Province Helps Address Food Insecurity
Aundrea Currie, Chair of the Colchester Food Network board (left), and Shelly DeViller, volunteer and outgoing Executive Director of the Colchester Food Network, pick vegetables with Scott Armstrong, Minister of Opportunities and Social Development, in the network’s community garden in Bible Hill. (Province of Nova Scotia)
More communities in Nova Scotia will have reliable access to healthy food with the creation of three new collaborative food networks. Scott Armstrong, Minister of Opportunities and Social Development, made the announcement Wednesday, September 10, at a community event in Truro.
“Everyone deserves to have access to healthy, affordable food – no matter where they live. With these new collaborative food networks, more Nova Scotians will benefit from community-led programs like gardens, meal baskets and food-sharing opportunities,” said Minister Armstrong. “Government is proud to support this work, but the real impact comes from the people on the ground – the volunteers, partners and communities who come together to help improve food insecurity in their communities.”
Collaborative food networks bring together local organizations, partners and suppliers to address food insecurity in ways that reflect the unique needs and strengths of each community.
The three new food networks are:
- Cobequid Food Security Network, Lower Sackville
- Musquodoboit Area Collaborative Food Network
- Island Food Network, Victoria County, Cape Breton.
Each received a $200,000 one-time grant from the Province to support community programming, operations and start-up costs.
These new community grants are part of $2 million in funding to support 10 collaborative food networks across the province, including the Colchester Food Network, which has been serving communities in Colchester County for 40 years.
From left, Shelly DeViller, volunteer and outgoing Executive Director of the Colchester Food Network; Heather Fraser, Vice-President of Community Programming and Agriculture with Rath Eastlink Community Centre; Scott Armstrong, Minister of Opportunities and Social Development; and Municipality of Colchester Coun. Lisa Patton at the Colchester Food Network’s community garden in Bible Hill (Province of Nova Scotia)
Quotes:
“The Colchester Food Network is proud to be part of this initiative, which builds and strengthens local partnerships, supports community engagement and builds a more resilient and sustainable food system for everyone in our area. Bringing people together across sectors is essential to addressing food insecurity and creating long-term, meaningful change.”
— Farrah Allen-McKay, Collaborative Food Network Co-ordinator and interim Executive Director, Colchester Food Network
Quick Facts:
- the grant is awarded to a community organization that acts as the backbone for the work; this organization then brings in local partners, key stakeholders and community members to create programs and services tailored to the needs of the community
- the other food networks in Nova Scotia are in Eskasoni, Preston, Cumberland County, Colchester County, Glace Bay, Spryfield and Yarmouth
- more than 100 community organizations across the province take part in the collaborative food network model
Farrah Allen-McKay, Colchester Collaborative Food Network Co-ordinator and interim Executive Director (left); Scott Armstrong, Minister of Opportunities and Social Development; and Ann Fiddes, Director, Wekope'kwitk Mijipjeweyuo’kuom Society (Millbrook Food Bank), at Colchester Food Network’s community garden in Bible Hill (Province of Nova Scotia)