On November 20th, 60 community members from across the Columbia–Shuswap and North Okanagan regions came together for Land to Table’s “Around the Table” Forum, a gathering rooted in relationship-building, shared learning, and collective visioning for a resilient regional food system. 

This year’s forum marked a meaningful milestone: a moment to pause and reflect on five years of collaboration under the United Way of British Columbia’s Regional Community Hub initiative. This event was an opportunity to review what goals and priorities we set back at the 2020 forum and what ideas we should be focusing on moving forward.

Attendees represented a rich cross-section of the food system: farmers, Indigenous-serving and -led organizations, food banks, school food programs, health sector staff, funders, local government, nonprofit leaders, processors, retailers, and community volunteers. The diversity in the room reflected the many people, experiences, and types of expertise needed to address the complexity of a robust and connected food system. 

The morning opened with warm welcomes, a land acknowledgement, and an invitation to reconnect with the values that ground this work: reciprocity, community well-being, and collaboration. Participants arrived with clear intentions. Intake survey responses revealed that most people hoped to build new relationships and reconnect with familiar partners; learn from other sectors and communities; deepen understanding of Indigenous-led food initiatives; explore collaborative approaches to procurement, distribution, and shared infrastructure; better measure collective impact; and contribute to conversations shaping regional food security and sovereignty.

Five Years of Collective Impact

The Land to Table team shared highlights from five years of network-building and cross-sector collaboration. From shared staffing models and cross-regional procurement trials, to research and fundraising partnerships and new physical infrastructure proposals, the presentation painted a picture of a community that has been steadily—and creatively—building the foundations of an alternative food system. 

Table Conversation: Stories of Collaboration

The morning’s featured table conversation brought together women whose work reflects years of collaboration across the regional food system — from food banks and school meal programs to farming, Indigenous food sovereignty, and seniors’ food access. Grounded in the symbolism of the kitchen table where Land to Table first began, the discussion explored how relationships, trust, and shared learning have shaped a more connected and resilient food system. Speakers reflected on how collaboration has evolved through networking, shared staffing, joint research, and coordinated funding, helping organizations respond to rising food insecurity, increasing costs, and growing demand in ways no single group could manage alone.

Speakers emphasized that collaboration is as much about process as outcomes. Melissa Hemphill from the Golden Food Bank described how shared studies and her jointly funded procurement role helps food banks move from crisis response toward long-term planning, revealing the importance of relationships, data, and shared infrastructure. Mary Rodriguez from Shuswap Food Action Society’s school food program, and Emily Jubenville, owner and farmer at Shuswap Organics, highlighted how relationship-based approaches make it possible to connect local food to schools and community programs — supporting farmers, newcomers, and families while adapting to real-world constraints like seasonality and crop variability. Across these examples, trust and flexibility allowed partners to share resources, learn together, and build systems that work for both producers and program providers.

Nikki Lorentz, who oversees the Okanagan Indian Band’s Food Security Initiative, and Peggy Friesen, the Nexus Food Security Coordinator, grounded the conversation in relational values and shared responsibility. Nikki spoke to Indigenous teachings that center reciprocity, seasonality, and care — reminding us that collaboration is not transactional, but rooted in long-term relationships that endure through scarcity and abundance alike. Peggy shared how new funding, combined with strong partnerships, enabled seniors’ meal programs to grow through shared leadership and accountability to local vulnerable populations. Together, the stories illustrated how collaboration — when built on respect, relationships, and shared purpose — creates the conditions for resilient, community-led food systems that continue to evolve and strengthen with time. 

Open Space: Community-Based Dialogue 

The second half of the morning shifted into a dynamic Open Space dialogue. Participants were invited to write down one question about the food system that, if explored, could meaningfully support food security, economic development, resiliency, or sovereignty in their community. From these, eight questions were selected as breakout discussion topics and participants self-selected into each group to offer their perspective, expertise, or to explore the questions with the table host. Below are the questions and a brief summary of the takeaways:

1. How can a local retail store support farmers and local producers and stay affordable for local residents?

A community-owned or cooperative storefront could reduce costs and risk through shared infrastructure, grants, and friendly financing, while offering space for farmers to sell directly, connect with customers, and access shared kitchens, cold storage, and distribution. Partnering with municipalities, economic development programs, and existing retailers can help create an values-based alternative retail model rooted in accessibility and affordability.

2. How can grocery stores better support local suppliers?

Grocery stores can advocate for alternatives to restrictive certifications like CandaGAP by helping develop scaled, appropriate standards for small producers, drawing on models such as the Community Accreditation For Produce Safety in Vermont. Grocery store boards can also share expertise, policy influence, and operational knowledge to help remove structural barriers that prevent local suppliers from being able to sell to retailers. 

