NOURISH SNEAK PEEK: FISH BOWL STYLE

KFPC Staff Update

KFPC, with several partners, is hosting a dialogue on household food insecurity in Kamloops on March 29, 8 – 4:30 PM at TRU. Registration is by donation, with a suggested donation of $15 – $40. There are two main areas of focus for the Nourish forum: 1) Indigenous food systems and how colonization has impacted food insecurity, including the over-representation of Indigenous people experiencing food insecurity and 2) meeting the needs of food insecurity and addressing the root causes through poverty reduction. For more information and to register, visit the Nourish website: nourishkamloops.org

Spaces are filling up. Folks are strongly encouraged to sign up soon to save their spot.

KFPC will be posting two summer positions in mid-March. New rules mean that applicants do not need to be students, but must be between 15 and 30 years of age. One posting is for the GAP Program Leader position for 12 weeks, with the possibility of extending the position into the fall. The second posting is for the Social Enterprise Program Leader position for 10 weeks. Both positions are for 30 hours per week at $15 per hour.

Garden Collective is gearing up in McDonald Park, using part of the Public Produce space, with funding from United Way. Intended for beginner and new gardeners from the neighbourhood, this program will provide workshops to facilitate skill building within the collective. It is $20 to join the collective. There are five or six spots left.

KFPC will be hosting a Kitchen Table Conversation for the Downtown Plan on March 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 at Red Collar. Input will help shape policies on topics such as transportation, environment, parks, and housing. If you are interested in joining in, please email info@kamloopsfoodpolicycouncil.com.

Michelle attended a workshop by Dignidad Migrante Society (Dignidad) at the Certified Organic Associations of BC conference. Dignidad is a non-profit worker’s organization, focusing on agricultural workers because it is a labour sector with the biggest needs, greatest vulnerability, and strongest discrimination (there are 10,000 migrant farm workers in BC). That being said, Raul indicated that he is looking for work placements for 15 Guatemalan women who have open work permits, as a result of proving that they had been abused by the employer who hired them with a temporary foreign worker permit. If you know of anyone who is looking for staff on their farm, Raul’s email address is imfarmworker@gmail.com and you can find more information on Dignidad’s website: dignidadmigrantesociety.org.

Social Enterprise has developed a fourth popsicle flavour and had their first public sale at the SEED screening. Keep your eyes open for upcoming pop-up locations to try them out!

Community Updates
Retirement Party Planning for Laura Kalina – The May KFPC Network Meeting will be a celebration of Laura’s career and contributions to the community. We are looking for folks who might want to share stories of how they came to know Laura and her work, photos/videos, and help with spreading the word that there is a party for her on May 1st. The more the merrier! If you have photos/videos and/or would like to share stories, please contact Simone at Simone.Jennings@interiorhealth.ca

Community Spotlight ~ Sneak Peek into Nourish Household Food Insecurity Forum
~ There is an acknowledgement that food programs weave a tighter social fabric, but don’t tackle the ever-increasing number of people who don’t have enough to eat. This requires ‘and’ thinking, so that people are running programs AND looking at policy to impact food insecurity.
~ Moving from feeding (programs) to policy takes around 10 years for a community.
~ Change will happen at the local level, especially when creating parallel systems (e.g., community gardens, food centres) while also advocating at the provincial level.
~ The Farm to School/Fish to School/Local Foods to School/Traditional Foods to School movement was discussed as a way to transform the food system –> bringing local foods into schools, hospitals, daycares and building food literacy.
~ Household food insecurity can be very invisible, with only 25% of people who are food insecure accessing any kind of support.
~ More than 60% of people living with food insecurity are working and a large portion of them are single mothers.
Key Insights:
~ Our ecosystem is changing and we need to step up our sustainable thinking (a very cool idea for a pay-it-forward food truck was presented to the group!).
~ Climate change considerations need to be addressed in planning/strategizing.
~ Ways to transition away from the food bank model were discussed through creating parallel systems and disrupting the status quo.

Who’s Who
BC Green Party
Friends of Kamloops
Interior Community Services: Mount Paul CFC
Interior Health
JUMP
Kamloops Farmers’ Market
Kamloops Naturalist Club
KFPC
Lived Experience Community
Open Door Group: Gardengate
Permaculture Kamloops
Thompson Shuswap Master Gardeners
TRU

Announcement
Farm to Cafeteria National Conference (first one ever!)
May 15 – 17, Victoria

Next Network Meeting: Wednesday, April 3, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
** The March Network Meeting ended without finding who our chair and set-up/clean-up helpers will be. If you are interested, let us know at info@kamloopsfoodpolicycouncil.com **
Chair:
Note taker: Michelle Tsutsumi
Set up:
Clean up: