format will work for the diverse needs of the individuals in our network, so we are working more intentionally to create different options for “meeting containers” to meet different needs. For the foreseeable future, this will include:
    • In-person potlucks, the first Wednesday of every second month. Our potlucks will be in a “picnic or potluck” format that acknowledges different comfort levels with eating together indoors. You are welcome to bring your own picnic, bring a potluck dish to share, or even to choose to eat at home beforehand – all choices are respected.
    • Online book club gatherings, the first Wednesday of every alternate month
    • Volunteer opportunities that are outdoors whenever possible
    • Workshops with in-person and online live streaming or recorded options whenever possible
  2. We organize our practices to support those most at risk. As Mia Mingus, a writer for disability justice and transformative justice writes, “Interdependence acknowledges that our survival is bound up together, that we are interconnected and what you do impacts others” (Mia Mingus). At the KFPC, we are learning how to act in solidarity with disabled people and communities. For us right now, it means continuing to be mindful of how higher risk members of our community can feel safe and welcomed to our network, and planning our practices around their needs.
  3. We practice consent culture. We encourage all of our network members to learn about consent culture, and start practicing consent-informed conversations that support safety, mutual respect, and boundary setting in many contexts beyond COVID-19. In a helpful guide from the Consent Culture Initiative, they write:  “We can never be 100% sure that being exposed to someone is safe without a negative COVID test result and sufficient quarantining, but we can have thorough and open conversations about our safety practices that are based on mutual respect, trust, and care. This kind of communication allows us to make informed decisions” (DanceSafe and Consent Culture Initiative).
  4. When we gather in person, we keep each other safe. We invite anyone attending our events to consider their responsibilities to follow public health guidelines and be proactive about staying home when you feel sick. We strongly encourage network members choosing to attend in-person gatherings to practice the layers of protection in the swiss cheese model (because we love a good food pun!), including vaccination, masking, physical distancing and hand washing. These practices are important acts of care you can take to keep others safe, especially those at higher risk. According to current public health guidance, we will not be requiring vaccine confirmation or mandatory masking at our events, but we do trust that if you choose to attend, you will take your responsibilities to each other seriously. To support safe in person practices, the KFPC has rapid tests and KN-95 masks available at no cost for anyone attending a network event.  
  5. We communicate transparently about our accessibility practices, and our limitations. We aim to provide clear and transparent information about each event, whether in-person or online, so that you’ll know what to expect, and can make informed decisions around your ability to participate. If you have needs that aren’t addressed in our communications, we hope you’ll feel comfortable letting us know how we can do better. We’re also actively doing our own reading and listening to people from the disability community who have generously offered guidance. We know we’ll make mistakes along the way, but we’re committed to growing and improving the accessibility we can offer.

If gathering in person with us is something that would bring you joy in these times, we would love to see you at our next network potluck on June 1! Be sure to join the KFPC mailing list to hear the details about our potlucks and other opportunities. 

 

(Written by Lindsay Harris)

Our February 2022 KFPC Network Meeting took place via zoom on the evening of February 2. During this time we explored and imagined the topic of mutual aid together. 

Lindsay Harris, one of our 4 facilitators of the evening, opened the meeting with an exciting activity that set the stage for our collaborative endeavor. Rather than using a predefined understanding of mutual aid, we sought to examine what our network believed mutual aid to be. Using an instinctual, say don’t think, style of facilitation we broke out into groups of 3 to come up with 10 description words for mutual aid as fast as our fingers could type them into the chat! We heard a number of different ideas and phrases, but a lot of overlapping thoughts such as community, collaboration and sharing as well. We described mutual aid as:

Not only did we manage to bring a better understanding to what we ourselves thought of mutual aid, but what others in our network did. We then leaned into Dean Spade’s definition: “Mutual aid work plays an immediate role in helping us get through crises, but it also has the potential to build the skills and capacities we need for an entirely new way of living at a moment when we must transform our society…” 

Exploring that second caveat, building the skills and capacities of what is needed, we transitioned into hearing about mutual aid work around poverty within our community. Bonnie Klohn and Emily Pletsch presented their learnings and findings from the project, Changing the Face of Poverty. In addition to discussing the project, findings, and intentional ending in detail, the two shared their anti-stigma video with the network.

