A cross-section of community members gathered at the Paterson Family Food Centre Thursday to develop a regional food strategy.
“In some ways we have an uncertain future and resources are finite. We need to think about preserving what we have and using it in such a way that it’s going to be there for future generations,” said Joan Brady, consultant with Healthy Communities Link.
Brady facilitated the two-day summit, which kicked off Thursday afternoon. She said the event is to examine the city’s food history and then plan for the future.
The summit had attendees from various sectors in the city from food producers and distributors to health care professionals and city administration.
“Food touches us all in many ways. I think when we involve everyone, everyone takes ownership and that’s the only way we can make change – if we work together,” said Brady.
Food Action Network chairwoman Catherine Schwartz Mendez said the summit will focus on ways to improve Thunder Bay’s food system.
“We have lots of food that’s being brought in from elsewhere that we could be growing here,” she said. “We have a large number of people that are going hungry every day so we need to really look at access to food as well.”
With so many people unable to afford healthy food on a regular basis and resorting to food banks, Schwartz Mendez said it’s important to become more self-sustainable as a community.
Other ideas that could be included in the city’s food strategy are integrating food policies into city-wide plans, managing food waste, growing more food in the city, supporting local food celebrations and decreasing the distance between food production and consumption.
