For most of us, particularly if you are not a business owner, policy is not something that we tend to pay attention to because there is seemingly no need. However, just like your little toe, when you stub it and it becomes painfully obvious that you have one, policy erupts into one’s consciousness when it hurts.
Have you ever wondered if you can raise chickens, is it okay to plant a food garden in your front yard, if you have any control over herbicide spraying in your neighbourhood, why is some information included on food labels but not others, if your zoning allows you to launch your dream food business?
These are all connected to policy. And that is where the Central Kootenay Food Policy Council comes in. The Council was established in 2016 with a goal of connecting those involved in food systems in the Central Kootenay and of helping to identify and resolve policy barriers to a resilient and just regional food system.
A food system is the place, relationships and activities that connect people to their food. The activities of a food system include production (fishing, farming, gardening and hunting), processing (personal or commercial), distribution, access (generally through grocers, markets, direct from the producer, emergency food providers), consumption and food waste. The full spectrum of food systems activities and needs are within the scope of the Central Kootenay Food Policy Council. If you are actively involved in our region’s food system, we would love to connect with and learn from you.
The Council meets five times each year, with our Annual General Meeting held each spring. Our 2021 AGM will take place on May 13th from 10AM – noon on Zoom. This online AGM will weave together our regular AGM business with vignettes performed by Kaslo, BC based spoken word artist Shayna Jones.
Our AGM is open to anyone who is interested in attending. Whether you are familiar with the Council’s work on just hearing about us for the first time, we encourage you to join us to learn more about our work and our plans for the year to come! We are also actively recruiting new members to the Council, so our AGM is a great chance to meet our members and get a feel for who we are and what we do.
Click here to read more about our upcoming AGM and details on how to join.