As we moved into the discussion group part of the evening, we again sought to establish a more collaborative framework. Rather than our KFPC team defining topics to explore, we asked participants to decide using an open space format. Once we opened the floor to ideas, 3 different topics were created and individuals selected the breakout room of their choice. These included:

  1. How to bring mutual aid to emergency food aid? (E.g., food boxes)
  2. How to organize mutual aid for building connections?
  3. How the rubber hits the road – starting, planning, action, and delivery of mutual aid

For over 25 minutes, we explored our chosen area, while building momentum and creating community. No structural questions were given to lead discussions, everything was carried on organically by participants! Breakout sessions were a buzz with ideas, thoughts, and questions. 

In group 1 specific thoughts emerged, such as: “needs don’t always end when the grant funding runs out”, “mutual aid is not always a universal answer to every non-profit project”, and the need to infuse the ethos of “solidarity not charity” into food programs. In group 2 the conception and feasibility of a human library or skillshare program was explored. A concept where people could access a “resource of people” to discover their corresponding skills to share. The group also discussed ways to encourage people to get to know each other in their communities, whether through specific community initiatives or building physical spaces for informal points of connection. In group 3, examples of mutual aid participants had seen or experienced were shared. 

After our lengthy and exciting discussions, Bonnie Klohn brought us back to the main group and asked us all to share in the chat something we will be taking away with us after the meeting. Some mentioned specific ideas formed, like the Human Library. Others talked about a grant they heard of they hoped to apply for. While a few mentioned specific statements such as, “I was surprised by the amount of work that’s already been done.” 

Mutual aid is a topic of great interest in our city. It’s something we are seeing, it’s something we are doing! Our network meeting was intended to stir our community into action! Even just building up our understanding of mutual aid. If you’d like to explore the topic of Mutual Aid with us further, please sign-up for our March 2 Book Club here

A big thank you to our presenters and our network for meeting and sharing space with one another. The discussions were as inspiring as they were exciting! We hope to see you all for our next network meeting – in person – at The Stir on April 6, 2022 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

On the first of this month our network gathered online for our December Network Meeting to discuss Community Food Action (CFA) in our city. With a number of new and familiar faces, Bonnie Khlon started our meeting with a brief discussion on the extreme weather events of this past fall and the importance of local food in climate change.

Our new communications lead, Krista Macaulay, facilitated the panel structured meeting where presenters shared and discussed food programs in Kamloops. Our panel included Mariana Guerra’s presentation of the Evaluation Plan on the Gleaning Abundance Program (GAP), Peace Jilani sharing her thesis research on the impact of the GAP, Serena Caner discussing Farm2School and the potential of school food environments in Kamloops, and Caitlin Quist & Kevin Pankewich presenting their Evaluation Plan on the Butler Urban Farm (BUF).

After the panel of presentations, attendees were asked to join the topic of their choice –  BUF, GAP, or School Food Environments – to provide adequate time to dive deeper into dialogue. Our breakout rooms followed the “what, so what, now what” liberating structure to reach a broader vision of CFA in our city, considering what is happening with food in our urban environments and what are the best steps for its continuation and growth.

The fruitful discussions looked at the current role of CFA in our city –  but really highlighted why food matters in Kamloops. Peace’s research on the Social Return on Investment of the GAP showed the numerical effect CFA has on food security and food waste, but also on the immeasurable impacts such as community building, emotional capacity and friendships. This theme was repeated in both the School Food Environment and BUF breakout room: where there is food, there are people. Where there are people, there are opportunities for connections, community development, and joy.

