CNC seeks input on food security
The College of New Caledonia and the Public Health Association of BC have partnered to create a new online survey on the sourcing and growing of local food, and are seeking public feedback on the topic.
The survey can be found here, and the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food has funded the survey through the Feed BC program. The survey is open until March 1. The information will be used to help post-secondary institutions build capacity for increasing use of BC food.
“Everyone needs to eat. In a world facing climate change and growing food insecurity, we need to adapt and be part of the solution to meet that critical need. This research study is one of the ways CNC is working with partners to better understand a community need so we can contribute to solutions,” said Dr. Chad Thompson, CNC’s academic vice president.
Other goals of the study are to understand residents' view on local food culture, provide a one-day local crop cultivation workshop at CNC's campus, and use the findings to inform future coursework and micro-credentials at the college. The college also intends to reach to local community food partners to involve them with the study and workshop.
“We have been here before, when food supplies were threatened and we learned how to survive. We need to reclaim and relearn that hard won knowledge. We need to remember how we relied on local, when you could become famous for your tomatoes, or for growing grapes where grapes weren’t supposed to grow. Local food helped build local community. Let’s start again, building local healthy local communities where we can learn how to grow good food together,” said UNBC's Dr. Theresa Healy, President, Public Health Association of BC.
Tom Summer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alaska Highway News
