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Food Security: The Series

© Bob Ewing

Summer lingers, even though Fall is near, the warm Summer days go on. My tomatoes and eggplants are thankful. So am I. The plants got off to a slow start and without this wonderful weather the harvest would have been less bountiful.

This week I begin a series on food security, now some people may say that is what you ahve been talking about all along and it is. This series is designed to take a closer look, beginning with a definition:

People have food security when they can get enough food to eat that is safe, that they like to eat, and that helps them to be healthy. They must be able to get this food in ways that make them feel good about themselves and their families. This is the definition we use here in Thunder Bay with the Food Action Network(FAN). I have been a member of FAN since 1997, the year I wrote my first article for the Suite.

I attend a number of potluck dinners and quite enjoy the diversity of food that often appears, although, I have been to several where everyone brought bread, cheese or fruit. Still, the basics are always enjoyable and the laughs, when we realized what had happened, were worth every minute. I also enjoy the sharing of the responsbility that a potluck involves. On a small scale, the potluck provides a model for the community by sharing the responsbility to ensure that everyone who lives within the community has enough to eat. This is the first step towards sustainability and a caring, healthy community. There are a number of ways for individual people and small groups to begin this process.

We could, for example, start a food buying club or food cooperatives. This enables the members to purchase items in bulk at significantly reduced prices. Items, such as rice or beans, which come in 20-kg bags, can be repackaged and divided bewteen two or more members. This reduces the cost and enables people who otherwise may not be able to take part to do so. I think the major drawback to our local food buying club is that the bulk of the food comes from outside the community and thus fails to enhance food security locally, as it fosters dependence upon the transportation system to see that the food arrives. This could be a problem in times of natural or other disaster.