The funky offspring of the Galiano Club, the Food Program began in 2008.
The Galiano Community Food Program strives to ensure that Galiano Island is a thriving, livable, food-secure community, where every resident feels included, welcome and empowered to build a deeper connection with their food system. In so doing, the Program improves Galiano’s ecological sustainability and community resilience in the face of climate change and uncertainty. The program seeks to set an example that reaches beyond our local community and spreads across the country.
Food Program Blog
Feeding a Community by Alison Colwell
The Food Program’s “Soup for Seniors” project began a number of years ago when we were looking for a way to provide easy, locally made meals for our seniors. In the first year volunteers came together once a month and made big batches of soup, which we’d freeze and distribute to any senior that wanted them. Whenever possible we use local ingredients from our island farms.
Over time, we’ve become more “professional”! We still make the soup, but we’ve expanded our menu, and now we also make simple meals such as: shepherd’s pie, mac and cheese, Indian butter chicken, beef bourguignon, turkey pot pies and lasagna to name a few. We’re always perfecting our recipes and trying out new dishes. Everything is frozen in one- (or two– depending on your appetite) serving size, oven-ready foil containers.
The soup and meals are available at the Lions Walking Group on Tuesday mornings, and anytime, by meeting me at the South Hall. (Feel free to call me—2363—I’m often there, and you can pick up meals anytime.) The cost of the project is covered by the suggested price of $5 a meal or bowl of soup. We appreciate all those that can pay, as that covers the costs for those that cannot. So feel free to stock your freezer with tasty, locally made-ready-made meals and soups.
A couple of years ago, when we […]
Soil and Compost Workshop
The Food Program will hold a Soil and Compost Workshop on Sunday, May 11th from 10:30am-12:30. Barry New and Roger Pettit will lead a discussion and demonstrations about the soils we encounter on Galiano.
The topics covered will include soil of Galiano and sampling suggestions for you to try at home. There will be many ideas to improve any soil with organic methods without a big outlay.
Topics covered:
Soils of the Allotment
Soils of Galiano
Soil Health & Soil testing
Organic Techniques and Soil Amendments
Adding Fertility with Composts and other materials
Water Conservation techniques
We will have the results of our soil testing for the allotment site and soil sampling suggestions for you to try at home.
The workshop will take place at the new allotment site on the Lions Field. This is the area behind the ball field and Health Care Centre. The newly formed Galiano Allotment Society is developing this garden site on land that has been recently cleared and fenced, and the workshop will include an introduction to the allotment site.
Come with a sample of your own soil to be viewed by the “experts”.
Sliding scale $10-$15
CORE Hunter Education Class – Saturday, April 26
The Food Program is hosting Ken Cameron, instructor, on Saturday, April 26 to teach the Conservation Outdoor Recreation Education (CORE) course, a program for BC residents who are 14 years of age or older. It covers conservation, ethics, law and regulations, first aid and survival in the wilderness, firearm safety, and animal and bird identification. This course is required in order to get a hunting license.
There is still space available—Contact us if you’re interested in registering!
Introduction to Cheese Making – Friday May 23rd
Join cheesemaker David Asher Rotsztain as we explore the fascinating realm of cheese. David will demonstrate and explain the techniques for making three basic styles of cheese: paneer, yogourt cheese and camembert, an aged rennet cheese. These lessons will provide a solid foundation for those interested in making cheese at home, or anyone who wants to know how their cheese is made.
The workshop will emphasize a ‘natural cheesemaking’, with a focus on simple, DIY methods that are well suited to the home kitchen. David will also discuss the topics of raw milk, rennet-free cheeses and dairy ferments. At the end of the workshop, we will feast on our freshly made cheeses.
Friday, May 23rd from 1pm-4:30pm. Cost of the course is $30 – $40 sliding scale. Please bring cheese-friendly snacks.You must RSVP to Alison if you want to attend. Email: galianofoodprograms@gmail.com
What to bring: a container or two to take home fresh made cheese and some dairy cultures.
David Asher Rotsztain is an organic farmer and farmstead cheesemaker on Mayne Island on the west coast of BC. He picked up his cheesemaking skills from various teachers, including a Brown Swiss cow named Sundae on Cortes Island. David offers cheesemaking workshops with many food security-minded organizations around the Salish Sea including Lifecycles Society in Victoria, the UBC Farm in Vancouver, and the Foxglove Centre on Saltspring Island.
Check out guerrillacheese.wordpress.com for […]
CBC Article: Nettle Foraging on Galiano Island
http://www.cbc.ca/nxnw/featured-story/2014/04/06/nettle-foraging-on-galiano-island/
Nettlefest 2014
This years Nettlefest will be happening on Sat April 5th at 5:30pm at the South Community Hall.
Nettle Picking starts at 11am. Meet at the Community Hall with baskets, clippers and GLOVES to Carpool to the picking spot.
Kitchen starts at 11:30am at the hall. Volunteers will be making Nettle Bread and soup together.
Nettle Vendors are welcome to set up a table in the hall during the day. Contact us if you’re interested.
Potluck Dinner starts at 5:30pm.
Come get involved in this annual Galiano celebration of Spring!!!
Upcoming Food Program Events