Looking forward, ideas were given on what more our programs could be doing. We discussed how CFA programs can grow, how to strengthen our outreach to wider networks, and what roles the KFPC can take on to lead new community food initiatives – specifically in school food environments.

The meeting concluded with a brief update from staff members of the KFPC on the brand launch of The Stir – Kamloops’ regional food hub and the exciting next steps towards doors opening in early 2022!

Thank you to our amazing panel of presenters and all who attended the meeting. Food has a deep purpose in our city, not only does it sustain us, but it connects us. We hope to see you all for our next network meeting in the new year on February 2!

Our June Network meeting took place on 2nd of this month. Many familiar faces joined the meeting along with some new people. Bonnie Klohn our food policy lead and Emily Pletsch were the host of this meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss about the current situations or threats in the food system. We also paid condolences to the 215 victims of Kamloops residential schools. It is very devastating to know about small children who lost their lives. We asked the question, how are you reflecting on this news in terms of dismantling systemic racism today?
We were then sent to breakout rooms to discuss the two questions which were the base of this meeting. 1) What is something that you are pleased with in terms of where the food system is going? and 2) What is something that you are seeing that is more of a risk? Everyone had different views about these questions, but many noted that due to pandemic many people started growing their own organic veggie and fruits. This is a good example of people getting into growing their own organic food and having healthy home-grown veggies, which is beneficial for the food system of our communities.
We also observed that last year as the pandemic started there was an increase in growing food locally, but this year we saw that there are more plots in the community gardens which are empty, the reason behind this is that it needs more time, efforts, and hard work. As we can see that things are getting back to normal, there has been a slight decrease in the interest of growing organic veggie.
Another interesting view shared by members, included thinking about growing and supplying food locally as compared to regionally.
The meeting was concluded with the updates, from the staff members of KFPC on the facilitation of the Changing the Face of Poverty Meetings, the Gleaning Abundance Program, Butler Urban Farm, the Food Hub, as well as a food curriculum adult education roundtable held by the KFPC recently. We were also introduced to our new team member Manjinder Kaur Saini who recently started working at KFPC as administrative lead introduces herself to the network members. She also spoke about Farmer’s protest going on in India. Welcome Manjinder, and thank you to everyone who attended the meeting.

 

 

Network Meeting Summary

February 10, 2021

The February Network Meeting was part two of a four part series on race and the food system. The meeting was facilitated by Dr. Kyra Garson, Interculturalization Coordinator at the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at TRU. It was co-facilitated by Bonnie Klohn, KFPC Food Policy Lead, Deborah Ogundimu, KFPC Administration and Communications Lead, Emily Pletsch, KFPC Board Director and Stone Healey, TRU Social Work Practicum Student. 

What is Culture?

Culture forms our identity. For some, culture is particularly salient and for others, they draw from a blended model. In general, it affects how we function in the world and perceive things. When we think about culture and food, we often think about the food we eat. Culture as it relates to food, goes beyond consumption. Culture is a shared and often unspoken understanding within a group of people that creates meaning and a sense of belonging. Culture is learnt through direct instruction from families, socialization (schools, society at large) and observation.

Norms and Values 

Culture dictates communications, emotions, systems, social roles, authority and universal terms like birth, death and faith. These universal terms are dealt with differently due to cultural norms. If we understand our norms, values and orientation in relation to others, we can be effective when working across those changing differences. 

Culture is Dynamic 

It changes over time and generations. We move in and out of culture. We may move between our work and home culture but we have a shared understanding of what is accepted or a norm within a society 

What is Normativity?

The act of a society reinforcing standards and often that is the standards of the dominant group. It sets expectations on behavior. In an increasingly multicultural environment, this presents a challenge due to the multiple norms in operation. In the society, the dominant group tends to dictate the norms. In a settler colonial society, the settler colonial heritage is the norm. 

The Mindsets

When different norms are acting simultaneously, how do we react? We co-facilitated five breakout rooms to explore five mindsets in relation to other cultures. Our members provided a name for the different mindsets and listed advantages and disadvantages of each mindset. 

