Food Hub Meet & Greet
Network Meeting Summary
September 4, 2019
Secwepemc Word of the Month
ga7is (aw-iss)= dark clouds loom overhead before a storm
Board Update
– Last month’s AGM brought in a new composition for our Board. Welcome to returning Directors, Lindsay Harris, Sian Lewis, Glenn Hilke, Carole Hebden, and Rob Wright, as well as new Board Directors Percy Folkard, Jesse Ritcey, and Simone Jennings.
– A warm welcome to this evening’s network meeting was extended to Interior Health’s new Public Health Dietician, Bronwyn; TNRD’s new Planner, Urszula; and three members of the City of Kamloops Planning Department, Jason, Carmin, and Andrew. This was a first network meeting for many of them and we’re so pleased they could join us!
– An exciting announcement that PopCycle was featured in the Globe and Mail in August. Way to go, Greg!
Staff Update
– KFPC received Community Food Action Initiative funding through Interior Health and is looking forward to deepening into our network work related to our value statements and how they connect with the evaluation rubric.
– The Nourish Final Evaluation report was completed and submitted to community partners.
– KFPC was busy over the summer, attending several special events, including: Gardengate’s Salsa Challenge (this was KFPC’s first year ever and the fruit hats were a hit!) and the Pride Parade.
– Membership: It’s a new membership year after the AGM in August. To become a member (which means you can vote at the AGM and become a Board Director), you need to attend a network meeting and check off the member column on our sign-up sheet.
– Website Calendar: It seems like there are a ton of events happening in Kamloops. Help us to keep our community informed by posting events to the website calendar. Scroll down on our home page until you find it!
Community Spotlight ~ Food Hub Meet & Greet
What is the Food Hub all about? This pilot/feasibility proposal grew out of a project, led by the Kamloops Food Policy Council and supported through the Real Estate Foundation, which brought government and community partners together to figure out how to implement the many food policies that have been created for our region. One of the goals was to increase food processing facilities in the region.
In addition to feasibility research and the development of a business model, a four-month pilot project to test the best ways to support small food businesses and to expand food processing in our region will be happening from September to December.
Robyn McLean, Food Hub Project Manager, was excited to introduce the Food Hub Coordinator, Shannon Mazereeuw and Food Hub Research Assistant, Kathy Sinclair.
Robyn also introduced three of the four pilot food businesses who were in attendance:
Nic & Kent from Local Pulse – Dehydrated hummus and high protein cereal using yellow peas. https://www.localpulse.ca
Ally from Honest elixirs – Superfood drink mix. https://www.honestelixirs.ca
Lizzy and Josh from Forest Foods and Skeetchestn Natural Resources LP – a partnership to harvest and package non-timber forest products in partnership with rights and title holders. For example, packaging and selling morel mushrooms in Secwépemc territory (see https://www.elephanthillfire.com)
Salty Fig Catering – Working on packaging a line of preserves. – https://www.facebook.com/saltyfigcatering/
The photo at the top of the post shows the Food Hub Crew, along with the Working Group members who worked together to bring this idea to life and pilot food businesses.
Business mentorship through Kamloops Innovation starts next week and the Food Hub Coordinator, Shannon, will be getting started on compiling resources and supports for any and all food businesses in the Kamloops region. This will include identifying commercial kitchen spaces and potential dry/cold storage facilities in the region. One of the key questions for the feasibility study is to determine if Kamloops has enough resources to support a decentralized food hub model or will a centralized space be required?
The remaining time was facilitated discussion around actual food business ideas in the room and brainstorming what food businesses should exist.
Announcements
-Lincoln Best is here (he splits his time between Oregon and Calgary) to facilitate a workhop on native bee identification. This will take place on Sunday, September 8, 9 – 4, $55. Details on the the website calendar.
– Glenn raised the idea of starting up a resto-pop in Kamloops, where folks from all socio-economic levels can eat together–a cross class model for restaurants!
– The Big Edition, latest edition, was on offer at the meeting. An independent, commercial free newspaper that started in January that offers an alternative to panhandling. The December issue is all about food, so send in your contributions.
– Tomato Festival is at the Kamloops Farmers’ Market on Saturday, September 7, 8:30 – 12:30.
– Venture Kamloops is hosting LinkUp2019 in November. Adapt & Innovate: The Future of Local Business.
Upcoming Events – Save the Dates & Get Tix!
Check out our Events Calendar on the KFPC website.
Next Meeting: October 2, 2019, 5:30 – 7:30
@ Mount Paul Community Food Centre
140 Laburnum Street
Eat, Think, Vote!
– This will be an all candidates’ forum on food.
Chair: ICS
Set Up: Clark
Clean Up: Glenn
