Brazil: working towards healthy communities

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Community-based Food Programs-- what works? A
Tale of Two Cities Growing Together Cultivating
Food Security in Canada Winnipeg October 14, 2004
--
Debbie Field, FoodShare Toronto Toronto, Ontario
Karen Archibald, CHEP, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
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CHEP --Working with communities to achieve
solutions to child hunger and improve access to
good food for all.
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FoodShare -- Working with communities to improve
access to affordable, healthy food from Field to
Table
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Toronto and Saskatoon History 1985 FoodShare
Toronto formed by then Mayor of Toronto Art
Eggleton to develop strategies to end hunger and
coordinate Food Banks 1989 Child Hunger
Education Program (CHEP) founded in Saskatoon by
community network to achieve solutions to child
hunger 1989 FoodShare looked to the developing
world to self help community kitchens and
gardens 1991-5 Toronto Food Policy Council
develops Discussion Papers that helped direct
practitioners develop programs that went beyond
distributing food to the problems in the food
system 1992 FoodShare began Field to Table
based on the Brazilian Sacalo Markets 1994 Food
Share started the Good Food Box 1995 CHEP added
collective kitchens and broadened approach to
food security, expanded programs that the
community identified and what CHEP could
deliver 1997 CHEP started the Good Food
Box 1998-2004 New programs ranging from Pork
Links to Incubator Kitchen
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Hunger Hotline, now FoodLink Hotline
A computerized database of emergency food and
other food programs throughout Toronto
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And since that time we have developed many
innovative food programs
Food Access Programs Cooking Programs Growing
Programs Educational Programs
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The Good Food Box Healthy, local, accessible,
affordable food that educates too!

• CHEP-- the Good Food Box works
• because it gets real food into homes and builds
  bridges with local farmers.
• FoodShare -- the Good Food Box works
• because it promotes health, builds communities
  that reflect cultural
• diversity.

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Every week a small army of volunteers gathers to
pack hundreds of Good Food Boxes in both our
cities.
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Why does the Good Food Box work?

• It is a program that reduces hunger, increases
  health and provides agricultural solutions
• while addressing environmental, health,
  education, local and community building.

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Pork Links, Beef Stakes -- addressing farm crises
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Linking Rural and Urban
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Neighbourhood Farmers Markets
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Selling food near where it is grown
through neighbourhood farmers markets and market
gardens.
The Sunshine Gardens weekly in-the-garden
market on Queen St. West
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Community Gardening-Urban Agriculture
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People of all ages and cultures learn to work
together through community gardening,
strengthening our neighbourhoods
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Community Gardens
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Urban Agriculture Projects
Certified organic sprouts
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Beekeeping Our own brand of honey from our own
hives
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Composting hundreds of kilograms of vegetable
waste are composted every week at Field To
Table Centre
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Communities taking responsibility for growing
their own food is critical -- we learn from the
International Connections
Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Cuba
Toronto
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Saskatoon Collective Kitchens
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Community Meals as social cohesion
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Toronto Kitchen Incubator and Field to Table
Catering
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Healthy Babies Eat Home Cooked Food
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CurrentFood and Health Programs

• Aboriginal Diabetes Prevention (Pathways)
• Reach for Five Basket
• Wellness Box/
• Good Food at Home

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Focus On Food Youth Training Employment Program
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Meal and Snack Programs
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I come to this movement as a mother worried
about how my children were eating at school..
..and now FoodShare is the host of the Toronto
Partners for Student Nutrition.
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CHEP and FoodShare advocate for adequate incomes

• Food and Income Crisis maintains hunger --
• 1.1 billion people go to sleep hungry every
  night.
• In the south 30-60 of populations vulnerable
• In the north 5-10 go hungry
• Not because food is expensive--
• housing is expensive and people fear
  homelessness
• global systemic high unemployment
• destruction of social safety net in the north
• world bank structural adjustment in the south
• We need higher minimum wage and welfare rates!

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CHEP and FoodShare advocate for social policies
to make quality food available to all.
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Charters Saskatoon -- second city
in Canada Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Sudbury Van
couver
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CHEP and FoodShareOur Successes

• Innovative, creative,
• Food programs are great community builders
• Our programs are responsive
• Linking programs to policy change and
  entrepreneurial activity
• Multi-task in creative ways
• Linking personal, community and political change.
• Tied our work to real good food.

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Put Food First In our families, neighbourhoods
and society and the world
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Challenges -- governments dont prioritize food
and our own success set up the basis for our
failure

• Charity vs food security perspective (Childrens
  Nutrition)
• Lack of Sustainability (Pathways, Focus on Food)
• Led by non-profit sector which is good but we
  need core government-- financial and political
  understanding.
• Organizationally stretched.

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The Future Neighbourhood based food stores and
the failure of the market and strengthening the
links between rural and urban.
The Core Food Store
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The FutureFood and Health

• We need a health care
• system that
• worries about healthy
• food
• No more plans!!!
• Lets Act!!

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The Future Government ensuring universal student
nutrition programs outside the dominant market
place is crucial
Toronto
Belo Horizonte
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Salad Bar project
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The Future A focus on nutritional access and not
just food access is needed
which is why Lula and the Brazilian Zero Fome
Movement is so important.
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The Future Back to basics -- fresh fruit and
vegetables and beans are the key to health and
therefore the key to nutritional and food
security.
Municipally and NGO supported produce programs
Good Food Box in Toronto
Sacalao markets in Belo Horizonte
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The Future Growing corn and tomatoes right in
the City..
Corn
Tomatoes
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We are pioneers of a new and powerful
social movement.