St. Vital Community Food Assessment

It’s easy to overlook the unique features of the food system in different neighbourhoods.  Does every neighbourhood have access to community gardens and farmers market? How much food is being produced in a community? Are there some neighbourhoods with more fast food stores or more food related programs than others? Food Matters Manitoba has been working hard on a Community Food Assessment to answer some of these questions in St. Vital. They’ve been talking to people and organizations in St. Vital about the attractions, the challenges and the vision around the St. Vital food system.

A Community Food Assessment Consultation with Newcomers

Stefan Epp, the coordinator for the project has been looking into the demographics and history of the neighbourhood . He has been examining issues like obesity, food waste, agriculture, food access and community resources. In gathering all this information he explained that student involvement has been important because there is only so much staff time that can be allocated for the project.

The St. Vital Community Food Assessment has been the first major project that MAFRA has been able to connect to a large number of students in order to provide research support. Two classes at the University of Manitoba are doing course assignments that will feed directly into the community food assessment.  A course called the Social Geography of the Environment will be doing class projects focusing on food costing in St. Vital compared to other areas of Winnipeg and one project having to do with farming and gardening in St. Vital.

Next semester there will be a Food Geographies course doing a food consultation with a St. Vital community organization to determine what kind of food programming is needed and what direction it should take.  This kind of research will help to further the work that Food Matters has started in the neighbourhood and will help provide more information to accompany the Community Food Assessment Report.

An Apple Tree in St. Vital's Public Orchard

When asked about the important findings at this point in the project Stefan Epp commented “We’ve learned that there are significant food issues even in a suburban neighbourhood. There are a lot of people doing food related worked who may be as plugged into the food network as people who are working on food in the inner city. It’s my hope that the assessment report can be used as a tool by organizations who are interested in doing food work.”

The Food Matters St. Vital Food Assessment Report will be available on the Food Matters Manitoba website early in 2012.

Title Photo used from the Lance Newspaper.

Author Anna Weier lives in Winnipeg’s Spence Neighbourhood where this summer her apple tree produced 3 apples.  Anna works at the University of Manitoba for the  Manitoba Alternative Food Research Alliance.