Resetting the Table Program - Saturday, October 15

Plenary - Saturday, October 15, 9:00am–10:30am
 

The Imperative to Innovate: Solutions for Food System Transformation

Saturday, October 15, 9:00am–10:30am at Ryerson University - KHN, Ryerson Theatre

Presenters: Debbie Field, FoodShare; Jean-Martin Fortier, La Ferme des Quatre-Temps; John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus from the University of Missouri; Nancy Neamtan, Le Chantier de l’économie sociale; Bidakanne Sammamma, Deccan Development Society. Chair: Lauren Baker, Global Alliance for the Future of Food

As Canada moves towards developing a national food policy, how do we ensure it enables healthy, sustainable and equitable food systems across the country? This will require new food systems innovations, as well as the scaling up and out of current initiatives. Innovation is a buzzword, but what does it really mean? What are the qualities of innovation, and what are examples from food or other sectors that embody these qualities? How can environment, equity and economics be brought into balance through innovation? This panel will explore these themes and more as we continue to build our movement.

Open spaces - Saturday, October 15
 

Indigenous Open Space Area

Saturday, October 15, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm at Ryerson University - Shadd Room, Oakham House OAK

Open Space: Food Policy and Movement Building

Saturday, October 15, 11:00am – 12:30pm at Ryerson University, Kerr Gym

Resetting the Table features sessions as omnivorous and diverse as the food movement itself. This open space will give delegates the opportunity to dig deep and network around a variety of issues. Whether you want to organize around the national food policy, address an intractable question, or raise the profile of food issues in your community, this space will allow you to connect with others and workshop ideas.  What bold actions are we going to take to create deep and lasting change? How are food actors from across the country addressing a host of food issues? Which opportunities and obstacles exist as they relate to policy change and movement building?

The open space will host facilitated group discussions and allow delegates to organize discussions of their own. This is your chance to make your voice heard and to hear from others from coast to coast to coast.

Sessions - Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm

New Farmers: Developing Policies for Food Sovereignty

Stream - Agriculture: Farming for the Future

Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG13

Presenters: Annette Desmarais, University of Manitoba; Ayla Fenton, Dana Penrice, National Farmers Union

NFU Youth and the National New Farmer Coalition are working to promote policies that consider the social value of land, transfer Canadian farmland to responsible stewards and provide ongoing support to new farmers. Hear about our research and policy recommendations, and join in the discussion. We will also hear about lessons learned from Saskatchewan farmers about the value of farmland ownership.

Young Voices Speaking Up for Food Justice Challenge Old Ideas

Stream - Food Justice Affects Us All

Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm at New College - William Doo Auditorium

Presenters: Melana Roberts, Alia Karim, Toronto Youth Food Policy Council (TYFPC); Juneeja Varhese, Rachel Levesque, Food Secure Canada (FSC) Youth Caucus; Sarah Archibald, FSC Youth Caucus/Meal Exchange; Katie German, Orlando Lopez Gomez, Cali Wilson, FoodShare 

This session will host a panel of youth (high school, post-secondary and young professionals) to discuss the innovative and diverse ways young people can engage in food issues and politics. The presentation will include concrete examples from FoodShare’s School Grown youth farming program, Meal Exchange’s campus driven food work, and the TYFPC’s city-wide youth organizing. The presentations will be followed by an interactive Q&A and networking meet-and-greet for all attendees.

Migrant Dreams: Food Justice and Citizenship in Canada

Stream - Food Justice Affects Us All

Saturday, October 15 2:00 PM-3:30 PM at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG14

Presenters: Min Sook Lee, Director of Migrant Dreams; Bill Fairbairn, Inter Pares; Chris Ramsaroop, Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW)

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has caused the number of foreign workers in Canada to triple over a decade. They work in industries as varied as farming, mining, food processing, construction and restaurant services and do not enjoy the same rights and privileges as Canadian workers, with few pathways to citizenship. The session will feature excerpts from “Migrant Dreams”, a powerful new documentary by award-winning director Min Sook Lee focusing on the undertold story of migrant agricultural workers in Canada. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Min Sook Lee and workers featured in the film.

