static1.squarespace.com.png

The Victoria Community Food Hub Society (VCFHS)

The Victoria Community Food Hub Society (VCFHS) was incorporated as a Charity in 2013. It works hand in hand with its key partners the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable (CRFAIR) and the Foodshare Network to promote a healthy and sustainable food system in the Capital Region. The VCFHS efforts are focused on ensuring that this food system provides healthy food to the most vulnerable people in our community and works to increase their resources, food skills and social connections for a healthier future.

What does the vcfhs do?

  • Food Hubs and Networks Program: This program brings together over 40 organizations to increase food literacy and food access in the community. This involves research, building shared metrics and undertaking roundtables and education sessions to increase our collective capacity to reach and support the most vulnerable people in our community.

  • FoodShare Network Partnership: We support a coalition effort to develop a food rescue and redistribution center. This center recovers food that would normally go to waste from local grocery stores (Thrifty Foods) and then redistributes this food to FoodShare Network members. Mustard Seed is the operational partner for the distribution center.

  • Youth Food Security Initiative-we work to support the Youth Food Action team that supports youth between the ages of 14 and 24 to get involved in food security initaitives this includes learning about where food comes from on local farms, to supporting community food initiatives like working at the Viewfield Food Rescue Center and Fernwood NRG community dinners.

  • Community Food Access and Education: We work to support neighbourhood and community based distribution of healthy food that is tied to building food skills. This program is working with specific populations in key areas including First Nations, children in schools, community organizations, seniors and Capital Region Housing.

  • Demographics of people served: community organizations who serve First nations, youth, low income, seniors, LGBTQ2S+

vcfhs Mission & values

Mission

The purpose of the organization is to alleviate poverty and hunger by providing access to healthy food, while fostering a local food based economy. We believe that through providing access to healthy food, education and care we can support individuals, families, and communities to achieve greater health and well being. The way we work is to bring community resources together through food hubs, centres and networks to reach and engage people where they live, work and play in food access and literacy programs.

Our Core Values: 

  1. The right to food: The right to food is a value that all people deserve adequate access to food that is healthy, nourishing and culturally appropriate. Though the work of Food Hubs Centres or Networks they ensure that their community has this Right to Food.

  2. Building community through food: Food can be used as community building tool; the simple act of bringing people together and break bread. Food strengthens community connection and helps reduce social isolation. The majority of people enjoy food and the act of eating, growing, cooking and preserving food has the ability to build connections amount community members

  3. Strengthen the local food system within our work: Though not all food can be sourced locally at all times Food Hubs, Centres or Networks try to embed programs that promote the sourcing of local food. This can be done through several ways such as a gardens, farmer’s market coupons or bulk buying programs.

VCFHS Initiatives

VCFHS currently operates two initiatives; South Island Farmhub, and Kitchen Connect.

Learn more below⤵️

South Island Farmhub

Online marketplace for local farm-grown and organic produce and groceries

In March 2020, the pandemic forced restaurants to close and people into their homes, with some farmers losing up to 40% of their anticipated sales that season. With crucial help from the Rapid Relief Fund, the South Island FarmHub was able to launch and ensure that local farmers had sales avenues for the food coming out of their fields, and community members could get it delivered right to their doorsteps. In addition, the 2019 purchase of the Mustard Seed’s Food Security Distribution Centre warehouse as a community asset enabled the FarmHub to work as a full-fledged produce aggregation & distribution centre. As we move forward, the benefits of supporting a local food economy have remained more relevant than ever and we are committed to being a leader in this change.

Kitchen Connect

A food business incubator and shared processing facility & commercial kitchen for short or long-term rental

As a social venture of the Victoria Community Food Hub Society Kitchen with a mandate of "Good Food For All", we marry the ability to develop processing infrastructure at Kitchen Connect, our community food hub, with a peer mentorship and training program that helps to provide work experience and employability skills to newcomers, refugees, and other vulnerable populations. More experienced food sector workers is a good thing for business. We could potentially provide an in-house processing team that could be a labour pool for all members. Produce and processed goods are also streamed into our charity sector work to feed our community and build strong food businesses.

CRFAIR promotes healthy and sustainable food systems.  This considers our relationships with each other, and the land and waters of this region.  We endeavour to honour the land and its treaties by strengthening our relationship and responsibilities to them. We live and work on unceded Coast Salish Territories*, specifically of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees) and Xwsepsum (Esquimalt) Nations here in the core area, the W̱SÁNEĆ Nations {W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip), BOḰEĆEN (Pauquachin), SȾÁUTW̱,(Tsawout) W̱SIKEM (Tseycum)} out on the Saanich Peninsula and Gulf Islands, to the west Sc'ianew (Beecher Bay), T’Sou-ke, and Pacheedaht, and MÁLEXEȽ (Malahat) and Pune’laxutth’ (Penelekut) Nations.

The presence of settlers (non-Indigenous peoples who live on these lands) is not neutral; it has had and continues to have devastating impacts on many aspects of life for Indigenous peoples. Many of our practices, including the seeds we plant, the ways we educate, and our methods of growing food came to these lands through the ongoing process of colonialism. Settler colonialism has suppressed local well-being by harming Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ food systems, whether they be land-based or of the sky and sea. We hold this understanding in our interactions and engagements with this land and its people. 

There is important work being done by many nations and allies to ensure the continued thriving of these food systems, communities, and knowledge systems. Those of us who are settlers need to recognize that our knowledge and way of doing things may not be the priority as we work towards food security for everyone in this region.

* The term Coast Salish is used to encompass a number of Indigenous peoples, including Esquimalt, Hul’qumi’num, Klahoose, Lekwungen, MALAXEt, Musqueam, OStlq’emeylem, Pentlatch, Scia’new (Beecher Bay), Sliammon, Shishalh, Skxwú7mesh-ulh Úxwumixw, Stó:lo, Straits, Tsleil-Waututh, T’Sou-ke, W̱SÁNEĆ, and Xwemalhkwu.