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From December through January I played phone tag with Chris Bauman, president of the Monashee Community Co-op (in Lumby) Board of Directors. I gathered, through voice messages at first, that she had exciting news to share! What I can share with you now is not only a good-news story, inside a global pandemic full of not-so-good-news-stories, but an opportunity for us to support a local business that holds potential to strengthen our regional food system as a whole (win, win, win). As it turns out, Chris and a team of dedicated folks surrounding the community organic food Co-op have been working night and day to take the Co-op to the next level. Unlike most businesses, the Monashee Community Co-op has been blessed by COVID. They have seen membership jump from…

Photo: RDNO Want to visit the BX Ranchands? Trailhead (east location) and newly expanded parking lot are located on East Vernon Rd. A small parking lot and trailhead signpost are on the west side of the road, near the big wooden barn.For more details, see the BX Tour Map and visit the Ribbons of Green Society's website (see Trail #5). https://youtu.be/7lwPOKcZ9Ck FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDATE:                           January 27, 2021MEDIA CONTACT:      Ashley Gregerson, Communications OfficerPHONE/EMAIL:           250-550-3707 / Ashley.gregerson@rdno.caRDNO Electoral Areas B and C Retain BX RanchlandsThe BX Ranchlands, located off of East Vernon Road, is a large parcel of undeveloped green space, a rare commodity for the area. The RDNO purchased the land in 2016 to create a perimeter trail through a portion of the land and discussed subdividing and selling the remaining…

This is not news... we know that sufficient, safe and nutritious food is critical to the health and well-being of us all. At this time of year, we tend to think a little bit more about the food we can and cannot afford. Tis the season to give generously... to food banks and other emergency food and support programs. The push for donations ensures that food banks can not only feed more people over the holiday season but also stock up for the year to come. And this next year is shaping up to be another hard-hitter when looking at food security (and household food insecurity). 4.4 million Canadians (including half a million British Columbians) experienced food insecurity before the pandemic. This number is expected to double over the coming…

On October 28th, 17 local government representatives (politicians and staff) from across the RDNO met on Zoom to discuss and learn what is on the radar for local government as it relates to local food security and food systems (planning, development, policy).  This meeting was co-hosted by Land to Table (L2T) and the Interior Health (IH) Healthy Communities Program, with the intent to build relationships with local government, provide a (virtual) networking space, and share about each of our organizations/programs and the support that we can offer to local government in food systems and food security engagement, planning and project development. In the work of L2T, to catalyze connections and collaboration and make sense of how we can best support strengthening our regional food system, this meeting was designed to…

Credit: BX/Swan Lake Community Association In the first week of my position as the Land to Table (then NOFSI) Coordinator, I found myself around a table, at Rancho Vignola, with a group of food system folks. Meeting participants included farmers exploring a co-op, an economic development consultant working with the O’Keefe Ranch, the BX/Swan Lake Community Association exploring opportunities to support retaining the municipal owned BX Ranchlands, amongst others. We were gathered to hear and learn about each other's work and to think about opportunities for collaboration--or at least how to minimize duplication. More so, we had gathered to share with and learn from Heather Pritchard, former Executive Director of FarmFolk CityFolk and now Executive Director of the Foodlands Cooperative of BC. Heather had been invited to visit the region…