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
Galiano Food Bank
Did you know that 1 in 3 food bank users in B.C. is a child, and 1 in 8 is a senior? That food banks help reduce hunger with dignity, and help reduce food waste too?
Last year after 20 years of service to the community, Ralph and Hans retired from their work running Galiano’s Food Bank. We met with St. Margaret of Scotland Church to see if there might be a way that the Galiano Community Food Program could support getting the Food Bank up and running again.
We are excited to announce that, as of February, the Galiano Food Bank is open again as a partnership between these two organizations. We are learning a lot as we go, and are keen to figure out what model will work best for the community, but for now, the Food Bank is open every 1st and 3rd Friday of each month from 11am to 1pm in the meeting room of the Church, on Burrill Road. We aim to reduce hunger in an atmosphere of respect and discretion. If you need help meeting your food needs, please come check it out— anyone in need is welcome. There is no fee to use the Food Bank. There will be coffee, tea and treats, and a welcoming face. If there’s something you would like to see on […]
LOCAL FLAVOUR: How choosing food plays into the climate change war
Photo: Chris Heffley
Linda Geggie is the executive director of the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable. Below is an excerpt from an article she wrote for the Saanich News, published in October.
Young spokespeople like Greta Thunberg and other young leaders across the globe have inspired people to bring more visibility to the growing concerns being raised by climate science. Often overlooked in climate conversations is the role that our food plays. Growing and distributing food globally is estimated to contribute to over one third of human greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The United Nations International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) points to agriculture as being responsible for 40 per cent of the Methane released into the atmosphere. This is important because as far as GHG’s go, Methane is a major bad ass gas, being 21 times more impactful than Co2 in its action to absorb energy in the atmosphere and cause temperature rise. We are learning the impacts of the global food system on our resources are vast.
The UN IPCC’s report published in August of this year digs deep into the science of what is happening and provides some important strategies that could be put in place immediately to work to turn things around. The report also determines that “People currently use one […]
The 10th Annual Community Potluck Picnic
The Galiano Community School & Activity Centre, Sunday Sep 8, 12-4pm, rain or shine
Come join your neighbours, bring a friend, meet someone new. Share a favourite dish, stories, games and live music. Last year was a blast! Celebrate the end of a great summer. Everyone, young and old, is welcome.
Pie-baking contest! Zucchini Races! Soccer game! Tug-o-war!
Zucchini races!
Two categories: kids and adults. Each category is divided into two vehicle types: Integral (i.e. the vehicle would collapse if the zucchini was removed) and modified. There is also an award for the most creative vehicle design. Vehicles can be no more than 13” wide, and to win a prize, all the power must be supplied by the incline ramp. However, in the words of the judges:
“No zucchini, no matter how outrageous, will be refused!”
Upcoming Gleaning Season
Recently at a Food Literacy conference in Victoria, I was asked to share a story of a moment I saw food literacy in action. I had so many to choose from! But what came to mind was the many times I’ve witnessed volunteer fruit pickers participating in the Gleaning Project who share recipes and techniques for handling the produce we are picking. “Can you dry this variety of apple?” “Have you ever made plum sauce for using in Asian recipes?” “I never get around to processing these, my kids just eat them all fresh.” And, every year: “What do you DO with quince?”
The Gleaning Project organizes groups of volunteer pickers to pick excess fruit (and sometimes vegetables). The harvest is divided 3 ways: One third for the landowner, one third for the Food Program, and one third divided amongst the picking volunteers. The Food Program share is used in our events, as well as distributed via the clinic, school and food bank. We gather all of the harvest together first and weigh everything so we can do things as fairly as possible, and so we can keep an accurate record for our notes and our funders. It’s an exercise in working communally, and everyone takes home some fruit picked by each of the volunteers.
We are very grateful to the landowners who generously host us, and work […]
Food Program Summer Roundup
Afternoon Tea with Games
In May we tried a new event: An Afternoon Tea with Games. This idea sprang from requests we’d received from seniors. Some felt that our popular Thursday Games Night can be a little loud. (Admittedly Games Night can be a raucous affair with kids playing Twister and Hungry Hippo, and adults playing Ping Pong and Scrabble – who knew scrabble was so competitive?) So we decided to try a quieter games afternoon.
A dozen seniors showed up for our inaugural event. The majority played cards, though once again scrabble made an appearance, and all enjoyed a classic afternoon tea of scones, sandwiches and cake. Plus while they were playing the volunteers and I made dinner for anyone who wanted to eat at the end of the afternoon, or take something home with them for later.
So if a quieter games afternoon might be something you’d enjoy – then mark your calendar. We’ll try another one on September 26th at 1:30pm till 3:30pm – Come join us. (I promise there won’t be any Twister!)
CRFair Roundtable
On June 3, Emma attended the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable on Food Literacy. There were interesting discussions about Food Justice, mostly around indigenous issues of land use and also barriers for refugees, and programs that are tackling these. There is a new food atlas […]
Sheep on Galiano
This month, we asked some of Galiano’s sheep farmers to share a few words about their experience keeping sheep. Thanks very much to Mary Jean Elliott and Marcia DeVicque for their delightful and thoughtful submissions at the busiest (lambing) time of year!
The owners of the Page Farm raised sheep from 1905 to 1977, and Gerald and Mary Jean continued the tradition on the same acreage (Elliott Farm) from 1977 to now. There have been sheep raised on the property for 108 years. Sustainability is determined by the quality and size of the acreage and the number of sheep using the property.
Sheep can become great pets. One year we decided to castrate a ram because we heard that a two-year-old wether (castrated ram) is the best meat (what the Queen eats). After castrating, he became so tame that our children would not let us butcher him, so he ended up as a pet and died of old age on the farm.
Sheep love apples. Sheep will eat cedar and fir tree branches and leaves. They keep the grass cut and the trees trimmed. They also provide the best source of fertilizer for garlic, and wool and organic, delicious food, especially when their diet is supplemented with apples. We have lived with and enjoyed our sheep for many years. The only sad times occurred when out-of- control […]
Upcoming Food Program Events
