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The Peavy Industries 2020 Community Agricultural Grant

Peavey Industries awarded the Kamloops Food Policy Council $30,050 as part of the 2020 Community Agriculture Grant to support resiliency gardening, food security, and local food production, through our very own Butler Urban Farm Project!

The grant was created in response to the global pandemic and the need to support the vast and varied needs of communities in British Columbia and Ontario within a 300km radius from a Peavy Mart, TSC, or MainStreet Hardware Store.

The Kamloops Food Policy Council, through the Butler Urban Farm, has increased food production in the community and improved the well-being of groups and individuals.

The grant will enable the KFPC to install a teaching greenhouse, tool storage shed, and fund a Fall Harvest Manager for distribution and winterizing of the farm.

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We’re Finalists! – Kamloops Chamber of Commerce Business Awards

We were thrilled and privileged to have been nominated for the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce 34th Annual Business Awards for Non-Profit the year and we’re even more honored to be moved from a nominee position to a finalist.

We will be interviewing with representatives from the selection committee in the next couple of days at the Butler Farm (Stay Connected for Updates), and the winners of the awards will be announced at the Business Excellence Awards Gala on October 24, 2020.

We would like to thank the Kamloops Chamber for recognizing our efforts, and acknowledge our fellow nominees in the Not For Profit of the Year category – Big Little Science Centre, and the Kamloops Symphony.

 

 

 

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25 Years & Counting!

The Kamloops Food Policy Council celebrated its 25th Anniversary (virtually) on August 5, 2020. Thank you to the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Lana Popham, the attendees of the event, staff, volunteers and the community for the never-ending support, passion, hard work, and dedication that has gone into creating a food system that is regenerative, sovereign, and just over the last 25 years.

At the event, we were nostalgic as we reflected on and shared memories of the flaky, cream-filled desserts, food, and treats shared with over 40 members at the potlucks and the relationships and connections we built as a community.

We are appreciative of the shifts that have occurred in the food system and the programs that have sprung up over the last 25 years some of which involve, the development of the City of Kamloops Food and Urban Agriculture Plan, the involvement of the KFPC in the advisory committee, the legalization of Urban Hens, the Pop cycle Initiative, the availability of local food and food sharing within the community and the community-based food plan implementation project that has brought about huge impacts.

We were privileged to have with us the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Lana Popham, who shared with us the importance of food system networks most especially in the midst of the global pandemic. There have been a shift in thinking and an integration between the rural and urban communities. Seeing that farmers in our community are struggling with issues of connectivity, the Ministry of Agriculture promotes grants to assist these farmers to solve their e-commerce problems through online sales. She explains that following this huge stride in the support of local food and farmers, we need to keep the momentum going. We must Buy BC, Feed BC, and Grow BC. The mandate helps to improve the strength of land reserve and provide farmers with support through education, opportunities, seed networks, and system-level changes.

At the anniversary, we had a pre-screening of our promotional video, which will be launched officially in the following week. Stay connected for updates!

The community also posed several questions to our special guest, Lana Popham. She explained that Food Process Hubs will help increase food security in times like the CO-VID19 Pandemic as stores are unable to keep up with food distribution. By making what we need in BC, we can have a safe food supply. She explains that we are not using the Agricultural Land Reserves to its full potential. The Ministry supports a land trust that matches aging farmers and new farmers such as women, with children that want to make a change to land and promotes reconciliation with the indigenous and natural food system.

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A Fundraising Success – Thank you Breath Integration, Businesses & Community Members

Special thanks to the team at Breath Integration, businesses, artists, and loyal community members that helped raise $9565 for the Kamloops Food Policy Council through the 24 Hour Charity Bids Facebook Platform.

The auction was live from June 29 to July 3. It brought over 62 businesses, artists & community members together to bid on over 100 items and services.

We appreciate the never-ending support of the community and businesses and the ingenuity, and resourcefulness of the team at Breath Integration.

Photo Credit: 24 Hour Charity Bids Facebook Platform

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Job Posting – Fall Farm Manager

We are looking for a fall manager for our urban farm project! The Butler Urban Farm is an urban farm with a difference. All our produce goes to volunteers, community groups, and food insecure folks in search of fresh veggies. If you love growing food and love people, this may be the job opportunity for you!

 

Check the full job posting here: Fall Farm Manager Job Posting

 

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Kamloops Chamber 2020 Business Excellence Award Nomination

We are excited and honoured to have been nominated for a Kamloops Chamber Business Excellence Award for Not For Profit of the Year! 2020 just happens to mark our 25th Anniversary, which makes the nomination even more meaningful.

