Food activists celebrate gains at Halifax conference

By Wayne Roberts | November 19, 2014

One of the oldest of essential human needs, food energizes Canada's newest social movement, which entered the scene long after the labour, human rights and women's movements -- all of which predated the global rise of neoliberalism.

If the 500 food advocates attending six plenaries and 50 workshops at the Halifax conference of Food Secure Canada are any indication, the poorly resourced movement is also among the youngest (me being about the only exception), most excited and accomplished of new social movements.

Major, albeit unsung, victories are being scored in school and health fields -- long the most debated, progressive and impactful bastions of Canadian public policy .

Though Canada is one of a few industrialized and affluent nations not to have a national school meal program -- Ireland and The Netherlands are other exceptions -- the groundwork for such programs is moving by leaps and bounds, and the issue may well be featured in next year's expected federal election.

Over the past decade, transformative programs have taken root willy-nilly at every level of the educational system across the country. Toronto alone has 171 FoodShare-orchestrated programs serving 166,000 elementary students, almost half the student body.

A two-day pre-conference meeting of 25 leaders of school food projects formed the Coalition for Healthy School Food to spearhead a national campaign for healthy school meals. It will lobby all political parties to Step up to the Plate, says Meredith Hayes, who coordinates the Ontario network and manages FoodShare's Toronto programs.

Almost all the programs have operated below the radar of the media, politicians or official government bodies -- it's unclear if this is an advantage or disadvantage -- and are funded through grit and spit, volunteers and social entrepreneurs.

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