EYA

At the November VFPC meeting, Liz Perkins and Dalia Levy from the Environmental Youth Alliance (www.eya.ca) presented to the Food Policy Council. They gave us an introduction to what EYA is, “a local youth driven non-profit organization that provides young people with meaningful employment projects that benefit our communities while supporting our environment- socially, economically, as well as ecologically.” And described the internship program they are participating in.

Funded by Gov of Canada, the 8 month internships involve hands-on experience in the community and growing food, and involve an independent project component. Dalia combined theatre and environmentalism to found an eco-art club to educate on students relevant issues, and Liz was hired on as coordinator of the Fruit Tree project, connecting with canning workshops to provide fruit.

It was a packed room tonight at the monthly VFPC meeting! Thanks to all our guests from UBC, Environmental Youth Alliance, SPEC, and the social planning department.

Make sure to check back soon for notes from this month's VFPC meeting, including the skinny on the Environmental Youth Alliance's presentation to us, Alex Chisholm's study of community desires around community gardens, and a poll of your thoughts on Backyard Chickens!

trish kelly

My name is Trish Kelly, I'm the co-chair and a member of the Vancouver Food Policy Council.

We hope that this blog will help you understand what the VFPC is up to.

After each Food Policy Council meeting, I will post an entry about the most exciting parts of the meeting.

The next VFPC meeting is Wednesday November 12th at 6pm. As our usual meeting room at City Hall is booked, we're meeting at the Social Planning office.

This month's meeting, we're seeing a presentation by members of Environmental Youth Alliance www.eya.ca, and a presentation from Alex Chisholm on Urban Agriculture. VFOC members will report back on various projects including our research into Backyard Chickens, Biofuels and their impact on food security, and our upcoming food security forum.