Category Archives: Events
Regional Food System Strategy for Metro Vancouver
Help us build a sustainable, resilient and healthy food system in Metro Vancouver.
There are a great many facets to creating a viable solution for food security in our region. To that end, Metro Vancouver is developing a Regional Food System Strategy and is welcoming public input on the Draft Food System Strategy. This collaborative effort aims to create a sustainable, resilient and healthy regional food system.
Become informed about the issues, engage in the discussion, and have your opinions heard by attending one of the upcoming public events. This is your chance to share ideas and solutions in various communities throughout the Greater Vancouver Regional District.
Public Consultation Meetings
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Delta Town & Country Inn
6005 Highway 17 (at Highway 99)
Delta, BC
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Hotel Royale Ramada Inn
19267 Lougheed Highway (at Harris Road)
Pitt Meadows, BC
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier
138 Victory Ship Way
North Vancouver, BC
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Douglas Recreation Centre
20550 Douglas Crescent
Langley, BC
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The Hilton Metrotown
6083 McKay Avenue
Burnaby, BC
Thursday, November 25, 2010
WEBINAR
12:00 – 1:00 pm (Registration required, click here)
A copy of the Draft Regional Food System Strategy and other online options for providing feedback are available on the Metro Vancouver, Regional Growth website.
Don’t delay, your comments deadline is November 30, 2010.
Learn How to Save Seeds
Village Vancouver & Farm Folk City Folk present Seed Saving in the City this weekend.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Strathcona Community Centre
601 Keefer Street, Vancouver
Limited to 25 participants so register today!
Don’t miss this rare Vancouver opportunity to learn about Seed Saving from four top BC seedswomen.
Facilitated by Maria Hunter from Dragonfly Seeds, Mojave Kaplan of Planting Seeds Project, Robin Wheeler of Edible Landscapes fame, and Susan Davidson of BC Seeds.
Learn seed saving basics, the politics of seeds, how to build seed collectives and how to select for good traits. You’ll also learn about isolation distances, small business creation, hear personal stories, and work together to create the base for a local seed chapter.
Suggested donation: $30
Subsidies are available, no one turned away for lack of funds.
To register contact:
Strathcona Community Centre
604.713.1838
Course number CRN 45504.401
For further information contact Village Vancouver, Strathcona Community Centre (see Fall Program Guide p. 6 and 7), or Farm Folk City Folk.
To join Village Vancouver Seed Savers, visit them online
For the Love of Local Food Community Dinner
The Coquitlam Farmers Market is excited to once again host a community dinner, For the Love of Local Food, to celebrate the local farming community, the seasonality of local food, and the social benefits of sharing the harvest around a dinner table with family, neighbours, and friends.
The purpose of the dinner is to raise awareness of the social, economic, and environmental importance of eating local and supporting local producers; and to come together as a community to share a meal enjoying the beautiful harvest of BC.
Saturday October 16th , 2010
6:00 – 9:00 pm
Club Ilia Restaurant, Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC
Details
To create this delectable dinner, Coquitlam Farmers Market has partnered with local chef and restaurateur, Fred Soofi, who will create a stunning buffet dinner using all local products from the Coquitlam Farmers Market. As a means of inspiring action, the dinner will also feature presentations from community members and youth leaders around the region.
These presentations will showcase innovative projects and initiatives, such as school garden projects, youth-led “green” clubs, and examples of community supported agriculture. This cross generational view will highlight how inspired community members can cultivate innovative programs to increase education on local food issues, and incorporate them into their everyday lives, workplaces, and institutions.
As our cities become more populated, there is a greater need for re-connection to the sources of our food and with each other. The community dinner will highlight the importance of building a resilient community through enhancing local food systems, sharing of food knowledge by developing a more localized food culture between generations and among the diverse ethnic groups that comprise our communities, and learning through innovative practice that small actions can make meaningful change to how we access, experience, and share food that is fresh, healthy and local.
The presentation of local initiatives hopes to inspire young people and those within positions of leadership to explore more ways to build capacity and community around local food.
Contact Coquitlam Farmers Market for tickets: 604.318.8966 or info@makebakegrow.com.
Growing Garlic Begins in the Fall
Always good for tasty bite of pizza, now you can learn how to grow garlic at the Garlic Sale & Fundraiser by Rocky Mountain Flatbread.
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
5:00 pm onwards
Garlic planting season has arrived and Sharon Hanna, Urban Gardener, will be selling organic garlic from Rivendale Farm on Salt Spring Island at Rocky Mountain Flatbread in Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC.
Sharon will be selling Persian Star, Evans and Music Garlic and will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about growing big beautiful garlic.