3. How can we better connect young people to local food providers or networking opportunities, and give them experience in the agriculture sector?

Youth can be connected through hands-on experiences such as farm placements, mentorships, succession planning, and land-based learning that build confidence, skills, and exposure to real career pathways. Meaningful experiences with farmers can spark long-term interest and help guide young people as they consider education and employment options.

4. How do we build relationships with Indigenous communities through integration, networking, and bridge-building, in order to better understand each other’s challenges and privileges?

Relationship-building requires time, listening, and humility, with space for storytelling, shared learning, and acknowledgment of history, land, and traditional food systems. Creating opportunities for collaboration—such as land-based learning, shared projects, and open dialogue—can help dismantle power imbalances and support mutual understanding. Don’t be afraid to ask your Indigenous partners (with whom you’ve built trusting relationships) “hard” questions. 

5. How can we completely overhaul how funding and investments work in food systems to increase positive impact?

Funding can shift toward trust-based, relationship-driven models that remove rigid requirements, reduce administrative burden, and recognize diverse ways of working. Collaborative funding structures, shared infrastructure investments, and community-led decision-making can help align capital with long-term social, environmental, and cultural impact.

6. How does language influence the agricultural sector?

Language shapes values, power, and inclusion. Narrow or colonial terms can limit understanding and exclude Indigenous knowledge, while more expansive language can honor stewardship, storytelling, and diverse food systems. Creating space for different languages, words with multiple meanings, and communities’ lived experiences allows for deeper dialogue and more equitable policy and practice.

7. How can farmers be better supported so they can focus on farming and food production?

Farmers need wraparound supports such as shared services for bookkeeping, marketing, distribution, and equipment, along with access to land, capital, and rent-to-own or land trust models. Strong networks, education pathways, and cooperative systems can reduce burnout, waste, and isolation while making farming more viable.

8. How do we get tired and distracted parents excited about eating local food?

Programs and schools can engage parents by removing guilt and pressure, offering affordable and practical entry points, and engaging children as enthusiastic ambassadors through cooking, growing, and sharing food. Building trust through sampling, simple recipes, community meals, and joyful food experiences helps families reconnect with local food in ways that feel doable, fun, and meaningful.

What We Learned Across the Day

Across presentations, stories, and open conversations, there were several consistent themes:
1. Cross-sector collaboration is our greatest strength. With 60 participants spanning agriculture, health, education, government, Indigenous organizations, retail, local food businesses, and nonprofits, the diversity of voices strengthened the dialogue and inclusive solutions to complex issues.
2. There is a strong desire to better understand one another. Survey data showed widespread interest in learning from Indigenous partners, producers, school food programs, the social service sector, and funders.
3. Collective impact is top of mind. Participants want to understand how regional food systems can scale, integrate, and sustain themselves, and how we can measure collective impact across our local food system.
4. The Food Shed is emerging as a shared vision. Across the intake survey, table conversation, and Open Space discussions, The Food Shed (or key aspects of the food shed like shared infrastructure, shared marketing and sales, and affordability) appeared repeatedly as promising collaborative solutions.
5. Relationships remain at the core of this work. Trust, connection, and shared commitment—not just physical infrastructure—continue to fuel meaningful systems change.

Before transitioning into the afternoon feast and presentations, participants were invited to reflect on one idea or insight they were taking away. Many expressed renewed appreciation for collaborative approaches, deeper understanding of other sectors’ perspectives, excitement about shared procurement and The Food Shed’s possibilities, and gratitude for the relationships that make this work possible. The day closed with a sense of openness, creativity, and collective possibility—a feeling that the next chapter of our regional food system is underway. 

Feasting Together

After our 2020 forum, one of the priorities was to incorporate “feasting” more into our food systems work. While L2T always tries to make delicious local food a part of our work, this event was our opportunity to gather our community partners around a table for a feast, both as a thank you for our network’s hard work and as a celebration. We shared an incredible Storytelling Feast by Smoke on the Plateau. kelsie kilawna (Marchand) led the group through a beautiful story, explaining sqilx’w food governance, where every dish carried the teachings of the Four Food Chiefs, skimxist (Black Bear), spitlem (Bitterroot), siya (Saskatoon), and ntytyix (Salmon). The incredible meal was a moment for reflection, gratitude, learning, and of course sharing in the joy of the delicious food that ties each of us to each other and to the land.