Canada is a beautiful big country with a lot of winter. Much of Canada’s agriculture is seasonal, and our food supply systems do rely on importing much of what we eat. Some of my buddies tell me we have lots of food security as long as you have a .30-06 and good drainage in the floor of your garage; the white tail deer population disagrees.

Long before the disruption of supply lines this year, food security utilizing localized resources and fresh healthy ingredients has been a Canadian priority. Some solutions are based on technology and food growing while others can be community involvement and education. Here are a couple of feel good examples.

Rooftop gardening is a means of getting high-quality produce into the hearts of the world’s great cities, a method that reduces both tailpipe emissions and food spoilage. Lufa Farms of Montreal now has four such rooftop gardens. The latest addition, built atop their own distribution center of 160,000 square feet, is about the size of three football fields, and cultivates 100 different varieties of fruits and vegetables using hydroponics. Production estimates it can supply 2% of the 1.7 million Montreal population with fruits and vegetables. The greenhouse keeps the operating building below warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Community Food Centres of Canada currently has 13 centres and works with 178 communities. A Community Food Centre is a welcoming space in a neighbourhood where people come together to grow, cook, share, and advocate for good food. Community Food Centres provide people with access to high-quality food in a dignified space. People learn cooking and gardening skills there, and kids get their hands dirty in the garden and kitchen in ways that expand their taste buds and help them make healthier food choices.

-- Patrick Watt FCSI