Fond of Food? Give Input on Food Charter, Get Dinner and a Movie
By Andrew Bennett
How about free borscht and an award-winning movie at the old Firehall on December 7? Yes, it’s all free! Some Rosslanders who are really excited about local food want your input into a community “Food Charter” they’re drafting for the City, so they’re inviting you to dinner: Just bring your ideas.
Do you love food? Maybe you crave home-cooked meals shared with people you enjoy. Maybe you get a kick from special ingredients that tell a story: greens from the backyard, potatoes and fresh veggies from a local farm, steak from a deer you hunted or lamb from a nearby ranch, and maybe a side of wild mushrooms you discovered while picking huckleberries for desert, all washed down with locally fermented beverages?
Or does the future concern you, shaped by forces far beyond our control? What will happen to food prices when energy costs rise and California dries up? Ferraros is the best ever, but do you have the larder stocked in case the trucks can’t get over the mountains? What’s the best way to help folks who have a tough time putting healthy meals on the table?
From an apple a day to keep the doctor away, and the joy and pride of gardening food ourselves, and the succulent flavours of an animal who led a happy life, to worries over an uncertain future or the treatment of people, animals, and land in faraway places where much of our food is grown, these are all the questions of “food security.”
So what is a “Food Charter”? Technically, it’s a guiding document for the City that captures our shared, community vision for abundance, prosperity, and resilience in our local food system—whether that’s supporting farms from Rock Creek to Nakusp to Creston, or growing more and better food in our backyards, or teaching people how to harvest wild foods responsibly.
Practically, a Food Charter helps the City and community groups get funding to support projects that make Rossland more food secure. It can also help Council direct City priorities towards projects that both help our local food system and advance goals like strengthening the local economy and improving City infrastructure. Food Charters have been adopted by municipalities all over Canada, including Kaslo, Revelstoke, and Vancouver.
A group of local citizens has prepared a draft Charter, but you can make it better! To represent the whole community’s vision, input is needed from hunters and fishers, from composters and apple pickers, from burger barons and vegans, from foragers and epicureans, from gardeners and brewers, and from anyone and everyone with an interest in food.
Firehall doors open at 5:30 pm on December 7 with dinner at 6 pm and the movie at 7:15 to 8 pm. “Growing Local” is a series of three 15-minute documentaries that have won more awards than you can shake a laurel wreath at. Beautiful cinematography and thoughful conversations take us on an uplifting tour of farms in Maine. “Changing Hands” follows a passionate dairy farmer as he passes his legacy to his son and daughter. “Pig Not Pork” follows an upbeat butcher with a mission. “Seeding a Dream” follows a young couple who renovate an old farm and open a bustling general store of local produce.
Come out and have your voice heard! Think about it all ahead of time: Draft Food Charters are available at the library and online. There’s a quick survey on the back of the Draft Charter, please fill it in and leave it at the library or bring it to the Firehall event. Comments on the Charter can also be sent to Rachael Roussin (rachael.roussin@gmail.com).
For more information, please contact:
Rachael Roussin
rachael.roussin@gmail.com
250-231-2034
Event details:
7 Dec 2016, 5:30 pm
Old Firehall, Rossland, BC
