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 Alternative
Food Systems
Food production and purchasing are major parts
of our monetary economy. Because food is one of the basic
necessities of life it was one of the first items to be traded
and bartered in early economies. Today, the trade of food
is increasingly removed from both those who produce the food
and those who consume it. Most farmers don't have a chance
to meet the people who eat their food. And most of us don't
know the farmers who grow our food. In fact, most of us have
little idea what path the food we consume travels before it
reaches our mouths. Instead we find ourselves in grocery stores
where the food that looks the most like the form in which
it was produced (like fruits and vegetables) seems to cost
a lot more than the highly-processed foods that have been
through various factories, shipping yards, and been traded
on who knows how many markets.
Many of us have developed our own systems that provide us
with quality food at affordable prices. We bake our own bread,
we buy seasonal produce and freeze it to last through the
winter months, we buy in bulk, we can and preserve, and we
garden. There are many ways that we can participate in re-introducing
economies that provide us with nutritious, quality food that
is good for the earth, at costs we can afford. Here's a few
other alternative food systems.
The Good Food Box is a wholesale buying program which supplies
members with a box of food about once a month. Members usually
pay $10 at the beginning of the month when money is more available,
and receive their box closer to the end of the month when funds
tend to be tighter. Most Good Food Boxes contain fresh fruit
and vegetables although there are other variations. While members
never know exactly what fruit and vegetables they will receive
each month, they do know that they will receive more food than
the same money would buy at the grocery store because they are
buying wholesale. They also know that the food will be top quality,
nutritious, and that as much of it as possible will be in-season
and local. That means it will taste better too! To read about
one Good Food Box program visit Toronto
Good Food Box.
Food buying clubs or food cooperatives are formed by groups
of people who purchase bulk food directly from wholesalers.
Because they have pooled their resources people are able to
buy food at lower prices and they may also be able to access
items that they can't find at their local stores, such as
organic products. Food buying clubs exist all over the world
and anyone can start one. All you need to do is find some
friends and neighbours who are interested in participating
in the club, decide what foods you want, look for suppliers,
and you're ready to make your first order.
Community gardens offer not only food but an opportunity for
urban dwellers to participate in food production even if they
don't have their own yards in which to do so. Community gardens
are found all over the world. Many are located in abandoned
lots or unused public spaces with gardening boxes built from
recycled wood. Community gardens make neighbourhoods look
good and provide food and pleasure. Some urban gardeners go
further by participating in 'guerrilla gardening' - taking
over public places for production of food and beauty. If you
want to be a guerrilla gardener all you need is a package
of seeds. Sunflower seeds are a great guerrilla gardening
'weapon.' Wander around your neighbourhood and look for spots
where plants might grow. Put the seeds in the ground and come
back in a few months in search of flowers.
Community Shared Agriculture programs provide city dwellers
with a box full of fresh, quality, seasonal produce direct
from a local farm every week during the growing season. CSA
members buy shares early in the season and thereby assume
part of the farmer's risk. If the weather is good, the harvest
is plentiful but if there is drought, flooding, hail or an
early freeze, amounts are lesser. But the risk is worth it
for many people in exchange for the thrill of being able to
talk to the people growing their food. This direct contact
breaks down the distance between producer and consumer building
better relationships between urban and rural people. And because
produce is picked the day it is delivered, it tastes much
better than food that has travelled weeks to get to the store.
Again, costs are lower because the food has passed through
fewer hands. CSAs benefit farmers, too, by allowing them to
have smaller farms that are much better for the environment
yet still profitable. And for many farmers, providing food
for eager neighbours is far more satisfying than shipping
it off to the nearest food depot.
Also called Cooking Clubs or Shared Kitchens, Community Kitchens
are opportunities for people to cook and eat together. Community
Kitchens in Canada were inspired by women cooking together
in Central and South America. Today there are about 10,000
comedores populares serving up healthy meals to about
three million people in cities all over Peru. In Canada, most
Community Kitchens meet regularly with the same group of people
and many have a specific focus whether single people cooking
for one, vegetarian, new immigrants, cooking for people with
diabetes, or families cooking for young children. Many Community
Kitchens cook a large enough amount of food that members can
bring one or more meals home with them to freeze and eat later.
Community Kitchens provide inspiration and ideas for those
who are tired of cooking at home and opportunities for participants
to learn food preparation skills from each other. They help
busy people find time to cook nutritious food and again, because
Community Kitchens purchase large quantities of food they
help people to get more for less. To read about one Community
Kitchen project visit Vancouver
Community Kitchen.
While community stores were a part of our communities several
decades ago, today most of us shop for food at large and extra-large
chain grocery stores. While we may get to know a few cashiers
or the meat counter staff we have little idea who is receiving
the profits of our purchases. Most of the profit generated
by our purchases probably ends up in large corporations with
headquarters far from where we live. Community stores and
independently-owned larger grocery stores do still exist and
need our support. Locally-owned stores are more inclined to
consider the health of their neighbours rather than simply
their own profit. For example, Neechi Foods Community Store
in Winnipeg's North End is the only food store in Manitoba
that chooses not to sell cigarettes. The store also sells
fruit to children at cost encouraging kids to spend their
dimes and nickels on apples and bananas rather than pop and
chips. Take a walk through your neighbourhood and visit your
community stores. Talk to the people who work there and learn
how they are contributing to the health of your community.
In many places in Northern Canada, people can pay between 30 and 300% more to buy healthy foods. Many traditional food systems have been lost due to colonization and companies using the land to extract oil and hydro electricity. Recently, freezer purchasing programs, vegetable garden groups, and regional food security committees have been initiated by residents who want to reclaim food traditions and access local and healthier food. For information on Northern Manitoba food security, see Food Matters Manitoba.
The programs mentioned above are happening in small corners
all over the world, though sometimes we have to dig a little
to hear about them. Enquire in your community about alternative
food programs happening near you. If you can't find what you're
after, start your own program. You will be contributing to
your own, your family's and your community's health as well
as the health and sustainability of the earth and you will
feel better because of it.
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