Community + Food

For over 25 years, we’ve been offering practical food and garden education to our community. Beyond backyard gardens and outdoor classrooms, a large part of our programming involves advocating for healthy local food systems and food justice for everyone. Healthy food is a basic human right and our work seeks to address the structural barriers that prevent access to nutritious meals for all.

Creating this access requires collaboration. By working alongside meal providers, food retailers, farmers, Indigenous communities, public institutions and a diverse array of organizations, we strive to make food better for people, for communities, and for the planet.
Two hands holding out dozens of ripe orange apricots and golden plums.

Food justice for all

We take an informed approach to food justice. Our goal is to shift away from white, middle-class input and welcome multicultural, intersectional feedback. Especially from those in the communities we aim to make a difference within. Together we are working towards a food sovereign, sustainable, and inclusive food future.

A clear container full of a variety of different sized radishes with their tops and roots cut of.

Connecting people with good food

As Chair of the Steering Committee, we’ve provided leadership for the Food Share Network since its inception in 2013. Through the Network, we’ve been able to help distribute food from the Fruit Tree Project and Farm Gleaning to the community via the Food Rescue Project, an initiative started in 2017 to address food insecurity in the capital region.

Everyone should have consistent access to healthy, safe, and culturally appropriate food. As a signatory of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Canada has a legal obligation to “…respect, protect and fulfil the right to food.” This means every Canadian should be able to feed themselves with dignity. Through our work in the community, we strive to connect people with fresh, healthy produce in a dignified manner.

Staff member giving out pre-packaged produce on community sharing day.

Fighting food insecurity

Income is a critical barrier to healthy food and food insecurity adversely affects people of colour, single parents, and those in low-paying jobs. According to PROOF, a research team investigating food insecurity in Canada, in 2017-18 1 in 8 Canadian households was food insecure (that’s roughly 4.4 million Canadians!).

Food insecurity is a direct result of inadequate or insecure access to food because of a lack of money. We want to be part of a sustainable solution to food insecurity in Canada.

Cupped hands holding out blooming yellow flower.

…and building a resilient food future

With the impacts of COVID, the number of Canadians who are food insecure is expected to double (read more about food insecurity and the pandemic here). We support a Guaranteed Livable Income (GLI) as a step towards alleviating food insecurity in our country. We also support the Indigenous-led coordination of food system planning as we strive to centre Indigenous voices in the discussions around our food system.


Further Reading

We’re always learning about food justice and below you’ll find helpful resources.

Indigenous Food Sovereignty — CRFAIR
Food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, May 2020 
Household Food Insecurity in Canada – PROOF
2023 Report on Household Food Insecurity – BCCDC
Household Food Insecurity Indicator Report – PROOF and the BCCDC
BC Government Resource and Data on Food Security

Interested in volunteering?

We’re always looking for another set of hands!