“The Bubble Mindset” People with the Bubble Mindset are said to be comfortable with the familiar and unconcerned with culture. People in this mindset maintain a distance from those who are different and wonder why people make a huge deal about culture. 

“The Archie Bunker Mindset” The Archie Bunker Mindset has a strong commitment to their worldview and distrusts cultural behaviour or ideas that differ from theirs. People in this mindset do not seek out the company of people from other cultures because they object to one or more of their unpleasant traits. 

“The Convert Mindset” People with the Convert Mindset have experienced other cultures that have made them notice imperfections in theirs. People with this mindset are known to be champions of other cultures and are alienated from their own culture. 

“The Rose Coloured Glass Mindset” People with this mindset know that people from other cultures are like them under the surface. They are fairly knowledgeable about cultural differences, customs and behaviors and behave in tolerant ways towards others. 

“The One Love Mindset” The One Love Mindset acknowledges and respects cultural differences. People with this mindset may not like everything about other cultures but they see how valuable those differences are to society. 

Next Network Meeting: April 7th 2021 

Join us as we continue our conversation on Race and the Food System!

 

Network Meeting Summary 

December 2, 2020

Introduction

The intention behind the December network meeting focused on “race and the food system” was to bring diverse voices up to the forefront and gain multiple perspectives to see where the strength of our community ties. The December network meeting is part of a series of network meetings created to facilitate a discussion around race and the food system. These discussions have been attempted in the past by the Kamloops Food Policy Council but not to this calibre. Food is something that connects us all and regardless of our shape, size or race, we are disconnected. In this fast-paced society, we fail to have these important conversations around food. This was where our network members came into play. Having a resilient community of network members at the KFPC that has been together for 25+ years at the grassroot and organization level provides a huge opportunity to start this conversation. This preliminary conversation will guide further series that will dive deeper into how we view ourselves talking about racial caucusing, culture and normativity and intersectionality. The overarching goal is to create an anti-racism manifesto for the Kamloops Food Policy Council. The best approach is to gain insights from the community and create the manifesto taking into consideration different voices and perspectives.

 

The Facilitators

 Fauve Garson

Final year Master of Environmental Sciences Student at Thompson Rivers University. Fauve is currently studying the connections between race and inequalities such as class and race within our local regional food systems. Fauve intends to use the series of network meetings and network members to further expand her learnings.

Bonnie Klohn

Bonnie recently completed a Master of Art Education and is a part of a family that has been in Kamloops for 6 generations with ancestors from Scotland. They came from a place in Scotland that is called Innerleithen. Meaning the meeting of the two rivers. It is the meeting of the river Tweed and the Leithen river. The area is one of the major salmon bearing rivers in the United Kingdom. Bonnie feels a sense of responsibility as her ancestors are one of the first set of settlers to remove indigenous people from management and jurisdiction of their land. She feels a connection to the Salmon people responsible for the survival of that species.

Deborah Ogundimu

Deborah is a Master of Business Administration candidate at Thompson Rivers University, a plant based African immigrant with a cultural and spiritual connection to food. As someone who grew up with a farm in close proximity, immigrating to a country with a different food system and a lack of culturally relevant food has showcased the need to explore where the disconnect lies and how this gap can be filled from a business perspective.

 

Breakout & Jam board Sessions

The attendees were distributed into 30-minute breakout rooms to discuss;

  • What did your grandparents do for a living? What did they eat?
  • Where is home for you? What foods are associated with home for you?
  • Tell us about your etho-racial background. What do you know about its food system? Does it still happen now?

Afterwards, the facilitators hosted 3 Jam Board sessions to give members the opportunity to share their insights from the breakout sessions.

Insights on the Meeting

As a younger generation, we explored the foods that our grandparents ate and food associated with our history and cultures. The older generation put a lot more time into meal creation. There is a shortcoming with regards to intergenerational knowledge transfer for settlers and immigrants due to modernization, capitalism and convenience.

