Electoral districts (or ridings) don’t align with the regional government boundaries that often guide our food systems work. This has been the case for Land to Table (L2T) and Shuswap Food Action Society (SFAS), whose work spans two regions and four electoral ridings. This year, we are expanding L2T’s project boundaries across our shared food shed with the Shuswap and experimenting with a shared Executive Director for both organizations. In this article, Liz Blakeway, Executive Director for L2T and SFAS, shares her thoughts on how food security and agriculture are discussed in this election.
The issue of food security is front and center for a lot of folks in 2024, including our Shuswap provincial election candidates. In fact, a 2023 BC study shows the responsibility for food systems is shifting towards multi-level governance (local, provincial, and federal) as residents show concern around resilience of unsustainable food supply chains and as community food insecurity rises across BC.
So perhaps it should come as no surprise that this year’s BC election candidates in the Shuswap/Salmon Arm riding (spanning parts of the North Okanagan region) have relatively informed responses to a recent SA Observer article that asked: “What measures would you pursue to bolster sustainable local food production while improving residents’ access to affordable, nutritious food?“
There are only two days until the election, but it’s not too late to stress that food security should be a priority for the next BC government. Policies on agriculture, the environment, and transportation directly impact access to local food for everyone (Farm Folk City Folk).
More Of This! What Shuswap Candidates Are Saying
The following quotes highlight responses from our candidates that we find encouraging:
Supporting small-scale and organic farms will create a more resilient local food system, while protecting agricultural land from development is crucial. – Greg McCune, Independent
[there is an] …urgent need to invest in local agriculture and reduce our reliance on external supply chains. B.C. must protect and expand farmland, diversify agriculture and implement a long-term food sustainability strategy – Jed Wiebe, BC Greens
Food security is most important, with local production, distribution and accessibility required to ensure all residents can obtain nutritious and healthy products. – David Williams, Conservative
I would continue to support the ALR and work towards a provincial food security strategy. Meeting the needs of farmers and other local food suppliers is paramount in order to keep their operations viable. Without them there is no food security. – Sylvia Lindgren, NDP
With the sentiment of these responses in mind, we ask that you help us hold our new MLA accountable to ensure ongoing support for: local food system development; increased market access for farmers; protection of ALR land; non-profit local food programming; Shuswap residents who can’t afford food; and constituents in general who care deeply about our community’s food security and resilience.
Government Support to Date
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the kind of support we are looking for has already been demonstrated by the NDP government, who have put a lot of funding into food security initiatives and school meal programs over the last 4 years.
Land to Table Network receives Regional Community Food Hub (RCFH) funding through the United Way as a result of significant funds (toward operational costs of our organization) from the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (MSDPR). Our RCFH work impacts many food access non-profits and organizations who also receive annual funding as part of this work, including the Good Food Box, Okanagan Indian Band’s Food Security Initiative, and Shuswap Food Action Society. In fact, over the past year our combined North Okanagan and Shuswap regions have received more than $350,000 from MSDPR and the Ministry of Health for local food infrastructure development.
Thanks to the Ministry of Education and Childcare’s Provincial Feeding Futures Funding, our school districts have all received support to offer school lunches to food insecure students with a recommendation to source ingredients and products from local producers. School District 83, in partnership with Shuswap Food Action Society, delivered over 40,000 nutritious, local food meals to school children alone. This has allowed SFAS to create new markets for local farmers, and purchase over $50,000 in 2023 from local farmers and local retailers.
From a non-profit perspective, this kind of funding allows us to make huge strides in developing regional food supply chains, addressing hunger through increased access to local food, developing local food infrastructure, and creating a community culture where people show they care through the act of sharing food. Not only do we want this level of operational and program support to continue through the next government, we want to see it expand!
An Informed Vote For Local Food
For residents, our candidates, and our prospective MLA’s in particular, we invite you to dig deeper into the issues that surround why it’s important to Vote for Local Food. In an election policy brief, Farm Folk City Folk does an excellent job highlighting the issues, opportunities, vision, and policy recommendations designed to support and rebuild regional food systems, resilience, and community food security. We have the solutions, we just need the political will.
For Vernon and Lumby residents, you may find it helpful to know how candidates responded to the food security/agriculture related question, regarding the protection of ALR land, at the SENS All Candidates Forum. Responses were shared in a Vernon Morning Star article on October 4th. Unfortunately, of the eight candidates invited, only three bothered to attend – two from the NDP and one Independent, representing the combined ridings of Vernon/Lumby and Coldstream/Lake Country/Kelowna. If you find this disappointing, so did local protestors voicing their concerns as the Pro-democracy Chickens. This Castanet article is a hoot (or should we say cluck?) with protestors sharing: “This is not a yolk, folks! It is a clucking shame that we could only scratch up 3 to 4 of our 8 candidates”.
For Salmon Arm residents looking to galvanize around local food system issues that we can engage our new MLA in, and work across multi-levels of government, you need look no further than the proposed ALR exclusion zones (see this SA Observer Op Ed) proposed within the city’s new Official Community Plan (OCP)… likely a blog post for another day.
At the moment, we can hope for an MLA who understands the importance of protecting our ALR land now and securing long-term support for local issues!
Now What? Take Action!
Here are some short- and medium-term next steps we can all take:
- Go Vote!
- Find three friends or family members who might not vote… bring them with you to vote!
- Review the FarmFolk CityFolk Policy brief – for policy recommendations that your MLA can move toward.
- Get to know your MLA and ask questions outlined by Farm Folk City Folk (these questions don’t have to end with the election – they are still relevant).
- Get to know your city’s Official Community Plan (OCP) and look for food security and agriculture action items/policy recommendations (don’t see any there? ask why). Ask your MLA to support OCP initiatives (where it makes sense to do so).
In the meantime, good luck to all our candidates across the North Okanagan and Shuswap. We look forward to conversations on the other side! We are here and ready to chat when you are.
Written by Liz Blakeway (wearing my dual-role hats as Executive Director of Land to Table, and Acting Director of Shuswap Food Action Society)