STORM DELAY March 31st

The PEI Food Security workshop will start at noon today (March 31) instead of 10 a.m.

Join us for lunch and a “slightly” compressed agenda. It is at the MURCHISON CENTRE, not the Murphy Centre as reported by CBC radio.

Good luck in digging out!

Michelle

Michelle MacCallum

Executive Director

Women’s Network PEI Inc.

March 31st Forum on Food Security

This is a reminder  on behalf of the PEI Food Security Network of another upcoming forum on food security

• Tuesday March 31st, 2009, 10am-4pm
• Murchison Centre (15-17 St. Pius X Avenue, Charlottetown – off St. Peter’s Road)

The forum will feature two guest speakers, Ubali Guerrero, and Celerino Tlacotempa, both farms leaders from Mexico and members of Via Campesina.

The forum will be a chance to hear about the work that Ms. Guerrero and Mr. Tlacotempa are doing in Mexico and with Via Campesina, and to discuss the challenges and successes that people face in working towards food security. They will have the chance to comment on how the right to food is being addressed on PEI.

The forum will also feature a presentation by Sara Roach-Lewis of Women for Environmental Sustainability (WES), about that group’s research on the role of women in fisheries management.

This is also an invitation to a meeting with the guest speakers, after the forum from 4:00pm to 4:45pm, to speak about addressing fair trade and the right to food on PEI. This will be a great opportunity to get some suggestions on how best to move forward with these issues.

For more information, or to register for the forum, call Michelle
MacCallum at 368-5040.

Hope to see you on the 31st!

Notes from “Sowing the Seeds”

Here are notes from our workshop on February 24^th. I hope we have managed to capture the richness of the day’s discussions. Please feel free to forward comments to us.

If you would like a hard copy, please let me know so we can arrange for you to pick up a copy!

Don’t forget our two upcoming events (posted below).

Michelle

Link to PDF: sowing-the-seeds

Two Upcoming Food Security Events

for PEI Food Security Network (FSN) Members and Associates

#1

Monday, March 23, 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Murphy’s Community Centre, Charlottetown

A workshop on the impact on food security of new directions for PEI agriculture* a review of the January 2009 document, Growing the Island Way: The Next Chapter for the Agriculture and Agri-Food

Organized by the FSN Food Production and Distribution Working Group

Please Register: call Michel or Marie at 894-4573 or e-mail
cooperinstitute *at* eastlink *dot* ca

(*The Food Production and Distribution Working Group will plan a future workshop on the fishery)

#2

Tuesday March 31, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Murchison Centre, Charlottetown

A Forum on successes in overcoming global and local obstacles to food security featuring Juana Ferrer Paredes a farm leader from the Dominican Republic and featuring a made-in-PEI plan for overcoming the obstacles to Food security Organized by the FSN Food Production and Distribution Working Group; the Access to Safe, Healthy and Culturally Appropriate Food Working Group; and the FSN Coordinating Committee.

(Juana works with Via Campesina, an organization of small- and medium-sized producers from 56 countries from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. This organization is one of the first promoters of the food security movement)

Please Register: call Michelle or Sara 368-5040 or email
michelle *at* wnpei *dot* org

Social Forum and Reception

Social Forum / Reception, Thursday March 12

“25 Random Things About the World Food System”

with: Wayne Roberts, Toronto Food Policy Council and special guests: Laura Rance, Editor, Manitoba Cooperator, Steve Thomson, BC Agriculture Council & Josh Herbin, Nova Scotia Farmer, Agri-Innovation Award Winner

At the whY Condos, Corners of Euston and Prince Streets Thursday March 12 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.

This event is not a Food Security Network event, so please call the organizer for more information: Phil Ferrarro of the ADAPT Council, 367-0390

Recent Food Security Workshop A Success

The PEI Food Security network recently held a workshop entitled “Sowing the Seeds: Food Security in Prince Edward Island”. Over 75 people came together to spend a day learning about food security from a variety of perspectives. Food security is a term that describes a situation in which all citizens have access to healthy and affordable food that has been produced in an environmentally sustainable way and has given food producers a livable income.

The morning was dedicated to exploring the concept of food security though a panel discussion with a farmer, a fisher, a dietitican, and a low income advocate. The panel gave participants an opportunity to learn more about the crisis in agriculture and fisheries, as well as the challenges citizens face in accessing healthy, affordable food. Workshop participants were invited to participate in the discussion and brought out many more perspectives .

“The goal of the day was to have everyone see themselves in the issue of food security, and the number of participants who spoke to particular concerns or challenges that they see in PEI and around the world tells us that this is work that is very much relevant and needed right now.”, notes PEI Food Security Network Coordinating Committee member, Michelle MacCallum.

The afternoon session saw participants take on food security challenges and case studies where they were challenged to find the factors that contribute to food insecurity and talk about what needs to be done. The groups had lively and deep discussions around the local food movement, understanding the evolution of our food system, building community based food systems, eating healthy without a livable income, as well as a farming and fishing case study.