Historically, it was normal to prioritize food and the time it takes to prepare food. We are now in a “grab and go” lifestyle where the younger generation fail to see the importance of traditional food preparation techniques. The introduction of modern foods has helped to create a gap between what we traditionally pass on and what we now enjoy in our current lifestyles.

Capitalism through advertisement creates this instant convenient culture, an idea that convenience foods such as hamburger helper and craft dinners are a better alternative and a good substitute to the traditional slow food system. This has impacted our food system since the 50s. The network members discussed the externalities and how the modernized food system impacts the BIPOC community. The onset COVID-19 has brought to the limelight how the BIPOC workers and community are affected by the modernization of our food system. There is an increasing number of COVID-19 pandemic breakouts in factories where these convenient foods are produced. There is a strong connection between race and the industrial food system. There is an increasing amount of food deserts especially in the United States but also in Canada. Grocery stores are now replaced with fast food establishments like Taco Bell and food stamps are introduced in those areas. The members of the BIPOC community are encouraged through targeted marketing to eat from these fast food establishments. They lack access to culturally relevant and healthy food.

It is also evident that within those that are long time settlers, as several generations pass, intergenerational knowledge transfer has become less impactful. Food has become less ceremonial and traditional but more functional. Cultural food has been altered or even completely changed due to their immediate environment. It has become a fusion of cultures.

 

 

Wrap Up

Due to the complex nature of the topic, the plan is to continue to dive deeper on these conversations. We do not have a network meeting for January but in February, the goal is to facilitate a deeper conversation around culture and normativity. We consulted with Kyra Garson, a faculty member at TRU, who works in interculturalization to help facilitate a workshop and lead us through the conversation. Fauve’s thesis is on intersectionality concerning food and race. This could expand much further than food and race. The last network meeting on racial caucusing is to strengthen diversity, multiple perspectives and voices. This will help us create an environment to celebrate the BIPOC community and learn from each other.

 Announcements

  • Indoor Winter Market at Purity Feeds Greenhouse from 10AM to 2PM on Saturday. The winter market ends on December 19.
  • Mitch Ward, Migrant Farm Worker Outreach and Support worker. – There was a case concerning the abuse of migrant workers on local farms. Mitch has been supporting the workers for application for open work permits and pursuing some level of justice. Due to COVID-19, some migrant workers were on implied status as they could not return home due to the pandemic. This meant they could not qualify for employment benefits even though they had to contribute to the fund. Mitch fought with Service Canada and the worker got a full 30 weeks paid.
    • This sheds light on the challenges migrant workers face. There is a huge problem with inequality and race as those workers are systematically disentitled to federal benefits.

 Resources

Cory Doctorow – “Radicalized” Collection of Short Stories

“How Black Culinary Historians are Rewriting the History of American Food.” by Ruth Terry

Next Network Meeting

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Native Pollinators and Integrative Pest Management

Network Meeting Summary

November 4, 2020 

Elaine Sedgman and Kirsten Wourms educated KFPC network members, representatives from partner organizations, staff and contractors on Native Pollinators, Pesticide use, and Integrative Pest Management methods at the virtual November network meeting on November 4, 2020. The meeting kicked off at 5:30 PM with Bonnie Klohn, KFPC Finance and Policy Lead walking the attendees through a brief moment of guided meditation and territorial acknowledgement before opening up the stage for our first speaker, Elaine Sedgman, who delivered a 15 minute presentation and song to the attendees. Following the theme of the meeting, Kirsten Wourms also gave a 15-minute presentation, informing the attendees ways to protect native pollinators through Integrative Pest Management in the City of Kamloops. 

