The Food Security Summit last week organized by the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen was an eye opening experience! There were people from all sorts of organizations, nonprofits, and communities that I had not thought about in regard to food security. And yet every single person there made an amazing contribution. I very much enjoyed the collaborative process that Kailee led us through. At the table that I was fortunate enough to be at we all connected on a couple different topics right away that we thought of in response to the question “Of the many challenges impacting our ability to build a more food secure South Okanagan Similkameen, which is most important to answer right now?” that was asked of us.
It was great to see all the different response questions that everybody thought of and how there were so many connections between the questions. In fact I saw people creating connections and ideas for future events/projects right in front of me! I appreciate how the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen is asking what is needed and how to move forward from their community.
As well, it was so interesting listening to Sammy Blair‘s presentation on the Land To Table Network Society. I really appreciated hearing how it started with women around the kitchen table who kept seeing things fall through the cracks and wanted to band together to make a change. It goes to show how important networks are and how the pillars of our society are networkers. But not networkers in the sense of how can I get the most out of this interaction, more like how can I get and give, how can I contribute, how can I pull all of us forward into the future?
While I was only there as a substitute for someone with Naramata Slow, I really appreciated the invitation and the chance to see all that’s being done within the food systems of the Okanagan Similkameen. It’s amazing to see how even the smallest seed can become a garden for someone and the ripple effects that occur with people working together.
2025 Vital Signs Community Report Spotlight on Food Security https://www.cfso.net/vital-signs-headquarters/