March 6, 2024| Liz Blakeway: liz@landtotablenetwork.com | Sammy Blair: hello@landtotablenetwork.com

Land to Table

Regional Community Food Hub

Community Food Security Session (2nd annual)

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WELCOME - find a seat, grab a tea/coffee, visit the boards

Rules of Engagement

• Listen and share with curiosity not judgment
• Embrace vulnerability and discomfort - compassionately call people in (not out)
• Turn assumptions into questions
• Take care of yourself - help yourself to water or tea, stand up or step out if you need to
• Stay on topic
• Make space, take space - everyone gets to share
• Be kind
• Anything missing?

Shape of the Afternoon

12:00 Session Begins

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• Opening and Welcome
• Impromptu Networking

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12:40 LUNCH

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• Lunch and Listen
• Land to Table
• Regional Community Food Hub
• Good Food Box
• Okanagan Indian Band
• Activity 1: Food Infrastructure & Distribution

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2:15 BREAK (15 minutes)

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• Activity 2: Collaborative Project
• Reflection

4:00 End Session

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Impromptu Networking

• 3 rounds of networking
• Each person will have 2 minutes to answer the questions (one or all)
• The tune will ring twice each round: 1) to indicate when you switch turns; 2) to find a new partner and begin again

Find someone you don’t know very well to respond to these questions:

1. Your name and organization
2. What big challenge do you bring to this gathering?
3. What do you hope to bring to this group/community?
4. If you had all the resources available to you, what would your organization do?

Institute for Sustainable Food Systems l BX Ranchlands Working Group Meeting #1 l November 18, 2021

Speaker Agenda

• Land to Table - Overview
• Who is Land to Table? Network Director, Liz Blakeway
• What is the Regional Community Food Hub? Food Security Coordinator, Sammy Blair
• Hub Spoke Presentations:
• Good Food Box - President, Donna Antonishak; Coordinator, Diane Fleming; and CSRF Pilot Coordinator, Jim Kimmerly
• Okanagan Indian Band - Food Security Coordinator, Nikki Lorentz
• Partner Projects

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March 6, 2024

Food Security Planning Session

~ Presentations ~

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L2T Network - Purpose and Vision

• A network of food system sectors, stakeholders and rights holders, working together toward a common purpose
• Networks are an inspiring model for catalyzing change in response to complex social problems

Vision: To build a thriving, healthy, just and resilient regional food system that nourishes and connects people, sustains livelihoods, regenerates the environment, and builds community.

Network Structure

Grow the local food economy

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L2T 5 Pillars for Food Systems Change:

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Decolonize the food system

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Increase access to local food for all

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Regenerate the environment

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Increase food system resilience

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Network Role:

Convening, Coordinating & Capacity Building

Mission: We catalyze connections, collaboration, and capacity building, to mobilize network participants’ ideas, knowledge and energy across the local food system.

Three-fold Function:

1. Build the Network & Effective Communication
2. Strengthen the Food System through Action
3. Build Regional Capacity

We centre support for small to medium sized producers

Institute for Sustainable Food Systems l BX Ranchlands Working Group Meeting #1 l November 18, 2021

Network Structure

L2T Project Streams

Value Chain Development

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Community Food Security

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Network Structure

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• Create a healthier, equitable, and more sustainable food system through partnerships, operations and resources, and food programming

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• 21 RCFH made up of stewards and spokes

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• Hubs receive funding for human capacity, infrastructure, and food programming

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• The hub network consists of non-profits, residents, businesses, all levels of government, the agricultural sector, etc.

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The United Way

Regional Community Food Hub Initiative

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The North Okanagan

Regional Community Food Hub Spokes

& Partners

Focus projects and programming on long-term food security

• Increasing capacity for programming
• Focusing on programs that build equity and food literacy and connections to local food actors - in a way that builds agency and resilience in our local food system
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Create reciprocal & cross-organizational relationships

Connect local food security programs to local food

Build the L2T Network through sharing about Hub projects and programming

The North Okanagan

Regional Community Food Hub Goals

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2023-2024 RCFH In Review

• Spoke organizations delivered 13,611 food boxes, 1004 meals, and 21 workshops/learning opportunities
• Land to Table engaged with 43 different community organizations, through one-one meetings, virtual and in-person events, presentations, grant-writing discussions,
• We hosted 3 Food Security Sessions: Food Security Planning; Collective Impact Through Strengths Mapping; and Growing for Community
• We supported 13 grant applications for 10 organizations to fund regional food security programs and infrastructure projects. Support included writing grants on behalf of organizations, consulting/reviewing applications, and writing letters of support.
• As a result, in 2023, hub partners received more than $67,000
• We are still waiting to hear back on all 2024 grants
• In total, as a Regional Community Food Hub for the North Okanagan, Land to Table facilitated an investment of over $120,000 toward community food programming in our region.

OKIB SLIDE

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• 60+ program
• Program Digital Upgrade
• Support for a digital coordinator
• Expanding farmer network and opportunities for more local food in the GFB
• Assist with grant writing
• Critical Services Recovery Fund- Engaging community in a pilot expansion

The Good Food Box

As a Regional Community Food Hub Spoke

2023-2024

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The North Okanagan

Regional Community Food Hub Spokes

& Partners

FILL OUT SURVEY

• WHO IS USING FOOD MESH OR SECOND HARVEST?

United Way of British Columbia Food Security Updates

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• Critical Food Infrastructure Grants
• Workshopping applications: HaileyD@uwbc.ca
• April intake

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• Food Link App
• surbhir@uwbc.ca

• Increase demand for food
• Government funding for food infrastructure and emergency preparedness
• Gaps: food storage, transportation, food processing/packaging
• Short term-solutions: catalog needs, existing assets/strengths, what can be shared?
• Longer-term: planning for the ideal

Questions:

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• What opportunities do you see for new community infrastructure development in our region?

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• What should this be/look like (think big)?

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• What should it achieve?

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• Who should it serve or be created with?

Parameters

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• Have a name!
• Showcase local food or local program
• Achieve Hub goals (all projects must achieve goal #1 and at least one other goal)
• Demonstrate existing knowledge and experiences of local food in our region
• Invite new and different voices to the table/conversation/sharing
• Engages a diversity of people
• Show different aspects of our food system (e.g. farmers, to program providers, or newcomers)
• Assume that L2T will play project coordination role (and find/manage funding)

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Focus projects and programming on long-term food security

• Increasing capacity for programming
• Focusing on programs that build equity and food literacy and connections to local food actors - in a way that builds agency and resilience in our local food system
• ​

Create reciprocal & cross-organizational relationships

Connect local food security programs to local food supply

Build the L2T Network through sharing about Hub projects and programming

The North Okanagan

Regional Community Food Hub Goals

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Parameters

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• What excites you most about this project?
• What barriers/concerns do you anticipate having?
• What is a reasonable timeline to execute this project?
• What do you imagine are important project milestones/ key steps?
• If not already outlined, who all needs to be included in this project (e.g. orgs, community members, institutions, groups, etc.)

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Questions:

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• What is standing out for you most? and/or

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• What ideas or connections are you walking away with?

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• What would you like to see at future events (similar to this)?

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THANK YOU!

Please fill out the event evaluation form!

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Everyone who fills out the survey will be entered into a raffle for a $100 Butcher Boys gift card for your organization.

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