Elaine Sedgman

Elaine Sedgman is the author and illustrator of the children’s book “Osmia Lignaria Pollinator Extraordinaire” popularly known as “A Bee Named BOB.” There are over 20,000 species of bees in the world, 70% of which are solitary. BC is the most bee-diverse province in Canada as it is home to almost 500 of those species however, the popularly known species of bees, the honey bee is not native to North America. Bees native to BC include the  Halictidae “sweat bees”, the biggest family of bees worldwide, which requires open, accessible flowers. The Halictus Farinosus is the most common bee in Kamloops. The Agapostemon Texanus, green sweat bee, the Colletes bee, known to have a golden heart shaped face and the Perdita, comes out in the Spring and Summer. Bees in the Apidae family such as Bumblebees, which are popularly mistaken for Longhorn bees can be found in BC in the Spring. The Melissodes bees are known as sunflower bees as they are attracted to sunflowers and sunflower shapes. 30% of the world’s bees are solitary cavity nesting bees and are all in the Megacilidae family, also known as “hairy belly bees” as they collect pollen on their abdomen. They are long tongue bees so they collect pollen from bell-shaped flowers. These bees nest in hollowed out twigs such as elderberry and raspberry, snail shells and key holes. Osmia lignaria (Blue Orchard Mason bees) are native to North America. Only 1% of the world’s species of bees are social including Honey bees and Bumblebees. Bombus Fervidus is the most populous in BC and their colony size is about 200, lower than that of honey bees. The social bees have no risk of extinction due to human help however, the native bees are subject to extinction due to habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of modern agriculture. Almond orchards are a death zone as a result of increased herbicides and pesticides use. Other farming activities like ploughing and crop rotation limits the resources available to bees such as the Melissodes. In cities, social and communal bees such as Honey bees and Halictidae are known to thrive however, cities are a difficult ground for bees to survive due to the overabundance of lawns and pavements and lack of floral diversity. Plants treated with neonicotinoids are known to kill plants and affect bees. Honey bees deplete available pollen nectar, resources and displace native bees. Climate change has caused an increase in CO2 and a massive decrease in pollen protein required by bees and humans. 

Kirsten Wourms 

Kirsten Wourms is a Natural Resource Crew Leader for the City of Kamloops. Integrative Pest Management is a 5-step program that begins with prevention. Before prevention, all gardens and plants need to build resistance to pests. This is highly dependent on soil fertility, drainage, PH level, organic matter, irrigation systems, plant spacing and plant diversity. 

Step 1- Identification of Pest 

Many times, plants face environmental issues such as drought, flooding, sun scald and nutrient deficiency that might not be caused by pests. Plant, pest, and damage identification are required in the IPM process. This will better inform on the treatment needed to solve the problem (natural enemies & preventive measures)

Step 2 – Monitoring 

The most important step to understand the site conditions, locations, lifecycle, and weather. Record species of plants, counts of pests and beneficials and gross stage of plants in the area. 

Step 3 – Determine the Acceptable Injury Level 

This will determine the tolerance level. Eradication might be detrimental for beneficial pests and as such, we need to strike a balance between management and eradication.

Step 4 – Action 

Chemical control should be used as a last resort and after proper research and consultation. Cultural means of prevention such as plant selection, pruning, sanitation, crop rotation, and design should be the first step in the process of pest management. Physical and Mechanical means of prevention include screens, mowing and heat applicators. Action should be used in conjunction with monitoring as it informs on what lifecycle or season that certain mechanical traps can be used. Biological in the City of Kamloops include matching the pest with its natural predators through trials and 10 -20 year studies before released to ensure native pollinators are protected. 

Step 5 – Evaluation  

Evaluation helps to identify way to improve and assess the costs and benefits to ensure negative effects are minimized 

What is the City Doing? 

