Nova Scotia has announced the creation of three new collaborative food networks.
These networks will bring together local organizations, partners and suppliers to address food insecurity in ways that are unique to that community.
“Everyone deserves to have access to healthy, affordable food – no matter where they live,” Scott Armstrong, Minister of Opportunities and Social Development, announced at a community event in Truro Sept. 10. “With these new collaborative food networks, more Nova Scotians will benefit from community-led programs like gardens, meal baskets and food-sharing opportunities.”
The three new networks are the Cobequid Food Security Network in Lower Sackville, the Musquodoboit Area Collaborative Food Network, and the Island Food Network in Victoria County, Cape Breton.
Each network is receiving $200,000 from the province to support start-up costs and community support programming.
The funding is part of $2 million in funding earmarked to support 10 collaborative food networks across the province.
The other networks are in Eskasoni, Preston, Cumberland County, Colchester County, Glace Bay, Spryfield and Yarmouth.
“The Colchester Food Network is proud to be part of this initiative, which builds and strengthens local partnerships, supports community engagement and builds a more resilient and sustainable food system for everyone in our area,” Farrah Allen-McKay, Collaborative Food Network Coordinator and interim executive director of the Colchester Food Network, said in a statement about the initiative. “Bringing people together across sectors is essential to addressing food insecurity and creating long-term, meaningful change.”