Local And Just

March 28, 2011 – The Manitoba Alternative Food Research Alliance (MAFRA), based at the University of Manitoba, has announced funding for thirteen community food projects across urban, rural and northern Manitoba. MAFRA received over 40 proposals from across Manitoba. The projects ranged from proposals for urban agriculture projects, to community food assessments. “It was overwhelming [...]

Rural depopulation is a frequently noted phenomenon, and one that is prevalent in much of rural Manitoba.  Quantitative data cannot possibly tell the whole story of struggling rural communities.  Census data from Manitoba, however, reveals significant divides between communities engaged significantly in food production and peri-urban or urban centres; differences in income, demographic composition, population [...]

Too often we exist in ideological silos.  These silos make things a lot easier for us.  They help us avoid a whole lot of potentially contentious conversations.  We tend to talk with, and gravitate to, those with whom we share opinions.  In the world of food, this tends to break down as alternative vs conventional, [...]

Check out the newest F2F video short created with and for the Friends of Family Farmers in Oregon. I’ve been in Oregon for almost nine months now and have learned a great deal about direct farm marketing and local food in this part of the continent. Along the way, I have found myself in the [...]

Connecting Northern and Rural Communities Through Food Sovereignty There are so many things I could say about my recent trip to Grand Rapids, it is hard to know where to focus. I could mention the stunning beauty of the northern forest or I could try to describe the dumb-founding clarity of the pink and blue-green [...]

Earlier this month, I had an opportunity to attend the Food Secure Saskatchewan conference in Moose Jaw.  It was not only an excellent conference, with a diverse group of attendees and interesting speakers, but it also illustrated to me the importance of creating connections between our work in Manitoba and the work happening in other [...]