What would a sustainable and resilient food system look like in South Van? How do we get there?

Interested in networking, collaborating, dialoguing, growing, sharing, and celebrating healthy food options in South Vancouver? Join the discussion around strengthening our local food webs, networks, and urban agriculture initiatives . All are welcome! 

A collaborative effort by Village Vancouver, Vancouver Food Policy Council, South Vancouver Neighbourhood House and Community Members.

Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Time:
  6:30 (try or make some Kale chips!)
  7:00-9:00pm—Discussion

Location: South Vancouver Neighbour House
6470 Victoria Drive and 49th

Questions? Email: chelan@southvan.org

FREE! To register, email:

foodsecurity@southvan.org

Minutes from September 27 Meeting - Next gathering likely in November

Food Meeting on Sept 27, 2011

In Attendance:

Julie Thomson (SVNH Food Security Outreach Worker)

Ross Moster (Village Vancouver, Vancouver Food Policy Council, and more...)

Alia Kammeron (resident)

Jen Krashleigh (Farmers on 57th)

Jazmin Miranda (Community food action initiative)

Vanessa Lam (Nutritionist for VCH)

Chelan Wallace (SVNH Literacy Outreach Coordinator and Youth Sustainability Programmer)

Naomi Klingle Watt (Trout Lake Cedar Cottage Literacy Outreach Coordinator)

Charito Gailing (on the Board for TLCC)

Karen Anzai (Neighbours for a Sustainable Future)

Angela Crampton (Neighbours for a Sustainable Future)

Che Nolan (resident, South Hill Initiative)

Aimee Taylor (horticulturist therapist at Farmers on 57^th)

Jessica Moerman (SVNH Director of Youth Programs)

Aja Peterson (Trout Lake Cedar Cottage Food Security Outreach Worker)

Joan (resident, attends Harvest City Church)

Ander Gates (resident of collective housing in South Van)

1. Ross – Vancouver Food Policy Council

i.        3 foci:

a)      Develop new neighbourhood food networks

b)      bringing together other agencies involved with neighbourhood food quality

c)      provide support to sustain neighbourhood food networks (with small budget)

* goal to develop NFN in all Vancouver neighbourhoods

2. Aja – Trout Lake Cedar Cottage Food Security

i.        mobile markets happening at BC Housing sites

ii.      embedding role into Trout Lake Community Centre

iii.    create a place for sharing food security information in Trout Lake

iv.    supporting development of network in South Vancouver

3. Ross – Village Vancouver

a)      transition towns – what are we going to do about our current economic/environmental situation (grass roots environmental response to these things)

b)      mantra “talk to your neighbours, see what happens”

c)      group working without funding

d)     neighbourhood villages – potlucks, collaborative gardening, classes, seed saving collective, seed library,

e)      communities of interest – seed saving groups, chicken collective,

f)       community food resiliency program – what it would look like if we weren't dependent on fossil fuels

4. Jen – Farmers on 57

a)      jen presents on her and aimee’s farmers on 57th project operating out of george pearson centre, a long-term care facility for people with disabilities. farmerson57th.wikispaces.com
-they have developed a therapeutic gardens, market garden and growing eden garden. and hope to do more outreach for more community involvement through the nearby institutions including a school to increase the number of people and amount of food being grown on their 28 acres of south-facing slope.

b)      working with Churchill students

c)      recommends surveying your neighbours to start

d)     started an interesting partnership with the Unitarian Congregation

e)      Unitarians started a farmers market

f)       want to see CSA (community supported agriculture) food hubs operated out of community centres or churches

g)      lots of backyard garden space, new immigrant women, could create patchwork of community gardens and sell produce as a collective share to include multicultural foods

h)      connecting isolated populations

i)        needs: outreach, garden space,

j)        goals: to create secured residential lands

k)      recommendations: EYA survey, Fruit Tree project

5. Jazmin – Vancouver Coastal Health

a)      jazmin presented on behalf of vancouver coastal health’s food security project and it’s responsiblity of channelling provincial money into local food security initiatives through generally one-time grants.  she spoke of the challenges of creating long-term, sustainable community results with the limitations of one-time type grants.  she also spoke about a couple of the projects the fund has supported.

b)      funds focusing on low-income communities

c)      network of networks created

6.      naomi presented briefly on the fruit tree project @ copley & nanaimo vancouverfruittree.wordpress.com

7. Break-out Visioning Groups

1) a food secure neighbourhood would:

-feature all lawns converted into useable growing space, especially front and back yards.
-convert concrete spaces into places for growing food.
-have more places selling ultra-local produce.  these places would ideally be owned and operated by the communities they serve.
-involve more shared knowledge and resources.
-mean more people working less in order to have enough time to grow food.
-have school curricula integrated into the practice of growing food.  this would mean young people learning how to do it, and school holidays designed around the growing season.
-have and use more community spaces such as institutional kitchens for food preparation and distribution.
-have good signage directing people to food-based resources in the community, such as farmers’ markets, community kitchens, composting facilities, markets, etc.

- culturally appropriate food available

2) our available assets and resources to make this happen:

-our and our neighbours’ collective knowledge and resources.
-organizations and institutions with kitchens, tools, people networks, expertise, etc. that can be used to serve the community.  examples of these are: moberly arts and cultural centre, george pearson centre, south hill community centre, south vancouver neighbourhood house, the legions and churches.
-land!
-youth
-immigrant residents with knowledge of gardening and food from other parts of the world that can be used to benefit the needs of our communities.

- Pocket markets, farmers on 57th, train the trainer “food skills for families” program, Unitarian Church, SVNH, Community Centres, BC Housing programs, Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre, George Pearson, 

3) our interests and desired starting points:

-better linking existing organizations such as south vancouver neighbourhood house and sunset community centre.
-using space better in our communities -- more food production, including planting fruit trees.
-educate and galvanize others
-finding ways to reach out to our neighbours and get them involved.  this means listening to their wants and needs and finding ways to appeal to these when doing community outreach.  eg. not just having meetings about “food security”, but considering less confusing or alarming terms “food fun”, “food sustainability”, “food sharing”.  also connect food with other fun things, like potlucks, movie nights, block parties, etc.
-dialogue with existing food retailers and influence them to bring in locally-sourced, locally processed, culturally appropriate food.  (john cheng at killarney market has given excellent service to his community in this way.)
-teaching gardening, healthy eating and cooking to low-income families
-have more fun around food
-monthly/seasonal potlucks like kits neighbourhood house.

- Asset mapping – where are the resources

- teaching cooking etc. to low-income families

8. Summary

1.      identify assets, create better connections, make use of existing assets, build capacity around growing food locally by neighbours, sharing knowledge, signage to direct people, celebrating food, …

2.      potlucks at West Side were popular

3.      market would draw more people rather than a 'meeting'

4.      block parties, park party, harvest competition

9. Next steps

1.      steering committee - che, julie, joan, jazmin and ander volunteered as members.

2.      South Vancouver Food Security e-newsletter updates due the first week of the month

3.      reach out to youth 

4.      seasonal meetings/gatherings (summer fewer meetings)