Member Profile: The Foodshed Project
Posted: November 22, 2012
Categories: Featured Edible Education Network Members / Food in the News / GoodFoodBites / Member Profiles / News from Sustain Members
By Laurie Michael
The idea to start The Foodshed Project began in 2003 with Doreen Ojala, the current Program Manager in Sudbury, Ontario. With her deeply rooted passion for food security and a history of involvement in other not-for-profit organizations, she researched the foodshed concept as a new community initiative. Originally born through The Grassroots Economic Opportunity Development Evaluation (GEODE), The Foodshed Project was then established as an official not-for-profit organization. From there, The Foodshed Project was instrumental in developing the local food charter in Sudbury, where in 2004, was adopted by the City of Greater Sudbury, the Sudbury & District Board of Health, the Social Planning Council of Sudbury, and the municipalities of Killarney, St. Charles and Township of Tehkummah.
Along with a fantastic board of directors, some of whom have been working on this project alongside Doreen since inception, The Foodshed Project has a vision to develop a sustainable self-reliant food system that supports community economic development and access to healthy, locally grown food within the City of Greater Sudbury. The Foodshed Project focuses on supporting youth-led sustainability projects; supporting community garden initiatives; educating on food security planning; promoting awareness of bioregionalism and climate change; educating on environmental stewardship and biodiversity; supporting social equity, social inclusion, and multiculturalism; and facilitatin
g community based community economic development.
Doreen’s perspective on not-for-profit organizations as a catalyst for change drives all initiatives within The Foodshed Project. She states “I believe the not-for-profit sector is essential for change – it won’t happen from businesses or governments directly, it happens in our communities by people who are dedicated to the cause and have no vested interest in making money from the cause”. Doreen’s best childhood memories included walking through fields of corn on a warm, windy day and it was this period of her life and these experiences that greatly influenced her respect for the serenity of food growing.
Since it’s beginnings, The Foodshed Project has a held true to its organizational values with providing education to youth and adults in Sudbury, Ontario on creating a sustainable food system and the impact of advocacy at a community level. Along with the other initiatives, The Foodshed Project continues to coordinate the Grow a Row program in 2013, which has been running for 2 years. Check out The Foodshed Project’s news, resources, upcoming events and other information at http://www.foodshedproject.ca/.
Some final words from Doreen: “Think about how your food gets to you… now and in the future. If you are not satisfied that it is part of a sustainable system, think about the changes that need to be made to ensure its sustainability. That includes soil and water protection, seed diversity, as well as educating a new generation of farmers to take care of the land and feed the people near by. That is what is necessary to save our planet and the human race from extinction”.