  • Pesticide & Spraying Reduction
  • Biological Solutions for Knapweeds –  Russian Olives, ToadFlax & Houndstongue
  • Hand Pulling  – Group “Adopt a Tail” for weed pulls 

Member, Staff/Contractor Announcements 

  • Farewell to Sandra Frangiadakis 
  • Farm to School is collaborating with SFU on a 3-year research project (evaluation framework) to engage schools and farmers in rural, remote and urban areas of BC to understand the barriers and opportunities for engagement and develop a better model for local food procurement and food literacy in farm to school programs 
  • Outdoor Farmers Market season ended and new indoor location at Purity Feeds (471 Okanagan Way, Kamloops, BC V2H 1G7). Saturdays from 10 AM to 2 PM until December 19
  • Glenn Hilke thanks farmers at the Farmers Market for takeaway meals and donations to the Loop/Meal Train
    • JUMP program taking a sabbatical from donation pick up from Farmers Market and requires an organization to continue. JUMP willing to train organization

Resources

  • Elaine’s Recommendations to the City of Kamloops. In the city of Kamloops, trees should be replaced with bee-friendly flowers as shade trees reduce bee forage 
  • From the Masters Gardeners Association:
  • A Bee Named BOB, Elaine Sedgman, Bee Stories Publishing, 2019 – Information about BOBs, Bee Nesting Boxes and Care
  • Mason Bees – Read More  Read More 
  • Natural Insect Weed and Disease Control by Linda Gilkeson.Read Here  

Next Network Meeting: December 2, 2020

Board Update
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Farm to School program and KFPC. And congratulations are in order for Bonnie Klohn, who will be the new Farm to School Kamloops Animator!

Another Community Food Research Alliance meeting was facilitated with increased attendance and action items.

Bonnie, Sandra and Carole presented a United Way proposal to the Community Impact Council.

Bylaws are being updated and the Board is delighted with the names that have been coming forward in the Board nomination process in preparation for the AGM on August 1. The Board also supported staff in the recruitment and selection of the Social Enterprise Coordinator and summer student positions.

KFPC confirmed our role as a community partner with the 2018 Wild Salmon Caravan (WSC). The WSC, which raises consciousness about the spirit of this keystone species through arts and culture, will have three stops, ending in Chase on September 29. The theme this year is Mermaids and water people. KFPC will support the Chase feast, promote the Chase parade and possibly facilitate transportation to the parade.

Farm to Chef’s Grazing Event, an annual fundraiser, takes place at Stuart Wood on August 26. KFPC will be the recipient of the fundraiser.

Acknowledgements
KFPC was saddened to hear of Elmer King’s passing on May 15. JUMP will be organizing a celebration of life later in June. In Elmer’s honour, Street Scene has been renamed The Big Edition and the inaugural summer edition will be released on July 1.

Staff Update
A big welcome is extended to Greg Unger (pictured at the top of the newsletter!), the new Social Enterprise Coordinator, as well as a thank you to the City of Kamloops for supporting social enterprise through the Social Enterprise Accelerator Program. KFPC will be working with Purrpl (Purposeful People out of Kelowna) to develop a business plan. The plan is to take a portion of gleaned fruit, make it shelf stable, and sell it to the Boys and Girls Club. Down the road, the intention is to also have a retail stream. Another component of the program is to provide food literacy workshops through harvesting, food processing, reducing food waste, and garden tours.

KFPC, the Food Bank, ICS and the City of Kamloops is working on a Food Insecurity Forum, which will focus on actions to help people who are hungry, advocacy and research.

A joint grant application with ICS was successful, which means there will be more food literacy workshops.

GAP would like to send a friendly reminder to send pickable trees and volunteers our way. Interested people can also contact GAP for community presentations: gleaningabundance@gmail.com

KFPC plans to build a float for the Wild Salmon Caravan using a utility trailer. Anyone inspired by merpeople or trout children and being a part of the float? Contact us to be a part of a float crew: kamloopsfoodpolicy@gmail.com.

It was exciting for the Seed Library to fill out its first intake and receive heirloom edamame seeds into the library. Read all about it here.

