FoodShare grew out of the food bank response that occurred when the recession hit in the early 1980’s. Their original mandate was to co-ordinate emergency food services, and to collect and distribute food. But it wasn’t long before they saw that the hunger problem was only getting worse. And there was a real stigma to lining up for food. So they moved away from the charity model and began to develop more sustainable food, self-help programs, like buying co-ops, community gardens and kitchens.

Today they have a veritable crop of sustainable programs. Their Good Food Box distributes 4000 boxes a month of healthy fruit and veggies through 200 neighbourhood depots. They have extended that concept into Good Food Markets, their version of a pocket market, with local community organizations actually running the mini, local food markets.

In their Field to Table kitchen, the professional staff provide hands on training for youth groups, community gardeners and women with breast cancer, and participants in the market garden project in partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. They also offer a course called “Cooking out of the Box” that teaches folks how to cook using the food provided in the good food box, community kitchen style. They cater events with menus of healthy, seasonal, local food – more training opportunities for the interns.

Something else that comes out of that kitchen are power soups and meals for the homeless. The nutrient dense meals are sold to local shelters at subsidized prices improving vastly on the donut and packaged food fare. They have nutrition programs in schools and in turn schools can buy wholesale for their meal programs through FoodShare. They are currently piloting a Salad Bar project to get kids pumped about veggies. They run baby food making workshops too. The kitchen also serves as an incubator for small food business ventures.

There’s more, but you can read more here. I’m off to do my food hub tour of Granville Island tonight. I think I can safely call FoodShare the original food hub in Canada.

The industrious food gang in the City of Richmond has come up with a beautiful vision for their Garden City Lands: a Sustainable Food Systems Park. They have incorporated farmer training into their plan. So has Colony Farms, a Metro Vancouver Regional Park with a mandate for agriculture. Imagine that! The town of Hardwick, Vermont turned the entire town into a food hub and revitalized their whole economy (see Creative Clusters post, Sept. 26/09).

The Stop Community Food Centre in Toronto is the most impressive working example I’ve seen lately because it transformed itself from an old charity model food bank into a vibrant, progressive and sustainable hub of food activity. Located in the city’s west end, they have a wide range of programs alongside the usual food bank and drop in meals. In addition to a commercial kitchen for their community kitchens, they have outdoor bake ovens! In the Green Barn, they have a 3,000 foot greenhouse, a sheltered garden, compost facility and education centre. Their after-school program gives kids a chance to grow and cook their own food. The Food for Change dinner series provides important training for volunteers in a professional kitchen environment under the watchful eye of Chef Chris Brown.

Local Food First in Vancouver has envisioned the New City Market. All they need now is money and a location to fall from the sky. Come to think of it, some space may have just come available. The Vancouver Park Board recently cut two beloved local attractions from their budget. Perhaps we could grow some tomatoes, peppers and cukes amid the exotic tropicals at the Bloedel Conservatory. I’m sure Charlie, the charismatic cockatoo wouldn’t mind. And with the farm animals already in place at the Stanley Park Children’s Farmyard, why not give them a real working farm to live on? And a farmers’ market to boot.