Good Food Network Progress Report 2020
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Good Food Network Progress Report 2020 GROWING TOGETHER (2020) | @KINGTIDEFILMS The Good Food Network 01 Land Acknowledgement The Good Food Leaders 02 Video • A word from Alex Harned The 2025 Good Food Goals 03 New 2020 Metrics 2020 Continued Initiatives 04 Food Literacy Committee • School Food Collaborative Youth Food Network • Justice & Belonging New Initiatives 05 Growing Together • South Island FarmHub ggR Stories of Impact Palenke Greens • Shelbourne Community 06 Kitchen • SEED The City • Bio-diversity Zine • Farmpreneur • Economic Recovery Plan Progress Highlights 08 Food Economy • Food Literacy • Food Access Network Bounty 09 Key 2020 Accomplishments across the Network Good Food Champions 11 Food Literacy, Food Access, Local Food Economy & Significant Contribution Award. Conclusion 12 2021 Priorities •Final Word ONTENTS GOOD FOOD NETWORK REPORT | WWW.GOODFOODNETWORK.INFO C ALL ABOUT THE GOOD FOOD NETWORK Seeded with the values of collective action and community, the Good Food Network, formalized in 2015, has flourished into a regional system of organizations, communities, non-profits, grassroots initiatives, teachers, researchers, health promoters, local government, planners, and farmers working towards a shared vision for a healthy, sustainable and more equitable food system in the Capital Region. Over the past five years, the network has grown to over 2000 members committed to accomplishing the collaborative Good Food 2025 collective impact strategy. The Good Food 2025 strategy is divided into three impact areas, each with varying strategic goals around Healthy Food Access, Food Literacy, and the Local Food Economy. The 2020 pandemic has created collective challenges and shown the discrepancies and cracks in the local, regional and national food system. The aim of this report is to give an update on the initiatives, projects and collaborations that happened across the network in 2020 while highlighting the resilience and action that the community displayed despite the crisis. From baking bread to seed sharing to local food hubs, this GROWING TOGETHER (2020) | @KINGTIDEFILMS year is proof of the essential need to continue strengthening our network and food system around the values of reciprocity and community care. LAND et invo ACKNOWLEDGEMENT G lve Colonialism has suppressed local well-being by d harming Indigenous food systems, whether they be land-based or of the sky and sea. As the a damaging effects of colonial food systems n The Good Food Network continue, we must all intentionally work to d reconsider our relationships with each other, and the land and waters of this region. We honour the goodfoodnetwork.info c stewards of these lands, including the people, youthfoodnetwork.com o plants and animals, who have an intimate n knowledge of the foods of this land. We hold n them up for the work they continuously do to protect and connect with the land. CRFAIR and the @goodfoodsummit e @capregfair Good Food Network are located on unceded c t Coast Salish Territories*, specifically of the Lekwungen (Songhees and Esquimalt Nations) and W̱ SÁNEĆ (Tsartlip/W̱ JOȽEȽP, Tseycum/WSIḴEM, Tsawout/SȾÁUTW, and Pauquachin/BOEĆEN Nations). GOOD FOOD NETWORK REPORT | 2020 | P A G E 1 WATCH THE GOOD VIDEO FOOD LEADERS "Prior to the pandemic, the Good Food Network Leadership Collaboration is not all roses all the time; it can be messy, Group was navigating how to engage initiatives forwarding and in reality, it takes time to build trust. Moreover, priority areas of the Good Food 2025. However, once the collaboration isn’t the only motivator, honestly. The gravity of COVID-19 set in (and the uncertainty to what collective power harbored by a harrowing fear of a severity this would impact our local food system), the focus climate crisis paired with a global pandemic is a poignant of the leadership group quickly shifted to create and propeller. disseminate essential information to the wider public regarding emergency food and ways to support the viability The pandemic tests how prepared (or ill prepared) we are of the local food economy. The GFN leadership group’s role when faced with sudden shifts and looming shortages to became clear -- our ability to tap into what is happening on our food system. It has shed light on the compounded the ground and share it widely is powerful. fragility of the industrial food system. Extensive job loss and major changes to the financial sustainability of GFN Leadership monthly meetings shifted to weekly virtual communities will continue to drastically affect levels of check-ins. ‘Rapid-fire’ style updates were shared by the food insecurity. It solidifies the need for a regional food collective, and new programs and collaborations emerged. If strategy so we can