Community Spotlight Presentation
Interior Community Services (ICS) Program Update

ICS and KFPC have aligned missions, so it’s fantastic to hear about all that they are involved with right now. ICS is the first Community Food Centre in BC (there are only 12 in Canada). Their focus is on whole, unprocessed, healthy food and kids programming to develop knowledge and skills to grow, cook, harvest and glean food.

In 2017/18, ICS has been carrying out a capital campaign and they are expanding the kitchen/garden and renovating the centre over the summer. With 42 programs, this seems very necessary! Here is a summary of the food-related programs that ICS offers:

Community Kitchens – there is both a drop in program with local resources or a culinary series program that runs for 6 – 12 weeks.

Kids – for kids under 13 years old, there are one-stop drop in programs and 6 – 10 week programs. During the summer, YMCA Camp Days run, using the main hall, kitchen and garden. During the school year, School District 73 will also be involved with the Food Centre.

Food Access – programs that fit in with this involve the Food Bank and Food Recovery, as well as food collected at the Farmers’ Market. The Garden is available for kitchen programming.

Better at Home – works with people who are over 65 years old on low income. The Food Bank hamper delivers to 21 clients and the grocery shopping with free delivery has 86 shoppers. The Farmers’ Market coupon program coincides with a Friday tea where participants can pick up the coupons. This program, with a capacity of 35 people, is almost full with only 3 spaces left.

One of the gaps ICS is trying to fill is to fundraise for and develop programming meaningful for youth.

In terms of partnerships, ICS provides tailor made workshops (e.g., team building) and presentations to community groups. Some of the volunteering opportunities with ICS include helping in the garden, food processing, helping with hampers, yard maintenance, and informing the community of where Mount Paul Community Food Centre is and what they do.

For more information about Mount Paul Community Food Centre and their programs, visit their website.

Events

Farmers’ Market 40th Anniversary
June 23
Cake cutting and speeches at 10 AM

Walk for Peace, Environment & Social Justice at NOON
Rock the Walk from 1 – 8 PM
June 23
Riverside Park Bandshell
Food trucks, artisan vendors, children’s activities, community info booths, and live music!

KFPC AGM
August 1, 5:30 – 7:30
Gardengate

Farm to Chefs Grazing Event
August 26, 2 – 5

Wild Salmon Caravan
September 29
Parade in Chase

Announcements
Grow a Row has started through the Kamloops Food Bank.

JUMP also mentioned that they will be starting a Pick a Weed Program at the JUMP plot on Elm and Tranquille. When you’re walking by, take a moment to pull a week or two.

Who’s Who
ahhYay Wellness Café
Artisan Farm Village
Breastfeeding Matters in Kamloops
City of Kamloops
JUMP
Kamloops City Council
Kamloops Food Bank
KFPC
Kamloops Naturalist Club
Kamloops Organic Buying Club
Kamloops Regional Farmers’ Market
Lived Experience Committee
Live Love Laugh Wellness Gardens
Mount Paul Community Church
My Place Drop In
Permaculture Kamloops
The Big Edition
UBCO

Next Meeting: July 4, 2018, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Chair: Lindsay Harris
Notetaker: Michelle Tsutsumi
Set Up: Gabrielle Bray, Natasha Lyndon
Take Down: Sandra Frangiadakis, Greg Unger, Glenn Hilke, Deanna Hurstfield

March 7, 2018 Network Meeting Summary

Board Update
– We are celebrating our biggest group yet at 45 people today!
– The new strategic plan is being operationalized in purposeful and concrete ways. It is exciting to have a strong document to guide us through the next five years.

Staff Update
– Expect to see monthly newsletters after the inaugural launch in February.
– March was the first of what will be monthly articles in the Connector (page 3), providing a regular feature on food security. Rotating guest writers will provide the articles each month.
– The most recent world cuisine workshop was full and focused on Indian dishes. Keep your eyes open for upcoming cooking sessions!
– Bonnie is in the thick of grant writing season and several applications have been submitted in partnership with the City of Kamloops and Interior Community Services, in addition to the grants solely submitted by KFPC. Read more