Food Security and Social Justice Organizing Strategies

Stream - Food Security: Towards Zero Hunger

Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG21

Presenters: Yvonne Kelly, Kristine Carbis, Freedom 90 Union of Food Bank and Emergency Meal Program Volunteers/Put Food in the Budget; Mike Balkwill, Put Food in the Budget

After 30 years of emergency food provision, only social justice organizing strategies will ensure that we move beyond charity. This workshop will describe how charitable models that have become societal institutions serve to distract us from what is really needed to reduce growing levels of food insecurity - good jobs, adequate incomes and affordable housing. Speakers from Freedom 90 and Put Food in the Budget campaigns will present a strategy and facilitate discussion on how people involved in food security organizations can incorporate social justice organizing into their food security work.

Making Zero Hunger Real (Part 1): Food insecurity 101

Stream - Food Security: Towards Zero Hunger

Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG11

Presenters: Naomi Dachner, University of Toronto; Anita Abraham, Meal Exchange; Kathryn Scharf, Community Food Centres Canada; Elaine Power, Queen's University

A grounded understanding of food insecurity in Canada is necessary to effectively move forward on FSC’s commitment to zero hunger. Drawing on over 20 years of research, this session will present evidence-based fundamentals of food insecurity in Canada - how food insecurity is measured, the current prevalence and trends over time. What are the causes and consequences of food insecurity and how can it be addressed? Workshop participants will identify opportunities for advocacy around issues such as basic income in light of existing evidence.

Women at the Heart of Food Sovereignty

Stream - Global Food System: Canadian Connections

Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm at Ryerson University - Tecumseh Auditorium, Oakham House OAK

Presenters: Joan Brady, National Farmers Union/La Via Campesina; Chandra F. Maracle, Kakhwa'on:we/Real People Eat Real Food/Skaronhyaseko:wa Tyohterakentko:wa Tsi Yontaweya'tahkwa/The Everlasting Tree School at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory; Bidakanne Sammamma, farmer/seed saver/Deccan Development Society, India. Moderator: Melissa Matlow, World Animal Protection/Food Security Policy Group

Women have played a crucial role in the emergence of food sovereignty as a framework for change, and building organizations and movements to advance it. The workshop will feature testimonials and inspiring stories of women leaders from diverse backgrounds (Indigenous, Global South, rural, urban) in the global movement for food sovereignty. The workshop will build greater understanding of the role of women in our movement and build solidarity among women from Canada, Turtle Island, and the Global South.

Making Food Choices Meaningful to Shift Narratives

Stream - Local Food Economies: Procurement, Infrastructure, Hubs

Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG12

Presenters: Amy Rosenthal, School Food Focus; Sarah Grant, Localize; Hannah Wittman, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems – UBC; Hayley Lapalme, Nourish/J.W McConnell Family Foundation. Facilitator - Jennifer Reynolds, Food Secure Canada

Communicating the impact of food choices on health, economy and environment can spark change in the behaviour of consumers, students and institutions. What is involved in communicating these messages to encourage a shift towards greater sustainability in food systems? Farm-to-school programs build student food literacy, peer networks support the emergence of champions and collaborations, metrics on institutional purchasing raise awareness of behaviour and impact, and marketing and food chain transparency inform retail consumer choices. The session will explore the differences between these strategies, how they support each other and where they fall short.

Paying for Nutrition, Poverty, and Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Stream - Northern and Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm at Ryerson University - Margaret Laurence Room, Oakham House OAK

Presenters: Gigi Veeraraghavan, Fort Albany First Nation; Kristin Burnett, Lakehead University; Joseph LeBlanc, Anishnaabe; Wilson Mendes, Oka Community Planning and Visual Communication/UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Many people in northern and Indigenous communities live in 3rd world conditions within a 1st world country of Canada. An overview of the FSC report Paying for Nutrition: Food Costing in the North will be followed by a presentation on the lack of access to healthy food in the poverty stricken neighbourhoods where Indigenous peoples are over-represented. The session will also explore strategies to address the underlying disparities in northern and urban Indigenous communities along the James Bay Coast and Vancouver’s downtown eastside.

GM Food Labelling - What Are the Possibilities and Limits?

Stream - Other Key Food Issues

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG 101

Presenters: Thibault Rehn, Vigilance OGM; Lucy Sharratt, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN); Heather Lee, Terran Giacomini, No More GMOs Toronto

In this participatory workshop, we will break down the issue of labelling genetically modified (GM) foods and present the new Quebec campaign for labelling. For twenty years, 80% of Canadians have said they want GM food labelling – so why don’t we have it? Can we get it, and why do we want it? What would labeling achieve and what are its limitations? Join campaigners from across Canada to tackle the question of GM food labelling.

