Local farmers can help solve food security issues

Thursday, October 17, 2013

by MATT MCINTOSH

Canadian communities can fight food-security issues by engaging farmers and investing in local food value chains, says a recent report by Community Foundations of Canada. But some communities are having a hard time getting money to where it’s needed.

That is, many community organizations cannot successfully use funding for local food initiatives because there are no networks connecting them with local farmers, the report says.

Released this October, the “Fertile Ground: Sowing the seeds of change in Canada's food system” report analyzed food security issues in communities from Windsor to Iqaluit. It found that, through all communities, about 3.9 million Canadians are going hungry and lack proper nutrition.

The report says one major way communities can help alleviate this problem is by establishing local food value chains. The value chains, it says, will give food banks and charity groups access to more nutritious, fresh food – as opposed to strictly canned food items, for example – and create a market for local farmers.

“Through examples like community food centres and the growth of local farmers' markets, there are hopeful signs emerging that show local food can play a role in preventing food insecurity,” says Ian Bird, president of Community Foundations of Canada in a statement emailed by David Venn, the organization’s communications manager. “There's incredible momentum right now to improve local food security by building stronger connections between communities and farmers."

However, connecting farmers with food banks and similar charity organizations is tough.

“Getting things like fresh vegetables to food banks is always a challenge,” says Martha Powell, president and chief executive officer of the London Community Foundation. “We need to set up a direct connection between them and producers rather than shipping all our food products elsewhere first. Naturally, farmers are central in establishing that connection.”

The LCF is just one of 191 sub-groups under Community Foundations Canada, and their funding is all by private donation. They maintain an investment of $53 million, and use the accumulated interest to fund community organizations, such as food banks, in the London area.

Earlier this year, the foundation hosted a forum to discuss ways to establish a local food system. At the time, it also invited funding applications to look at how to tackle the system.

But the foundation has not yet distributed any funds to those trying to set up local food value chains.

“Setting up a value chain connecting the community to local farms involves many parties. So far, our local groups don’t have the capacity to effectively engage everyone because we have not been able to bring the right people together for a broader discussion,” says Powell.

So before the foundation invests in any local food projects, says Powell, they will create an independent food policy council comprising local farmers, community organizers, and all other necessary stakeholders.  

“It’s not going to be an open process; we are going to ask specific individuals to join the council. Farmers in particular are central to establishing these value chains, and have to be involved through the whole process,” she says.

Powell hopes the council will be up and running by this coming January.

The council’s first task will be to implement elements of London’s local food charter, like developing local food procurement policies for charities.

There is, however, no set timeline for the development of a local food plan, and no specific point at which the LCF will start distributing money to organizations engaging in full value-chain projects.

Once the local food council has developed a plan to get London area food to charities, the foundation will start accepting funding applications from registered community groups, Powell says. BF