“The sessions gave a voice to grassroots people from diverse backgrounds and
an opportunity to share their views. People became actively involved in making
connections with others who had concerns about the environment,
food security and sustainability in Lac La Biche”
Colleen Pierce, Executive Director, Community Learning/Stone Soup Food Kitchen
Local Food System Hub Community Dialogue on Food Security
Lac La Biche, Alberta
Goal: to engage people from from the community involved in the local food system in ways that have not happened before to identify challenges and fund projects that could catalyze change in the food system in Lac La Biche
Session 1
A conversation around all aspects of food from growing, supplying, accessing, using, and waste created and how we can try new methods, projects, ideas to have a more just and equitable food system in the region. This session, for the first time, connected community members that want to share about the barriers and opportunities to address the food needs of individuals and families in Lac La Biche.
There are significant challenges in the food systems in Lac La Biche: the cost of food and access; many nutrient-rich foods being out of reach for community members; those that are able to access and pay for food are likely accessing food that has damaged ecological systems, broken cultural connections, and has lowered the producer's/growers influence on the food supply chain. Many of these impacts have had a greater proportionate negative affect on Indigenous communities.
Session 2
In this session community members reconvened to develop projects prototypes that will help address challenges in the food system identified in session 1. Five projects were developed and being considered for funding.