Rocky Mountain Flatbread will also be donating 10% of all restaurant sales to their Education Society which works hands-on in local schools teaching kids how grow their own food, create their own nutritious snacks &
meals, and how to create their own eco business! They work with over 500 Vancouver students a year.
Celebration of Local Food & Libations
Tomorrow is RIPE, Vancouver Farmers Markets 2nd Annual Evening of Local Food & Libations
Sunday, September 26th, 2010
Creekside Community Centre at Olympic Village
5:00 – 8:00pm
Additional details
Your attendance at RIPE will directly support Vancouver Farmers Markets to improve existing Farmers Markets and to grow the number of markets, bringing local, seasonal food to more people in more communities.
The casual family-style, all-ages event will include:
- A feast of delicious, local and seasonal food including BBQ’d local meats, corn on the cob and a variety of fresh salads, iced tea and lemonade from a variety of our farmers & vendors and prepared by Tivoli Caterers
- Local beer and wine for adults to enjoy – Russell Beer is our exclusive beer sponsor; Hester Creek Winery and Saturna Island Vineyards are providing the wine
- Fabulous mountain view from the brand new Creekside venue
- Laughs from the evening’s emcee, Richard Lewin of Golda’s Finest Foods – the Pesto Guy!
- A silent auction and live dessert auction
- Local, live entertainment by Maria In The Shower, and
- A kids activity corner
Tickets must be purchased in advance.
UBC Farm’s 2010 FarmAde Event
Today is UBC Farm‘s annual FarmAde Open House and I’m heading over. I’ve been out to the farm a few times and this time I’m going to take in one of the farm tours, rain or shine.
Friday, September 17th
3:00 – 5:00 pm
UBC Farm Shuttle Bus Map
There’s lots going on, including:
- Live music
- A BBQ for everyone, literally (vegan, veggie and beef burgers)
- Produce market of farm-fresh corn, other veggies and fruits
- Adult entertainment (beer garden featuring local beer and a beer-making workshop)
- Supervised kid’s area with face painting
- Farm Tours and more… (details)
If you can’t make it out to the farm today, you can still take a video tour below to learn what happens there and why efforts to save UBC Farm continue to be important. We’re not out of the woods yet in the battle between short-term real estate value vs. long-term, food security value.
Learn How to Preserve Your Garden’s Bounty
Vancouver Farmers Markets has just announced a series of demos to help you store your garden’s bounty for eating later.
Through a generous grant from Vancity Enviro Visa, Vancouver Farmers Markets is offering market-goers tips and techniques for making summer last just a little bit longer. The program includes market demonstrations of preservation techniques, tip cards and recipes and help finding and choosing the best produce for storage. Don’t you want summer to last just a little bit longer? It can!
Local Food Plans: Lessons From Other Communities
Plus: Dialogue on the Regional Food System Strategy for Metro Vancouver
Concerns about food— its impacts on our health; its inaccessibility to many low income people; its vulnerability to climate change, soil erosion, water shortages and rising fuel prices; demand for local food; its role in creating new jobs; and the need for farmers to be able to make a decent living—have vaulted food strategies up the public policy priority list. Find out how Toronto, Portland and California are planning to transform local food production, distribution and land use.
A shoulder program to the Gaining Ground Summit 2010, Local Food Plans: Lessons from Other Communities and Dialogue on the Regional Food System Strategy for Metro Vancouver address the many interconnected elements of a viable food system.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
2:00 – 4:00 pm Local Food Plans: Lessons from Other Communities
4:30 – 6:30 pm Dialogue on the Regional Food System Strategy in Metro Vancouver
Wednesday, October 6, 2010 (repeat session of Tuesday)
Compass Point Inn Hotel. 9855 King George Highway, Surrey
2:00 – 4:00 pm Local Food Plans: Lessons from Other Communities
4:30 – 6:30 pm Dialogue on the Regional Food System Strategy in Metro Vancouver
Over the past two years, representatives from all levels of government, the agriculture and food industry, community organizations and the public have provided valuable input on how to make our food system more sustainable, resilient and healthy. At this session, after a brief presentation on the draft Regional Food System Strategy for Metro Vancouver, participants will break into discussion groups and be asked for their feedback. The presentation on lessons learned from other communities from the previous session should provide food for thought for these discussions. Results will be used to refine the Strategy and clarify key areas for collaboration.
These events are free, however pre-registration is required. Click here for more information and to register!
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Speakers:
Sibella Kraus, President/Director, SAGE (Sustainable Agriculture Education), Berkeley, California
Dr. David McKeown, Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto
Judy Shiprack, Multomah County Commissioner, Portland, Oregon
Moderator: Peter Ladner, Fellow of the SFU Centre for Dialogue