NEWS RELEASE: Calgary Food Policy Council to celebrate one-year anniversary
For Immediate Release October 25, 2009
On Tuesday, 27Oct09, the Calgary Food Policy Council (CFPC) will celebrate its one year anniversary.
The CFPC has achieved many milestones in only its first year, not least of which is getting food back on the Calgary political menu.
Over the past year, the CFPC has launched a number of firsts for Calgary:
Calgary Food Charter
The Calgary Food Charter was launched on World Food Day 2009
Within 1 week, over 300 Calgarians have already signed onto the Calgary Food Charter. The goal for the CFPC is 100,000 signatures by World Food Day 2010
2. 2011 New Growing Spaces x 2011 Campaign
The CFPC is asking Calgarians to nominate and create 2011 New Growing Spaces by 2011. http://www.2011calgary.ca
3. Calgary Food Summit
The CFPC recently hosted a packed house for the Calgary Food Summit on World Food Day. Over 600 suggestions for improving Calgary’s Food System came out of the summit.
The items suggested most often were a commitment to building a resilient local food system, increased capacity of urban agriculture, access to city land, increased access to growing spaces for citizens via community gardens, more farmers markets with local foods and the development of an agricultural curriculum for students.
4. Downtown Calgary Community Garden
With Partners Downtown Calgary, Calgary FoodBank, City of Calgary & Sunnyside Home & Garden, the CFPC planted, maintained and harvested the most centrally located community garden in North America. Harvested greens were donated to the Calgary FoodBank and the Calgary Drop In Centre.
5. Calgary Community Garden/Urban Ag Sub Committee
The CFPC created the Calgary Community Garden/Urban Ag Sub Committee to allow Calgarians an opportunity to transparently express their views on Urban Agriculture and Community Gardens
6. FOOD INC & FRESH: The Movie
The CFPC cosponsored both of these movie premieres in Calgary.
7. Media campaign for Local Food Systems & Food Security
The CFPC launched a very successful awareness campaign with local media, focusing on the opportunity of creating a Local Food System and improving Food Security for all Calgarians.
8. Asserting the Universal Human Right to Food
Through support for a court challenge to a City of Calgary bylaw prohibiting urban hens, the CFPC is advocating for recognition of the UN International Declaration of a Human Right to Food.
9. Plan It Calgary, Calgary Foundation Vital Signs, CivicCamp, et al
The CFPC has been represented and prominent in numerous “Made in Calgary” initiatives which seek to create a better Calgary for our children. In Vital Signs, a third of Albertans said they would buy more local foods in 2010. Plan It Calgary began to define Green Infrastructure. A CivicCamp 2.0 group suggested that Calgary City Council should recognize the CFPC and begin to put in place the supports required to allow the CFPC to do work similar to that of the Toronto and Vancouver Food Policy Councils.
Contact:
Paul Hughes, Chair, Calgary Food Policy Council
Tel: 403.383.3420
Email: paul@calgaryfoodpolicycouncil.ca
http://www.calgaryfoodpolicycouncil.ca
http://twitter.com/gardencommunity
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