The Power of Community Art Creates Public Awareness of the Food Movement

Stream - Other Key Food Issues

Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm at Ryerson University - Layton Room, Oakham House OAK

Presenters: Heather Rigby, Land Over Landings

This presentation will review the history of a small community who came together using various art forms as resistance to activate a larger public awareness around an important cause. We will highlight the power of Community Art relative to the Pickering Federal Lands, prime farmland threatened by development. The Lands offer a unique opportunity to establish small farms and give a start to young farmers who will feed us in the future. This workshop will explore how we can highlight their cause through art.

Sessions - Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm

How to Start and Run a Fruit Rescue Program

Stream - Climate Change, Food and Waste

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG14

Presenters: Carrie Regenstreif, Fruit Rescue Networking Group (moderator); Sue Arndt, Executive Director of Not Far from the Tree; Laura Reinsborough, formerly with/founder of Not Far from the Tree; Katrina Siks, Hidden Harvest Ottawa; Getty Stewart, FruitShare Manitoba

Fruit rescue programs, in which volunteers collect surplus fruit and share it with people in need, work in communities across the country. Speakers from Not Far from the Tree in Toronto, Hidden Harvest Ottawa and FruitShare Manitoba will provide useful advice and help participants avoid the many potential pitfalls involved. The session will be invaluable for those involved with existing programs. Topics will include how to get started, funding models, and how to survive on a tiny budget.

Food Sovereignty and Food Justice for Whom?

Stream - Food Justice Affects Us All

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at New College - William Doo Auditorium

Presenters: Jacqueline Dwyer, Noel Livingston, Toronto Black Farmers & Growing Collective. Facilitators: Jenelle Regnier-Davies, Building Roots in Toronto/Toronto Food Policy Council; Sabina Ali, Thorncliffe Park Women's Committee

Join a discussion about our lived experience as grassroots food justice and food security advocates. We recognize the presence of racialized systemic barriers to resources and funding for community food programming and the impacts of the lack of adequate representation and cultural diversity within the ‘food movement’. Where do we go from here? Workshop discussions will explore food injustice, opportunities for collaboration and tangible methods for mobilizing change.

Good Jobs and Justice in the Food Chain

Stream - Food Justice Affects Us All

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG 106

Presenters: Adriana Beemans, Metcalf Foundation; Syed Hussan, Migrant Workers Alliance; Derek Johnstone, United Food and Commercial Workers; Donald Lafleur, Canadian Labour Congress; Mandie Abrams, Hospitality Training Centre

This session will examine the issues of workers' rights and workers' realities right across the food chain. From the migrant workers in the fields and meat packing plants, to distribution and service industry workers, speakers will explore how good food can strengthen local economies and provide access to quality jobs. There will also be some discussion of the challenges posed by international trade agreements and immigration rules and the need for policy supports, including incentives in Canada's new national food policy.

Advanced Workshop on the Nitty Gritty of Joined Up Food Policy

Stream - Food Policy: Bringing Civil Society to the Table

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG21

Presenters: Dr. Rod MacRae, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University; Hugo Martorell School of Graduate Studies, Concordia University/FSC

The food policy landscape in Canada is uneven, and shifting. Provinces have vital responsibilities, while federal departments have been tasked with new mandates since a new government stepped in. This advanced workshop will provide an overview of provincial food policies, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current policy arrangements, and discuss upcoming challenges and opportunities for a joined-up, national food policy to advance the goals of health and sustainability. Links to background readings on website program.

Useful documents for this workshop avaiable here.

Sustainable Diets and Canada's Food Guide

Stream - Food Policy: Bringing Civil Society to the Table

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG13

Presenters: Cecilia Rocha, Ryerson University; Barbara Seed, PhD, MPH, RD; Pat Vanderkooy, Dietitians of Canada; Fiona Yeudall, Ryerson University. Facilitator: Jennifer Reynolds, Food Secure Canada

Sweden, Brazil, Qatar and Germany have integrated sustainability principles into their national dietary guidelines. With the Senate calling for an overhaul of Canada’s Food Guide, Canada has a strategic opportunity to do the same. This session will explore some of the “win-win” recommendations for sustainable diets that promote both human and environmental health. How these can be translated into consumer messages, and how can they be incorporated into other levels of food policy? How can nutrition experts, climate and sustainable agriculture advocates dialogue and work together?

