Sunday, February 08, 2004
Volunteering / Family Power
Family Power in Nanaimo - An Update
NANAIMO, BC, Feb. 04, 2004 (Volunteer Nanaimo) - Family Power was initially introduced last summer in Nanaimo and local organizations are currently offering opportunities for families to become involved within their programs and services.
We have approached all the schools in our area to introduce them to this new program. Agencies who have not as yet explored Family Power opportunities are invited to call us and get more information on this program and how it can work for your agency.Volunteer Nanaimo staff will be available for consultation and support, to integrate family volunteering into existing volunteer programs.
Funded by United Way of Nanaimo & District, the focus of Family Power” is to increase the number of families volunteering together and to explore how families, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, faith based organizations, and corporations can work together to serve the community. Volunteering as a family provides quality time, strengthens communication, and offers opportunities for family members to be positive role models, while making significant contributions within their communities.
Volunteer Nanaimo will work with families, corporations, and not-for-profits to make family volunteering a tradition, Family volunteering helps to create life-long volunteers and a legacy of volunteering for the next generation to carry into the future.”
Visit the new Family Power page at www.volunteernanaimo.ca/familygroup.html to explore Family Power as an option for your family. Posters and workbook available upon request.
“Family volunteering is a unique “win-win-win” situation where the volunteer, organization and community can benefit equally. It is truly a trend whose time has come” *from “Family Volunteering, A Discussion Paper”.
Food Security / Food Policy FAQs…
What is food policy?
VICTORIA, BC, Feb. 04, 2004 (Growing Green Project) - Neil Hamilton (Iowa State Food Policy Council) broadly describes food policy as any decision made by agencies, institutions, organizations and businesses that influences:
the type of foods used or available, including the cost of food,
the opportunities for farmers and employees
the food choices available to consumers.
Laura Kalina (Kamloops Food Policy Council) explains that the mechanisms through which food policy is implemented include regulation for private initiatives or businesses, purchasing policies, legislation, advocacy and financial instruments. Examples of policies that work towards sustainable food systems include: decisions by municipal governments to establish food policy councils; regulatory requirements for farmers’ markets; food purchasing decisions of local universities; and decisions by companies to voluntarily restrict sales of soft drinks in schools.
Why is food policy important to the voluntary sector and community-based projects?
According to Laura Kalina, the founder of the Kamloops Food Policy Council, food policy can be what transforms a collection of food action projects into the base for a sustainable local food system that supports food security for all. While individual projects are extremely important, they will not, on their own, build a sustainable food system. Small-scale efforts will be more successful at achieving a system-wide transformation over the long-term if they are linked to changes in policy and decision-making at the institutional level.
In British Columbia, the voluntary sector has been involved in helping to bring about many of the changes to food policy that support the creation of a more sustainable food system. For example, the Lower Mainland Food Coalition helped to initiate the Vancouver Food Policy Council, and LifeCycles helped to change a Victoria bylaw prohibiting community gardens on parkland. Just as businesses respond to their customers’ demands, so too do governments and institutions respond to citizen pressure (albeit at a slower pace!). The voluntary sector has a tremendous opportunity to shape policy decisions. Yet many individuals and organizations lack the skills, knowledge and confidence to influence this change.
“It is important to remember that isolated, scattered, small-scale efforts will not on their own achieve the desired transformation- that end will be more attainable if we think in terms of institutions and structural changes that will promote small scale changes and a large scale, allowing space for more community-based economies to flourish and spread.” Helena Norberg-Hodge
Who and What is Growing Green?
Growing Green is a two year (2002-2004) law, policy and regulatory reform project focused on sustainable food systems for southwestern British Columbia. Its goals are to 1) develop practical recommendations for law, policy and regulatory reform in strategic areas and 2) to strengthen the capacity of voluntary sector organizations to contribute to agri-food policy development. In addition to policy recommendations and policy tools for the voluntary sector, the project is producing “think pieces” regarding BC food systems, and a number of case studies.
The premise of the project is that although BC farms provide important ecological services (to soil, water, air and habitat), they need to provide more such services for BC food systems to be truly sustainable.
Growing Green is funded by the Voluntary Sector Initiative of the federal government (through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), and by Tides Canada.
Growing Green benefits from the advice of an expert Reference Group. The Project Team is drawn from three partner organizations: West Coast Environmental Law, Farm Folk/ City Folk Society, and the Liu Institute for Global Issues.
The Growing Green project team is delighted to invite you to a forum and wrap-up event:
PUTTING POLICY ON THE TABLE: BUILDING SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS FOR SOUTHWESTERN BC
Friday, March 12th, 2004
9.15 am - 5.30 pm (with reception to follow)
949 West 49th Avenue, Vancouver
Please contact us for an invitation and registration form. Space is limited! For more information, and to register (by February 10th), please contact Cheney Cawkwell, Event Coordinator, at cheney@insightsvancouver.com .
