Bits and Bytes | News from the Food Movement - February 2016


Food Secure Canada Board and staff were in a strategic planning retreat this weekend when we received the very sad news that our founder, volunteer chair for many years and movement mother, Cathleen Kneen, had died at her home in Ottawa. Cathleen began a journey that we are still all on. She empowered new leadership, told people they could do it and made it all so much fun. Food Secure Canada could not exist in its current state without her nurturing our community, the foundation she laid, the relationships she wove among the people and networks who are at the heart of the food movement. While we celebrate her life and share her accomplishments, we recommit ourselves to Resetting the Table - both the values and vision laid out in the People's Food Policy which she spearheaded, and the Assembly next October in Toronto, where we shall put it into practice and work together to revamp national food policy.
	In memory of Cathleen Kneen We grieve her passing and celebrate her life. Cathleen was a long-standing social justice activist and feminist who has helped found groups from day-care centres to battered women’s shelters to food systems networks, including Food Secure Canada. [Read More]
	Resetting the Table, Food Secure Canada’s 9th Assembly We all have something to bring to the table. That’s why we’re inviting you to join us in creating the best food Assembly yet seen in Canada. We are looking for speakers, sponsors and partners who will help us to bring Resetting the Table to life. [Read More]
	UN to Examine Canada’s Record on Right to Food On January 21, about 50 non-governmental and Indigenous organizations gathered with representatives of nine federal government departments in Ottawa for the first human rights consultation of its kind in close to a decade. [Read More]
	First Nations, Métis and Inuit must be a part of shaping the new food policy Food Secure Canada and our members are pleased to see Minister MacAulay commit to including First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) peoples in the development of a national food policy. [Read More]
	Healthy food on the table at the FPT Health Ministers' meeting A renewed sense of opportunity formed the undercurrent of last month's health ministers’ meeting as provincial and territorial health ministers met with their federal counterpart for the first time in a decade. [Read More]
	Highlights of the Institutional Food Learning Group meeting in Guelph The 8 Institutional Food Fund projects from across Canada came together to learn about effective strategies for increasing local, sustainable food procurement. [Read More]
Other News: [Basic Income] Minister eyes guaranteed minimum income to tackle poverty The federal minister responsible for reducing poverty says he is interested in the idea of a guaranteed income in Canada. [Read more in the Globe and Mail] [CAPI] Achieving What’s Possible for Canada’s Agri-Food Sector Congratulations to the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute on their report: Achieving What’s Possible for Canada’s Agri-food Sector. The report summarizes the outcomes of a thought-provoking forum held earlier this year and underlines the importance of “social license”, transparency and public research (amongst other factors) in building greater trust and resiliency in our food system. Collaboration and dialogue were words that kept on coming back during the forum, and we look forward to engaging with CAPI and their many industry partners in the months ahead as we begin to build a national food policy that takes everyone’s views into account. [Read more] [McConnell Foundation] Evidence of Change: An Evaluation Tool for Value Chain Projects FSC is part of this guide provided by the McConnell Foundation to help with the assessment of changes in the physical, natural, financial and human dimensions of a project, using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. [Read more]
		Save the Date: The Great Big Crunch When: March 10, 2016, 2:30pm EST Where: Across Canada The Great Big Crunch, founded and coordinated by FoodShare Toronto, is an annual day of food education in classrooms across the country, culminating in a moment of anti-silence in which school children, teachers, politicians and many more crunch into apples at the same time. The Great Big Crunch celebrates Nutrition Month and calls attention to the importance of healthy school food, food literacy and support for local farmers. [More info] Indigenous Food Sovereignty Summit When: March 1, 2 and 3, 2016 Where: Winnipeg Manitoba Join Four Arrows Regional Health Authority to share and learn about Indigenous cultural food practices and the ceremonies, stories, and traditional languages that honour food. [More info] VIEW COMPLETE EVENTS CALENDAR