Making Zero Hunger Real (Part 2): Defining the Issues, Audiences and Tactics to Advance the Fight Against Food Insecurity

Stream - Food Security: Towards Zero Hunger

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG11

Presenters: Kathryn Scharf, Community Food Centres Canada; Naomi Dachner, PROOF; Elaine Power, Basic Income Network

This participatory workshop explores opportunities for the food movement to organize to fight food insecurity, tactics to advance them, and the audiences we should target with campaigns. We will explore a number of policy proposals gaining traction in Canada, including: a basic income guarantee; initiatives to address northern and Indigenous food security; the move toward a federal tax credit to incentivize a reduction in corporate food waste through donations to food charities; and indexing the child benefit to inflation. What can we do to ensure that the evolving policy initiatives serve the communities we work with?

Let’s Talk School Food: Open Space Dialogue

Stream - Healthy School food: What's for Lunch?

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG LG12

Facilitators: Carolyn Webb, Sustain Ontario; Alejandra Dubois; Ottawa Food Policy Council; Colleen Hill, Heart and Stroke Foundation

Through facilitated group discussions, this open space session will allow participants to come together to continue key conversations that emerged during the school food stream’s four panel presentations, and to begin critical discussions. Focused questions will be used during the session to delve into these themes such as, “Which commonalities and differences exist across provinces?”; “What are some challenges that people are running into?”; and “How can we learn from each other and work together to advance the issue of school food?”

Food Hubs - Adding Value and Cultivating Connections

Stream - Local Food Economies: Procurement, Infrastructure, Hubs

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG 105

Presenters: Peggy Baillie, Local Organic Food Co-ops Network; Bruce Eric Enloe, Two Rivers Food Hub; Franco Naccarato, Greenbelt Fund

Different models of food hubs are emerging across Canada to help ‘rebuild the middle’ of the food system – aggregating and distributing local foods from small and mid-sized producers. This session will explore successes and challenges of food hubs in different contexts to access markets and close the loop in regional food systems. For example, how can value-added processing help address the many challenges, including food waste, farm profit margins and distribution gaps?

Turning on the Power – Starting Urban Farms in Hydro Corridors

Stream - Local Food Economies: Procurement, Infrastructure, Hubs

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Margaret Laurence Room, Oakham House OAK

Presenters: Rhonda Teitel-Payne, Toronto Urban Growers; Juneeja Varghese, Malvern Family Resource Centre; Ryan Noble, North York Harvest Food Bank; Andrea Boucaud, Flemingdon Health Centre

Urban farms can be sites for reclaiming neighbourhood food sovereignty through community engagement and significant food production, but land access and enabling policies are a major challenge. Presenters will share how they established four urban farms in Hydro corridors with a focus on community economic development, including the ground-breaking collaborations formed, the points of resistance encountered and the tools for overcoming them. Participants will be able to discuss their own related experiences and potential projects.

Affirming Indigenous Food, Land and Culture - Holistic Health and Community Development

Stream - Northern and Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Saturday, October 15, 4:00pm–5:30pm at Ryerson University - Layton Room, Oakham House OAK

Presenters: Kelly Gordon, Adrienne Licker, Six Nations Health Services; Daniel Kanu, Food Matters Manitoba; Kaylia Marquis, Ieiénthos Akotióhkwa Planting Group – Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project; Nour Attalah, University of Ottawa

This session will highlight projects and programs that are engaging communities in Indigenous food-related activities that build on and promote traditional knowledge, wisdom, values, strategies and relationships to the land, plants, and animals. The presenters will discuss how Indigenous food, land and cultural heritage can address epidemic proportions of diabetes and other food- and lifestyle-related illnesses.

GMOs: Impacts and Risks in Canada

Stream - Other Key Food Issues

Saturday, October 15, 2:00pm–3:30pm at Ryerson University - Room ENG 101

Presenters: Lucy Sharratt, Taarini Chopra, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, Thibault Rehn, Vigilance OGM

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) will break down what we know about the impacts and risks of GMOs in Canada after 20 years. Join us for this chance to digest the most important results from CBAN’s year-long investigation, the GMO Inquiry. Get real and relevant information on the impacts of GMOs for farmers, the environment, and our democracy. It's time for an evaluation of GMOs - we’ve started it!

Feast - Saturday Evening, October 15