Submitted by Michelle Watson,
Food Security Facilitator,
The Meeting Place Tobermory
Tobermory, ON February 3, 2021 – The Meeting Place is thrilled to announce it has joined Community Food Centres Canada’s Good Food Organizations (GFO) network. It is one of 147 organizations joining the network in 2021, bringing the total to more than 300 across Canada and beyond.
Good Food Organizations are diverse — they include health centres, food banks, community gardening organizations, and children’s food skills and nutrition programs. Organizations join the network based on a set of shared “good food principles,” which speak to their commitment to develop grassroots food programs that support dignity and health for people living on low incomes. CFCC provides resources to support this development, such as training, manuals, grants, and knowledge sharing opportunities.
When an organization joins the GFO network, they add their voice to a broad national movement fighting for action on poverty — the underlying root cause of food insecurity. This means more organizations calling for progressive income policies and social programs that ensure people can live with dignity, health, and choice.
The Meeting Place offers community programs that bring people together around food; to share knowledge, skills, recipes, and to deepen the understanding of how income inequality affects us all, not just those who are experiencing poverty or low income living conditions. We believe in food as a tool for social change and as a measure of community well-being.
During the pandemic, the network has focused on supporting communities to access healthy food and connect with each other safely. Kathryn Scharf, Chief Programs Officer at Community Food Centres Canada, explains:
“For the better part of a year, our partners have worked flat-out trying to meet the basic need for food in their communities. We hope to soon get back to the heart of our work — bringing people together to grow, cook, share, and advocate for good food.
At the same time, the pandemic has brought a new sense of urgency for us to work together to truly address poverty. This requires policies that ensure all Canadians have enough income to meet their basic needs.”
About Community Food Centres Canada
The Good Food Organizations program is offered by Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC). Since 2012, Community Food Centres Canada has been working with partners to build and support vibrant places in low-income communities that build health, belonging, and social justice through the power of food.
Find out more at www.cfccanada.ca.
For more information on The Meeting Place Tobermory and the Good to Go program visit tobermorymeetingplace.com
