WFSC Meeting Minutes Jan 2011

WFSC Meeting Minutes January 18, 2011

Attending:

Alicia Baddorf, Nicole Mireau, Lisa Ross (Chair), Darlene Seto, Spring
Gillard, Sally Speers, Ross Moster, Zsuzi Fodor, Gord McGee (Minutes),
Ellen Wickburg

Major Action items:

• Criteria Working Group to meet again and review

direction/suggestions from Table

• Gord -Add 2011 WFSC Goals/Vision as major agenda item for

February Meeting

• Membership-Submit any speaker suggestions to Gord for this 2011

season

• Zsuzsi- To review suggestions on her work and conduct research

suggested

• Gord- determine number the number of listserve members, is the

listserve growing?

• Spring/Gord/Catherine to meet to discuss representation for NoFN

Major Decisions:

• No membership fee to be set

• Zsuzsi given permission to use WFSC assessment

• Criteria working group and Zsuzsi’s research given direction and

support to move to next stage of research

Minutes

1. Introduction:

Introduction of Alicia Baddor, who is the new JFSA ‘Y-eco intern’. Alicia
is working with Trisha on the World in a Garden until March, planning
and coordinating WUAG activities with the JFSA Foodbank and the
youth teams.

2. Winter Response Initiative 2010/2011 Meeting Update:

• Homeless count for Westside has not been released yet for political
reasons

• Summary of meeting results to be posted on KNH website and will

WFSC Meeting Minutes Jan 2011

include (1) Winter food security problems and solutions (2) List of
Westside winter food security assets (food/meal programs, shelter,
etc) for vulnerable populations

3. WFSC Criteria Working Group Update:

• Suggestion to define: partnership; sponsorship; support; etc in order

to determine what each might require from the group;

• Suggested addition to criteria list, “Does not duplicate other efforts

on Westside”

• Lisa Ross mentioned that when using the WFSC as a partnership in

a grant, the Van Foundation wanted the WFSC to be broken down to
list the particular organizations in the WFSC that will support the
grant and how they will contribute. Uncertain as to present value of
WFSC support for grants?

• Use of Criteria: Sometimes we need a quick answer to respond to a

group needing endorsement and support, therefore, Action: working
group to review how many checks on a criteria list are required and
which criteria are more important then others.

4. 2011 Goals/Vision/Focus for 2011 and TOR Review

Action-This topic will be main focus of February Meeting Agenda

5. Speakers List

• Action: Members to submit speaker suggestions for 2011 to Gord by

email

6. Membership fee:

• Creating Fee is rejected: too many layers of admin, barrier to

people participating; no other food network charges membership

7. Geographic location and attendance of WFSC membership

(Zsuzsi)

• Put other organizations conducting food security work on the

Westside that aren’t a part of the WFSC (ie opportunities for
inclusion…Nicole would like the flags for this category to be the
colour Mauve :) eg. Dunbar Residence association and St. Mary’s

• VV not on the map, some of the flags don’t show geographic

representation in terms of community geographic impact, like JFSA-
it works throughout Westside

• Show representation of those on list-serve and then those who

WFSC Meeting Minutes Jan 2011

attend meetings.

• ACTION: Research for Zsuzsi: check on why some members don’t

come and why others do, what would organizations be interested in
that would draw them to the group (list serve members or non-
members) . Use a survey monkey of listserve

• Action (Gord) What number of members do we have, is the list-

serve growing?

8. Network of Neighbourhood Food Networks Report (Spring)

• History of group is that the idea of 5 community food networks

coming together to network in order to share resources and
program models, problem solve, and potentially apply for joint
funding. Discussion around what is a neighbourhood food network,
who belongs? There are the 5 groups that make up the NoFN.
Majority of the groups received CFAI funding from VCH. The
mandate of the member groups is to address food access among
vulnerable groups. That group will link with a wider network of food
networks, including Village Vancouver. Van Food Policy Council-
recognizes there is a variety of different organizations working as
food networks. NoNFN is changing it’s name to better reflect its
mandate, and is in the early stages of defining itself and its
governance model.

• Action: Spring would like to look at another member/admin person

taking on responsibility of representation (Meet with
Gord/Catherine)

• Zsuzsi given permission to use WFSC network assessment doc for

her research.

9. Ross update on Van Food Policy Council:

• Meetings have large public attendance, new council members

appointed, urban farmer network starting

10. Greenest City Grant Update (Gord McGee)

• Has interviewed and toured 8 local businesses (grocery stores,

bakeries, coffee shops), 4 local organizations involved in food
recovery (quest, shared harvest, fruit tree project, grow a row),
organizations who provide food and meals for vulnerable
populations (JFSA, MPA, St.Marks, Kits Commty Centre, Kerrisdale
Commty Centre, WSFP, SGSC, KNH).

• Compiling results to see where opportunities exist for direction of

food surplus to organizations that need to reduce their food costs
WFSC Meeting Minutes Jan 2011

and use nutritious local food. Plan to promote Grow a Row program
in community, encourage use of Quest, Shared Harvest, and other
initiatives resulting from research

• Almost all businesses already disperse their food surplus to local

organizations

• Barriers of food storage facilities, transportation to pick-up/deliver

food still limit ability of some orgs to use surplus food

11. Round Table Updates:

Trish and Lisa: CFSC (Community Food Security Coalition) in new

Orleans, great programs there-experiential learning school in lower
ninth ward. “Our school at Blair Grocery Store”-teaching youth
marketing and economics on urban farm. Selling $2000 a day of
produce to restaurants. Part of high school education. A lot of food
deserts in US.

Ross- VV has 60 new members this month. Farm Folk City Folk got
grant to do seed saving collectives in Vancouver neighbourhoods.

Darlene- will be looking to offer her research expertise as an intern

with a food security related organization this spring

Spring - connected Vancouver School Board Sustainability Coordinator

with Doug Taylor at Kits Community Centre. Potential for installation of
a mid-scale Earth Tub composting system there or at Kits High. The
system would be able to take food waste from some of the surrounding
businesses.