“We have our next events planned for March 23 at the Murphy Community Centre and March 31 at the Murchison Centre where we will be looking at the future of farming in PEI. “There are recommendations being put forth right now that if adopted, will have a huge impact on farming in PEI. We as a food security network want to study the recommendations and see how they line up with our very real need for livable income for producers and environmentally sustainable food production. “ MacCallum states, “Citizens need to know what kinds of changes are being proposed and how they will impact Islanders and our future”.

If you are interested in the PEI Food Security Network or would more information on upcoming events, please contact Michelle at 368-5040.

An Extended Invitation

Katherine Pigott, who is active in food security work in the Waterloo region, will be in Charlottetown tomorrow, the day of our food security workshop.

She has agreed to be a keynote speaker and give a presentation on Food Security activities in Waterloo region the evening of the 24th. (See her bio below.) Other than that, the evening will provide an opportunity to network and have discussions leading up to the next days meeting. There will be snacks offered that evening as well. We will be staying in the same venue, the Murchison Centre, and will get started at about 7pm and finish at 9:30pm.

Workshop participants and anyone else interested is welcome to attend!

Katherine Pigott has worked at Region of Waterloo Public Health since March 2000. A key part of her role has been the implementation of a comprehensive local food systems planning approach in Waterloo Region as Manager of the Healthy Communities and Policy Team. Katherine has over twenty years experience in community based program development, planning, and systems change that has spanned economic development, health promotion, crime prevention, and environmental planning. Katherine is an avid cyclist, distance runner and gardener and lives in downtown Kitchener. She serves of the Steering Committee of Food Secure Canada and on the Executive of Health Promotion Ontario.

Agenda for Tuesday’s Event

Sowing the Seeds: Food Security in PEI

Tuesday, February 24th, 10am-4pm
Murchison Centre (15-17 St. Pius X Avenue, Charlottetown – off St. Peter’s Road)

Coffee break and lunch will be provided using mostly local, organic food provided by Chefs Jeff Stewart and Stephen Hunter.

9:45 – 10:00	Registration
10:00 – 10:15	Welcome
10:15 – 11:15	Panel Presentation – Various perspectives on Food Security Gerard Steele, Fisheries Steven MacKinnon, Agriculture Jennifer Taylor, Health promotion and food skills Ann Wheatley, Livable income/access to healthy food
1:15 – 12:00	Group Discussion
12:00 – 1:00	Mostly local, mostly organic Lunch
1:00 – 1:30	The Journey of Food challenge
1:30 – 2:30	Small Group work – Case Studies Local Food Challenge – can you eat local seven nights a week? Family Budgeting Challenge – can you eat healthy if you don’t have a livable income? Fisheries Case Study – exploring the challenges that lobster fishers face in PEI Farming Case Study – A family farm in peril: what can be done, what should be done? Evolution of the food system – how did eating become so complicated? Creating a community-based food system – Visioning exercise using multiple mediums It happened in Brazil – a case study of a region who reclaimed the food system and have had much success
2:30 – 2:45	Break
2:45 – 3:45	Reporting from Small Groups
3:45 – 4:00	Evaluation & wrap up

If you need any more information, please call Michelle or Sara at Women’s Network PEI 368-5040 or email us at michelle@wnpei.org

Locavore Event

Here’s an upcoming event at UPEI that might be of interest to members of the PEI Food Security Network. Please contact the organizers directly for more details.

Be a Locavore! February 7

You are invited to engage with the students from the UPEI executive-style Master of Business Administration Program in exploring the topic of local food. This event will take place on Saturday, February 7 in the Alex H.  MacKinnon Auditorium in the Don and Marion McDougall Hall.

From 9:30-11:00 am, there will be a presentation of the local food challenge by an expert panel consisting of Tim Carroll, Phil Ferraro, Jerry Gavin and Rob Paterson; 11:00 am-12:00 noon: a chance to share your views on local food with our MBA students; 3:00- 4:30 pm: come see the MBA students present their response to the local food challenge. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, call Grace McCourt at (902)566-6474 or e-mail gmccourt@upei.ca. Please come and join us!

Register Early for February Event

Mark February 24th in your calendar for a workshop hosted by the PEI Food Security Network.

The day will include a moderated panel discussion that will bring four different perspectives on what food security is and what needs to be done in our community.

After lunch, there will be a mini-workshop to explore what we can do as citizens and as a network to improve food security in our community.

Details:

• Tuesday, February 24th, 10am-4pm
• Murchison Centre (15-17 St. Pius X Avenue, Charlottetown – off St. Peter’s Road)
• Coffee break and lunch will be provided using mostly local, organic food. If you have a food allergy or special diet, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.
• Register by calling Michelle or Sara at Women’s Network PEI 368-5040 or email us at michelle@wnpei.org

Our panel discussion will be moderated by Marie Burge from Cooper Institute.

The panelists are:

• Gerard Steele, Fisheries
• Steven MacKinnon, Agriculture
• Jennifer Taylor, Health promotion and food skills
• Ann Wheatley, Livable income/access to healthy food

Hope to see you there!

Michelle MacCallum
Chair, PEI Food Security Network
Executive Director Women’s Network PEI Inc.
PO Box 233 Charlottetown, PE Canada C1A 7K4
(902) 368-5040 (phone)
(902) 368-5039 (fax)
www.wnpei.org