The Nova Scotia Food Security Network is a network of individuals and organizations that have expressed interest in working to build food security in Nova Scotia. We define food security as a situation that exists when "all people, at all time, have access to sufficient, nutritious, safe, personally acceptable and culturally appropriate foods that are produced, procured and distributed in ways that are environmentally sound, socially just and sustainable".

The network strives to increase the proportion of Nova Scotians who have access to nutritious foods, and to increase the availability of safe, locally produced, nutritious foods and to support sustainable food systems in the province.

Below is the NS Food Security Network Newsletter for 1 Oct 09.

1. People's Food Policy Project
2. Call for Food Security Evaluation Resources – Do your Food Programs Make a Difference?
3. The Edible Schoolyard: Film & Discussion on growing food in our schools and communities, 15 Nov
4. Community Gardening Capacity Building: Luncheon Meeting with the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, 30 Nov
5. Media Training 101 Workshops for community organizers, 23-27 Nov
6. David Greenberg & Black River Farm: Entering the Stream Program

1. People's Food Policy Project

Please accept this invitation to participate in the People’s Food Policy Project, a unique opportunity to develop a concrete food sovereignty policy for Canada.  Together, we are building a policy framework that will ensure good food for everyone; that will value food providers; that will build food systems that are controlled locally; and that will honour ecosystems and traditional knowledge.

The People’s Food Policy Project reflects growing concerns about the health and sustainability of our food system, and an ever more visible movement to create the elements of a different system based in a robust local food economy. You can see it in farmers’ markets, community kitchens, community gardens, and community programs to ensure that everyone has food. It’s out there in Eat Local campaigns and food policy councils and food charter initiatives in cities and towns across the country. It can also be seen in struggles to protect heritage seeds, and endangered lands, waterways, and species from salmon to caribou.

Now is the moment to pull all these elements together to create a culture, an environment and a policy context for a just and sustainable food system. Like its predecessor, the People’s Food Commission (1977-1980), members of the PFPP include small-scale farmers and fishers, health advocates, farm and trade union members, Aboriginal peoples, researchers and people dedicated to the eradication of hunger, environmental degradation and the exploitation of lands and peoples.

In the first phase of the project, policy ideas will be collected (June – December 2009) and summarized (December 2009 – March 2010). Twenty-four dedicated volunteer Animators across the country have committed to holding meetings and events to develop federal food policy submissions. These policy submissions will be taken up by nine different Policy Writing Teams (each focused on a different theme) and summarized into the first draft of the People’s Food Policy (December 2009 – March 2010).  In phase two (April – November 2010), the draft policy platform will be the base for discussions with diverse stakeholders in the food system, to ensure that it addresses the needs of the peoples of Canada. These deliberations will feed into the final version of the People’s Food Policy, to be launched in November 2010.

In order for the first draft of the People’s Food Policy to reflect the breadth and depth of the food movement, we need you and your organization to contribute your policy ideas before 1 Dec 09.

Many of you have already developed an analysis, some of you have written papers, and some organizations have developed policy recommendations for local and Federal government. Others will want to hold a meeting within your organization to gather the most recent policy ideas. Please share your wisdom and knowledge with us, and in so doing, contribute to the future of food in Canada.

The process is simple and is elaborated in more detail at our website.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or by phone at (514) 342-5291.

All the best,
Amanda Sheedy                                                                                                
National Coordinator                                                            
People’s Food Policy Project  

2.  Call for Food Security Evaluation Resources – Do your Food Programs Make a Difference?

In order to share what works and inform a new evaluation toolkit that is part of a Public Health Agency of Canada project, Food Secure Canada is seeking:

• Tools and methods for evaluation of food-related initiative
• How you measure changes in food security
• Evaluation reports for food-related initiatives

For more information, visit our website or contact Brenda Doner at (519) 821-7588.

Please send a link to your resources to Brenda by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it by 15 Nov 09, or post them yourselves online here.

3. The Edible Schoolyard: Film & Discussion on growing food in our schools and communities, 15 Nov

Sunday, 15 Nov
2:30-4.30 p.m.
Thomas Raddall Room
Keshen Goodman Library
330 Lacewood Dr., Halifax

Guest speakers: Kathy Aldous, Dr. Arthur Hines Elementary School Garden & Garity Chapman, Urban Garden Coordinator of the Ecology Action Centre.

Free public film and discussion on growing food and gardens in our schools and communities. Come to watch this inspiring film by Slow Food Nova Scotia and learn about the story of the Summerville community working with students, staff and friends of Dr. Arthur Hines Elementary School. The harvest goes beyond good local food to include curiosity, community involvement and unexpected curriculum connections. Kathy Aldous will explain how they started the school garden at Dr. Arthur Hines Elementary School. Garity Chapman will present on community gardens from her recent research trip to New York, Philadelphia, Toronto and Montreal. Some great gardening draw prizes. Find out how you can get planting next spring at your school or in your community! Project of SENSE: Sustainability Education in Nova Scotia for Everyone.

Organized by the Nova Scotia Environmental Network. For more information, please phone (902) 454-6846, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or visit us online.

