About us
The BC Food Systems Network was formed in September 1999 to link people all over the province involved in community-level action related to food. The Network highlights the way food issues cross cultures, sectors, and age groups. Through social media, email networks and annual meetings, we share insights, initiatives, strategies and critical analysis of events in the food system. We have held an Annual Gathering almost every year since 1999 where we share our own work and stimulate each other through exchange of ideas.
Membership in the Network is open to any person or group who supports our mission and democratic, inclusive process. Interested in joining us? We’d love to have you as a member. Here’s how you can join. We are interested in hearing from you. If you have a question, a concern, or an idea, let us know.
Steering Committee
- Colin Dring, Co-Chair
- Amanda Barney, Treasurer
- Heather Deegan
- Ione Smith
Our vision
The BC Food Systems Network envisions a healthy, just and sustainable food system that is equally accessible by all those who live in British Columbia.
Our mission
The BC Food Systems Network is working to create a healthy, just and sustainable food system in BC by supporting the development of individual and organizational capacity, supporting the growth and strengthening of connections and advancing policy change.
Our mandate
Is to serve our members, represent marginalized groups, share knowledge and resist social homogenization. We do this by connecting these groups with decision makers, providing spaces and opportunities for convening, supporting research and policy change, and investing in people through training and education.
Our strategic directions
1) Capacity Development
- Provide trainings
- Empower people to act
- Build a movement
- Recruit active members
- Illicit member feedback
- Support skill development on how to organize
- Support a Peer-to-peer network (or Community of Practice)
2) Convening and creating space for connecting
- Holding annual gatherings
- Acting as the backbone organization for Sustain BC
3) Raising awareness about food inequalities
Starting dialogue related to systemic food injustice/insecurity facing
- marginalized groups
- groups that support food production (migrant labourers)
- indigenous food sovereignty viewpoints on food bio-systems.
We encourage initiatives to reclaim local ownership of community food systems and develop food self-reliance by sharing food, information, skills, and resources.
We develop and advocate policies to redesign food and related systems that contribute to hunger or are unsustainable. This includes food production, processing, transport or retail; it also includes health, welfare, education, institutions, economics, and trade.
We work to ensure that the voices of grassroots organizations and marginalized groups are heard in the process of policy formation at all levels.
We link provincially, nationally and internationally with organizations and networks committed to the same goals.
Our network therefore includes people who experience hunger and food insecurity, who produce food, who work to protect the environment, and who develop policy frameworks that foster food security for the whole population. We link provincially, nationally and internationally with organizations and networks committed to the same goals.