continue to grow, track, monitor and two or three organizations were trying to achieve the same advocate for a resilient and equitable local food system. goal, they joined forces and began planning. This level of pure synapse-firing collaboration was exhilarating! There was The next challenge we face is how to sustain the mindset a palpable energy in the air whereby a barrier or problem was elicited by the pandemic (of turning fear into innovation met with a collective, “What can I do? How can I help?” Many and action), so that we may continue to widen our gaze impactful, regional and local partnerships materialized. and focus our action from a ‘food’ issue to a human rights issue; to advocate for affordable, fresh, healthy food as a human right for everyone, to fight for migrant The ‘collaboration buzz’ spurred far beyond the screens of worker’s rights, to giving land back, to democratize and the GFN Leadership group. By taking a step back and embed (food) sovereignty at the core of all our systems. observing the emergent programming and local champions stepping up across the region, historically under-represented voices were centered. Supporting, funding and prioritizing initiatives that focused on the needs of disenfranchised communities -- whereby the vision, goal and methods are tailored for community, by community -- (i.e. ŚW̱ ,ȻENEṈITEL, Palenke Greens & Produce Boxes, the Red Cedar Cafe, etc.), produced profoundly meaningful and crack-in-the- ALEX HARNED | hegemonic-food-system results. 2020 Good Food Leaders Co-chair, Food Systems Coordinator City of Vcitoria GOOD FOOD NETWORK REPORT | 2020 | P A G E 2 Good Food 2025 is a regional collective impact initiative focused on three main areas: Food Literacy, Food Access and Equity, and the Local Food Economy. The Community Social Planning Council 2025 GOOD and CRFAIR are working towards developing a framework to monitor progress towards reaching these outcomes and targets within the Capital Regional District (CRD). Through a collaborative FOOD GOALS process with the network and community, detailed indicators have been developed to track regional progress across impact areas. THE VALUE OF SHARED REGIONAL OUTCOMES Alignment: Shared regional Capacity: Shared regional Advocacy: The indicator indicators can help multiple indicators can help process is also key to organizations across the support organizations that regional advocacy; it can be food sector come together have limited capacity to a process for discussing and align for impact and collect data for monitoring what we are trying to progress towards and evaluating. accomplish. measurable outcomes. FOOD ACCESS AND EQUITY FOOD LITERACY Target: The number of Target: The number of households who report households in the CRD who that they are food insecure report growing or accessing drops by 25% from 14% of healthy, local, and households in 2012 to 10% traditional food steadily by 2025 decreasing food increases from 23% in 2014 insecurity. to 46% by 2025. LOCAL FOOD ECONOMY Target: Local food sourced for the Capital Region increases from less than 10% of total food consumption in 2011 to 25% by 2025. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NEW METRICS FRAMEWORK GOOD FOOD NETWORK REPORT | 2020 | P A G E 3 2020 CONTINUED COLLABORATIONS FOOD LITERACY SCHOOL FOOD SHIFT STEERING COLLABORATIVE SEED THE CITY, 2020 COMMITTEE The Food Literacy Steering Committee The School Food Shift Collaborative is a continued to support networking group of organizations leading efforts at opportunities for sharing promising the community level in partnership with practices and research to align efforts school, health and food production more strategically for greater impact. sectors to improve school food Supporting Food Literacy efforts in the environments. In 2020, the collaborative region as the pandemic began, the supported the development of the committee was able to develop a seven- Healthy School Food Framework as well part webinar series hosted bi-weekly as progressed collaborative goals discussing topics ranging from food towards Healthy School Food waste to restaurants to growing food at Environments, outlined in the 2020 home. The committee also coordinated School Food Shift Progress Report. The the Food Literacy session at the 2020 participating organizations are CRFAIR, Good Food Summit. 2021 Priorities include Farm to School BC, Island Health, Food the Food Security Connections Video Share Network and LifeCycles. 2021 project whereby individuals who have priorities include support of the Coalition faced food insecurity share their for Healthy School Food and leveraging experiences, and the development of the resources and capacity for school garden Food Literacy Metrics. development. ŚW̱ ,ȻENEṈITEL TEAM (Rose, Tiffany, Shiloh & Kati) YOUTH FOOD NETWORK The Youth Food