Transcript Funding Organization: Canadian Institutes of Health

Food Security and Community
food programs in Manitoba
and Saskatchewan
Is CED making a difference in food
security?
SSHRC Congress, Saskatoon 2007
Shirley Thompson, University of Manitoba,
Paul Fieldhouse, Healthy Living, MB gov
Community Food Security
“ a condition in which all residents obtain a safe,
culturally appropriate, nutritionally sound diet
through an economically and environmentally
sustainable food system that promotes community
self-reliance and social justice!”
Hamm & Bellows
Food Insecurity
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Food insecurity rates across Canada are 9.1%
(9.4% in Manitoba and 8.1% in Saskatchewan)
(CCHS, 2004).
Much higher among households in subpopulation groups such as:
- lowest income adequacy quintile (55%)
- social assistance recipients (62%)
- Aboriginals (33%)*
Source: CCHS, 2004, Shields, 2007.
Food Insecurity Interventions
1.
2.
3.
Social policy (healthy minimum wages, healthy
social assistance rates, etc.)
Food & healthy policy (food charters, ACTNOW!
in BC requires food security be considered by
PH)
Community food programs CED (farmer markets,
community shared agriculture (CSA), buying
clubs or good food boxes, school breakfast
programs, community gardens, NHFI, food coops, subsistence hunting subsidies ).
Pay the Rent or Feed the kids?
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Table 1: Maximum allowable rent rates allowed by Manitoba Family
Services on Welfare Cheque

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s October 2003
figures, the average cost of a 2-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg was
$645.
Even the toilet bowl in our place had ice frozen over it… and I was
getting sick of living like that…being cold and running away from mice…”
For this house, lacking in basic sanitation and heat, Louise paid $500 per
month, $70 over her rent budget, with the extra money extracted from
her food money. “I was living on $225 [for food] with 3 kids and 2 adults.”
Miko and Thompson, 2004.
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Some considerations
for Community food
programs
1. Production and use of local food and food services
(e.g., “make it, bake it, grow it”)
2. Establishment of stable social enterprises that
foster grassroots decision-making, active
participation and long term employment for
community residents.
3. Healthy and affordable food access – reach many
low income people and affordable/marketed to
low income.
Community Economic Development
(CED), of Women and the Economy project, UN
Program for Action Committee (2006).
Using local resources to meet local needs while at
the same time creating healthy and economically
viable communities.
CED is about working with communities to develop
positive and sustainable processes, not imposing a
system from outside the community. CED looks at
all aspects of the economy, not just commercial,
and is a powerful tool in working towards happy,
healthy communities (UNPAC, 2006).
Method
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Interviews with people from CBOs,
observations/tours and 4 workshops with
community based organizations and 2
government.
Consider impact of CED on food security based on
scale, access to low income, job generation,
sustainable food systems and government support.
Farmers Markets in
Saskatchewan
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Year round or extended period (4-7 months in Regina and
many other locations and year round 5 days/week in
Saskatoon)
Premium prices enable farmers (including urban gardeners)
and food producers to decent incomes.
Funding and support (e.g., $30 million River Landing
Development funded by all levels of government and owned by
Saskatoon City.
Farmers Markets in Manitoba
-No markets operate more than 3 -4 months (14 day
permit for food vendors (& Brandon market shut down)
has sent out the message that seasonal weekly markets
only allowed.
-2007/08 started to have a Manitoba’s farmer market
association.
- Limited or no financial support from government. St.
Norbert market infrastructure funded through St. Norbert
Foundation wanting to revitalize their community.
Community Shared Agriculture
(CSA)
System linking local farm to local consumers who
purchase subscription shares of the year’s harvest from a
local organic farm. CSA shareholders provide the start-up
capital necessary for farmers to purchase seeds, supplies
and soil amendments and share the risks for farming (e.g.,
poor harvests).
EXAMPLES:
 Earthshare CSA (out of business in 2007) provided jobs
for refugees and immigrants and 150 boxes for 12x.
 Weins farm in Winnipeg -- $400 for 100 boxes, 12-14x of
fresh organic vegetable with work for food option.
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Child and Health Education
Program (CHEP) Good food box
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VISION: “Community where good nutritious food is always available for
everyone no matter what their circumstances, where there is care for the
environment, support for farmers, access to local food production, and
knowledge about making healthy food choices.”
Karen Archibald, Executive Director of CHEP explains: “Poor people
have less money to risk and so the CSA model won’t work as if the years
farming failed people would lose all their food money. They need to get
good value and every week we show how much more the produce would
cost if bought in a regular store. Delivery with respect is provided when
there is need due to lack of transportation. The box is meant to balance
out food bank use, which is a lot of starches and no fresh
fruit/vegetables. A CED approach requires that we listen respectfully and
are responsive to our members needs”.
CHEP
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Buys legumes, fruits and vegetables in volume to:
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fill 1000-1800 good food boxes a month,
community kitchens and
provide 35 schools/organizations breakfast and/or lunch programs
daily.
Delivered bi-monthly to 75 volunteer drop-off locations,
having a:
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$17 regular fruit and vegetable box,
$12 small fruit and vegetable box,
$30 organic box.
$5 boxes to three aboriginal communities – Mistowassis, White
Cap and Beardee – in the Saskatoon area; and
mini stores in seniors’ apartments.
CHEP funding
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Income from good food box sales provides about
two thirds of good food box funding.
The Province of Saskatchewan has granted core
funding since 1991, and now provides about
$400,000 annually, almost one third of CHEP’s
budget of over $1 million.
Other funding comes from the City of Saskatoon
and the United Way, as well as private fundraising,
donations and partnerships.
The Northern Healthy Foods
Initiative (NHFI)
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Community-based intervention funded by the
provincial government of Manitoba, which is
designed to increase access to affordable
nutritious food in Northern Manitoba communities.
NHFI team includes:
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Aboriginal and Northern Affairs
Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives
(MAFRI)
Healthy Living
Manitoba Conservation
Healthy Child Manitoba
Food security issues in Northern
Manitoba
High costs
 Decline of hunting and fishing
 Trading of traditional foods limited by Indian
Act
 Freight costs
 High diabetes and obesity rates
 Treaty Land Rights
 Northern Store monopoly
(Northern Food Prices Steering Committee,
2003; Usher, 2004, Thompson, 2006)
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TO BE REPLACED BY
UPDATED SLIDE
NIHB Expenditures In Manitoba Region by Benefit
(FY 2003/2004
Vision
2%
Pharmacy
38%
$2.8M
Dental
14%
$48.5M
$17.3M
Health Care
4%
$5.6M
$53.5M
Transportation
42%
Total: $127.8 M
Food Access Model
Projected Number of People with Diabetes MB First Nations, 19962016
14,000
13,468
1996
2016
Number of Diabetes Cases
12,000
10,000
7,656
8,000
4,732
6,000
4,000
2,590
2,000
0
Males
Females
Source: http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/ epiunit/docs/storm.pdf
Diabetes treatment prevalence is 4.2 times higher for First Nations people compared to all
Manitobans (18.9% vs 4.54%)
Making it work: the Community-based
organizations (CBOs):
1) Bayline Regional Roundtable;
2) Northern Association of Community Councils
(NACC);
3)Four Arrows Regional Health Authority Inc.; and
4)Frontier School Division.
 CBOs build capacity in local production of food
for local consumption, choose nutritional foods,
implement strategies to lower the cost for healthy
foods, leverage funding for projects, and create
food based economic development opportunities.
Solutions that are working: NHFI Pilot
project in 17+ communities?
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1) community gardens (273);
2) greenhouse pilot projects (3-5 );
3) increasing access to nutritious commercial food
(direct buy, retail, federal food mail subsidy, coops, etc).
4) school nutrition (healthy lunch/breakfast,
education);
5) increasing access to country foods (hunting,
fishing, berries, production, etc).
6) food preservation (freezer, cold cellars, canning)
++Other (poultry production, etc)
Standard community garden plot
25x50ft……
Photocredit: Jessica Paley

