EAT Magazine Sept/Oct 2013_Victoria_48_Layout 1 8/28/13 1:31 PM Page 35
DISCUSS
By Dona Sturmanis
Living the New Economy THE COMMUNITY FOOD HUB SESSION
Starting a regional food hub in Victoria will be one of the key sessions at the Living the New Economy conference, a week of events from November 29 - December 5 focused on energizing and celebrating the people, institutions and collaborations that are pioneering a new economic movement. Co-hosted by The Healing Cities Institute and EcoDesign Resource Society, the week is dedicated to bringing this “new economy” to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. What is the “new economy” and what makes it different from the old one? The term emerged in the early 1980s and referred to the then-nascent movement away from heavy manufacturing and towards a more service-based economy. Thirty years later the concept has grown to embrace activities that bring the human economy into greater balance with the planet’s natural ecosystems. According to the event’s website, it is “a movement towards a more equitable economic arrangement for people and communities, including more collaborative and distributed forms of ownership and greater economic democracy” as well as building more economic, physical and social resilience into local economies and communities. The site of the conference captures this ethos: the historic Roundhouse at Bayview Place, a new heritage development in the Songhees. The Victoria Community Food Hub Society, whose mission is to establish a food hub in the city, will present the session. The idea of a regional food hub is far from a radical concept. It’s a practical way to support food security and the buy local-eat local philosophy. According to the Wallace Center, an Arlington, Virginia-based organization dedicated to building good food systems, a working definition of a regional food hub is “a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers for the purpose of strengthening producer capacity and access to wholesale, retail, and institutional markets.” In other words, regional food hubs are far more than just farmers’ markets. They have a positive economic, social and environmental impact on communities and put local consumers in touch with local producers, filling an important gap in regional food systems. The Victoria Community Food Hub Society, currently awaiting charitable status, is conducting feasibility studies and business plans to build a food hub in the Capital Regional District’s core area. Included might be a 3,000-square-foot food-processing kitchen, large freezer and cooler space, shared office facilities and a food aggregation warehouse for food banks and local farmers. This facility will fill a clearly identified need in the community. The Victoria Foundation recently held a round table on food security and discovered a lack of any kind of large-scale commercial food processing facilities or cold storage within the CRD. This makes it difficult for farmers and other food producers to meet the demand for their food locally. The intention of the community food hub session at the Living the New Economy conference is to present a preliminary draft business plan to key members of the community. Speakers will be from core food advocacy groups. After presentations and the current food hub proposal, a mini-charette for the project will explore what the hub could and should include (a charette is an intensive and interactive design workshop). Between 30 and 50 people from the Victoria Community Food Hub Society network are expected to attend, and they in turn hope to invite another 30-50 key members of the public to offer input. As of the first week of August, the Society has received $20,000 in funding from VanCity’s enviroFund to conduct a feasibility study and preliminary business plan. Project leader Jason Found, a Victoria sustainability consultant, has started work on this, with support and advice from Darren Stott of Vancouver-based Greenchain Consulting (New City Market and the Victoria Public Market). Several potential sites have been explored. The intention is to secure a long-term lease, establish the commercial production kitchen and then begin a capital campaign to purchase the building. Other food-related topics taking place at the New Economy conference include launching a provincial permaculture network and exploring succession planning for farmers. To see a draft program of Living the New Economy’s confirmed speakers and workshops, and to register, visit neweconomy.ca or call Nicole Moan at 250-888-7795 or 250-686-3720. Individual sessions will range from $10-$35; a week’s pass is $295.
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www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCT 2013
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