[BCFSN] BC Food Systems Network: update; invitation to 2018 Annual General Meeting December 20

[Colin Dring]

Dear BCFSN friends, colleagues, and members,



We hope that the end of the year is treating you well and that you are
still advancing efforts towards just and sustainable food for all. First,
we wanted to acknowledge both the absence of communication over the past
year and the lack of an Annual Gathering for us to get together and discuss
pressing food issues in the places we are connected to.



A summary of our efforts in the past two years includes the creation of a
provincial Community of Practice to build capacity amongst community-based
groups working on food systems policy. As part of this work, we developed a
T
<https://bcfoodsecuritygateway.ca/resources/working-with-local-government-on-food-policy-a-toolkit-for-civil-society/>
oolkit
<https://bcfoodsecuritygateway.ca/resources/working-with-local-government-on-food-policy-a-toolkit-for-civil-society/>
for working with local government on food policy. This project is now
hosted by the Provincial Health Services Authority and will continue to
convene folks across the province to collaborate, share knowledge, and
develop stronger food systems.



We also continued to work on Sustain BC <http://bcfsn.org/sustain-bc/>, a
collective impact project. This project occupied most of the BCFSN's staff
and volunteer time and resources over the past year. We acknowledge the
hard work put in by everyone involved and the important convening work of
people across the province, the development of a Leadership Council and two
working groups: Farmland Protection and Production and New Entrants to
Farming. The Sustain BC project will be convened by Kwantlen Polytechnic
University going forward.


While these successes and projects are important, it also meant that
network time and energy moved away from vital convening functions. This has
been an ongoing tension for the BCFSN: as we develop projects, the
convening aspects suffer. Being unable to host a Gathering in 2018 can be
attributed to a lack of funding and people to coordinate, multiple staff
turnovers, and no new funding available to advance past projects. While
this situation is unfortunate, it also presents an opportunity to shift the
Network in a new direction and to bring on fresh ideas and voices.



Twenty years on from our founding in 1999, the BCFSN is in a time of
reflection about where we came from, where we are, and where we might be in
the future. We will be holding our 2018 Annual General Meeting December 20,
7-8pm (see below). The meeting will have two key goals: 1) to pause and
reflect on 20 years of the network with an eye to the future; and 2) to
elect a Board of Directors that will see the BCFSN through to the 2019
Gathering.



We look back on the work that the BCFSN has done and its commitment to
shifting food, land and water from being treated  as commodities to
centring food
as a path towards a more just, anti-oppressive, decolonized,
post-capitalist, and ecological world. We are deeply committed to bringing
real democracy to the Network by reaching out to past and current
participants and allies to help shape its future.


Keeping in mind that the Network has always shared a common purpose to
build sustainable and just food systems in BC together, we ask you to give
voice to your needs and let us know whether and how the Network can and
should fill a role. Also, please consider whether you, or someone you know
who is working on sustainable food, would like to stand as a nominee for
the 2019 BCFSN Board of Directors.


If you have any questions please get in touch,


Warm regards,


Colin Dring

Chair, BC Food Systems Network

(e) ccdring at gmail.com

(t) 778-859-1148


*ZOOM MEETING DETAILS*


Topic: BCFSN Annual General Meeting

Time: Dec 20, 2018 7:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)


Join Zoom Meeting (*NOTE**, if first time using Zoom, you need to download
and run the application, you can do so, by clicking on the link*)

https://zoom.us/j/780582667



Dial by your location

        +1 647 558 0588 Canada

Meeting ID: 780 582 667

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/asHui86Rq
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