Photocredit: Jessica Paley
Standard size composter for community
garden plot composting enriches poor
soil and reduces waste.
Photocredit: Jessica
Paley
Testing soil
Northern Healthy Food Initiative
Photocredit: Manitoba Food charter
Photocredit: Manitoba Food Charter
Proposed Evaluation Components.
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Collect indicators for each of 17 communities through
CBOs, community assessment and/or by observation in
~10 communities.
Day of Focus groups at Harvest Forum 2008 for 20-40
people divided into two to four different focus groups.
Interviews, document analysis and SWOTs carried out
with NHFI team and CBOs about NHFI.
Surveys provided to participants in different programs
(school breakfast/lunch program, school greenhouse
education, community garden, freezer projects, etc).
Community-based assessment with 3 to 10 communities
Household food security survey randomly chosen carried
out with 50-100 people in at least 3 communities AND 50-
Conclusion
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CHEP and NHFI programs provide regional
models of how CBOs can focus efforts on access
to healthy affordable food that reduce population
level food security. They benefit all BUT need
some external on-going supports/funding.
Food programs at neighbourhood scale have little
reach and are often short-term .
Farmers markets and CSAs provide limited or no
benefit to low income consumers – while being a
business incubator and providing local, more
sustainable food to middle/high income.
Community Food Assessment
Steps
Organize
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Identify a group of key stakeholders
Organize initial meeting(s)
Determine the group’s interest in conducting an
assessment
Identify and recruit other participants, representing
diverse interests and skills
Plan
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Determine assessment purposes and goals
Develop an overall plan and decision-making proces
Recruit and train staff and volunteers as needed
Create evaluation plan
Research
 Determine appropriate research methods
 Collect and analyze data from existing and original
sources
 Summarize assessment findings
Report
 Develop recommendations and action plan
 Develop communications strategy
 Clearly frame and articulate the message
 Disseminate findings to residents and policymakers
through meetings and materials
 Develop specific policy recommendations
Potential Benefits of Community
Food Assessments
Involve and Empower the Community
 Engage residents in collaborative learning about food-related
needs and resources
 Build capacity for effective, collaborative action to improve the
community
Improve Existing Programs and Create New Ones
 Identify gaps and potential for improvement
 Increase community awareness and utilization of existing
resources
Develop Advocacy Skills and Change Public Policy
 Build residents’ skills to organize and advocate for policy change
 Educate media and policymakers with compelling, researchbased results
Improve Access to Healthy Foods
 Increase availability of local, fresh produce in stores, schools, etc
 Improve the selection of products available in neighborhood
stores