Over the last year the KFPC has really demonstrated its strength as a community organizer.

We spearheaded a regional Policy Implementation Project which brought together Indigenous communities, local governments and community partners such as food and agriculture-related non-profits, researchers, and educational agencies to identify where mutual objectives existed in relation to food and create action plans to collaborate on accomplishing them. One result of this project was a Food Processing and Innovation Hub feasibility study and a related pilot project where five local food processors were given business mentorship and workshops to help them grow and thrive. Another working group focused on developing local agricultural training initiatives.

In March 2019, the KFPC hosted Nourish, a community-wide dialogue on the root causes of household food insecurity. This event was planned in partnership with Interior Health, the Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Centre, Interior Community Services, the Lived Experience Committee, and the Kamloops Food Bank. We brought in speakers who focused on two themes – Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Poverty as the root cause of household food insecurity. Over 80 people attended this event.

More recently, the KFPC took on the task of facilitating regular online Cross Agency meetings with local emergency food providers to establish a collaborative approach to the short-term food security crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendees represent social service agencies, food organizations, businesses, Interior Health, local government, Indigenous communities, volunteer groups like Rotary, TRU, and organizers of mutual aid support groups like the Neighbour to Neighbour (N2N) online platform.

Also in response to Covid 19, the KFPC launched the Resiliency Gardening Campaign, which included offering free online gardening classes, promoting yard-sharing and gleaning, sharing seeds from our seed library, and creating the Butler Urban Farm, a cooperative farming venture intended to engage the community in growing and sharing food.

We would like to thank the Kamloops Chamber for recognizing our efforts, and acknowledge our fellow nominees in the Not For Profit of the Year category – Big Little Science Centre, and the Kamloops Symphony.

 

 

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Public Produce Beds Get a New Lease on Life

Sometimes the right person just appears at the right time (and you just want to give them a big hug, but you can’t because we’re still in the Covid 19 pandemic). This just happened for a little garden project on the North Shore.

Public produce has had its ups and downs in Kamloops – for a few years, we had a good thing going, but as often happens in the world of not-for-profit, project champions move on, funding dries up, and support dwindles. There is a bit of edible landscaping at McDonald Park that, despite being largely abandoned for the last couple of years, provides foraging opportunities for park visitors (rhubarb, haskap berries, raspberries, strawberries, garlic chives, mint, lemon balm, oregano, sage, lavender).

One enterprising neighbour took it upon herself to show the edible garden beds some love – pulling weeds, pruning, adding soil amendments, and generally making the area look cared for. The results are amazing! Coincidentally, shortly after she contacted us asking if it was okay for her to do that (as if we would say no), we got a call from another neighbor looking for a home for some extra tomato and pepper plants. They went straight into the newly prepared edible garden beds! Now we hope there will soon be a few tomatoes and peppers to add to the foraging options!

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We’re Hiring!

The Kamloops Food Policy Council is looking to add a Communications and Administration Lead to our team. If communication and organization are your strong points, and you are passionate about building a food system that is regenerative, sovereign and just, we’d love to hear from you!

The KFPC is a grassroots network at the forefront of many local food security initiatives from on-the-ground food action projects to municipal and regional policy development. We work within a collaborative leadership model which capitalizes on the expertise within our organization. You can read the complete job description here:

Communications & Administration Lead Job Posting.

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KFPC Mayor’s Task Force Submission

In response to Kamloops Mayor Christian’s Task Force on Economic Recovery and Renewal, the Kamloops Food Policy Council has submitted recommendations carefully aimed at leading Kamloops and area towards a sustainable and just local food system that will also become an economic driver for the region. Recommendations include actions that support emergency food providers and short term relief for local food insecure populations, and measures that can help increase community capacity for food production. Our submission also contains recommendations intended to boost the long term economic viability of agriculture in our region. You can read the full submission here:

KFPC Mayor’s Task Force Submission June 5, 2020

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Snap Up Real Estate Adds Their Support

 

We are happy to add Dave Zirnhelt of Snap Up Real Estate and Rate-My-Agent.com to our list of supporters. Dave is on a mission to create a long lasting, meaningful impact by giving back to worthy causes in our local community, and the Kamloops Food Policy Council is one of the organizations he reached out to!

Dave came out to the Butler Urban Farm to have a first-hand look at the work we’re doing and hear about some of our other initiatives aimed at building a more resilient local food system. We really appreciate the support of community-minded businesses like Snap Up Real Estate!

 

Kamloops Neighbourhoods and Condos

Kamloops Realtor, Mortgage, & Insurance Agent Reviews

 

 

 

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