Food is about a lot more than what we buy or eat. Food sustains us,and our communities, in so many ways. That’s why food is the place where our most pressing issues converge — poverty, health and wellbeing, our environment and economy – they all hit home at our kitchen table.
This year’s Vital Signs report, Fertile Ground: Sowing the seeds of change in Canada’s food system, explores our relationship with food and asks how communities can mobilize locally to build a better food system for the future.
Canadians are already driving change in many different ways – from community food centres to farmers’ markets to school nutrition programs – and we need to keep that action and momentum going.
Next steps: #3Things4Food
Vital Signs gives community foundations a national platform for discussion and action. We hope our focus on food will allow us to do three things:
- Share with community foundations, and the communities we serve, a snapshot of a complex issue that promotes understanding and action.
- Start a discussion about the role that community foundations can play locally, and nationally, in the area of food.
- Connect with national organizations in the food space to identify opportunities for shared action.
We’re also asking Canada to act – to do “three things for food” that address issues and challenges related to food in your community. What are you doing in your community? Tell us your #3Things4Food today.