Farmers' market?
Community kitchen?
Bulk buying club?
Community garden?
All of those initiatives support and bring a community together in really important ways: by connecting local consumers and farmers, promoting healthy eating and access to delicious local food, and by reviving the skills and knowledge that allow people to take an active role in their food system and to hold onto their food heritage.
If you've participated with projects like these in other communities, you'll have seen first-hand all the great benefits they bring with them, and maybe it's time your area started a project of its own. They're certainly not overnight ventures, they require dedication and time from local people committed to creating positive change in their food system. But these types of projects self-seed and once you get one started, you'll be amazed at how inspiring it is to create more.
The Food Security Network (FSN) envisions Newfoundland and Labrador becoming a province where all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs for an active and healthy life.
With that in mind, FSN has created the Best Practices Toolkits. The Toolkits can help you start and maintain farmers' markets, community kitchens, bulk buying clubs, and community gardens in your area. Find out about the steps involved and resources needed to get projects growing where you live, and to gather people in your area together to move towards community-based food security.
Check out the Toolkits here:
Bulk Buying Club Best Practices Toolkit
Community Garden Best Practices Toolkit
Community Kitchen Best Practices Toolkit
Farmers' Market Best Practices Toolkit
FSN hopes to have paper copies available in the near future also. Contact info@rootcellarsrock.ca if you have any questions about the Best Practices Toolkits.