4. Community Gardening Capacity Building: Luncheon Meeting with the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, 30 Nov

Monday, 30 Nov
12:00-1:30 p.m.
Ecology Action Centre
2705 Fern Lane, Halifax

Join community gardening leaders and Dr. Richard Donald, Vice President, Research, Extension and Outreach Nova Scotia Agricultural College, and Sarah Macdonald, Manager, Continuing Education Nova Scotia Agricultural College to discuss ways we can built capacity for greater community and school gardens in Nova Scotia. Please RSVP as there is limited seating. Light lunch provided. Project of SENSE: Sustainability Education in Nova Scotia for Everyone.

Organized by the Nova Scotia Environmental Network. For more information, please phone (902) 454-6846, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or visit us online.

5. Media Training 101 Workshops for community organizers, 23-27 Nov

Full day workshops on the basics of media relations for community organizers by Optimum Cossette Communications and the Nova Scotia Environmental Network. All workshops run from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM (Check-in & Coffee 8:30 AM).  
 
Workshop Dates and Locations:
Monday, Nov. 23
Annapolis Royal Firehall, 5 Saint Anthony Street, Annapolis Royal

Tuesday, Nov. 24
Continuing Technical Education (Room 121A), 5269 Morris Street, Halifax
 
Wednesday, Nov. 25
Nova Scotia Agricultural College, 40 Horseshoe Cr., Truro, NS (Jenkins Hall: Riverview Room)

Friday, Nov. 27
Southend Community Centre (Woodill Room), 28 Hillview Ave., Sydney

Workshop Description: Working with media involves a variety of activities from creating a media kit, to developing and maintaining a communication plan, to building on-going relationships with mainstream and alternative media, to immediate tasks such as pitching stories to the media and interviewing. This one-day training session is ideal for individuals/organizations intending to do any outreach to media. The goal of this workshop is to acquaint participants with the functions of the news media and equip them with basic skills, which they can immediately apply to advancing education, publicity, and advocacy goals of their organizations.You’ll learn: the inner workings of the media – Who are the media, What do they do and why it matters; Leveraging media opportunities – How to place a story in the paper; How to prepare a media kit; Tools and techniques for communicating with media – The difference between an advisory, a press release, a PSA; and How to get your message across – Developing key messages that count. Workshop fees include nutrition breaks, lunch and a media toolkit binder of reference material and templates. Funding has been generously provided by Mountain Equipment Coop.

Workshop presenters from Optimum Cossette Communications, experts in advertising, media & public relations. For the complete agenda and registration form, please visit out website. Register now for the early bird rate. Space is limited. Registration fee includes participant media toolkit binder, nutrition breaks and lunch. Early Bird: $40 NSEN members, $50 non-members. After 16 Nov fee is $50/$60. Cancellation Policy: Cancellations for registrations received in writing by Nov. 25 will get a refund less a $15 administrative fee.

For more information and to register, please contact:
Nova Scotia Environmental Network, 55 Willowbend Court, Halifax, NS, B3M 3L3
Phone: (902) 454-6846 / FAX: (902) 454-6841 This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

6. David Greenberg & Black River Farm: Entering the Stream Program

Entering The Stream takes place on a 190 acre land trust fifteen minutes from Wolfville, NS.   It is a working organic farm.  We have a cow, horses, chickens and a dog, and grow a lot of our own food.  In the winter, guests sleep in the farmhouse and in the summer there is a big yurt for accommodation as well. In this program we focus on gaining practical skills in cooking, gardening and farming.   Learning how to cook whole foods, and garden is straightforward.   We learn by doing it every day. There are classes and hands-on workshops on home gardening, and in the growing season we help tend the market garden.  Topics include composting, seeds and seedlings, hand dug and sheet mulched gardens, pest control, planting schedules, weeding and more.  In the barn we learn about caring for and milking the cow.

In the kitchen, we make our own cheese and butter, bake bread, and practice cooking simple, delicious food based on the bounty at our doorstep.  Once the food is grown and cooked, the transformation work continues at the dining table.  We learn to eat so that our digestion is functional.  Good digestion is crucial to good health, and this takes a lot of care and focus. Chewing thoroughly, eating on a regular schedule, and taking time to relax at the table are subtle practices that lay the foundation for good eating habits.

Another factor of good health we work with is sleep.  We wake up at 6:00 AM and go to bed by 10:00 PM.  Getting up early, working and studying all day and going to bed with a sense of having done new things that make sense is the heart of the program.  This is an affordable and effective way to find a healthy balanced lifestyle.

Entering The Stream is a twenty one day program beginning on a Saturday at 12:00PM and ending on a Friday at 1:00PM. The 2009 dates for Entering The Stream are:
21 Nov - 11 Dec

The 2010 dates for Entering The Stream are:
2-22 Jan
6-27 Feb
6-27 Mar
3-24 April
1-22 May
5-26 June
3-24 July
7-28 Aug
4-25 Sept
2-23 Oct

For more information or to register, please visit our website or contact David Greenberg at (902)-691-6303 or by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it