Course:Course:LFS350/Projects/F2021/GalianoFood

Overview

Project Title

Frozen Meals Nutrition Project

Organization Name

The Galiano Community Food Program

Related Course Concepts

Food security, Food insecurity, Poverty reduction/income inequality

Organization Information

Organization Name

The Galiano Community Food Program

Mission and Vision of Organization

Our vision statement

The Galiano Community Food Program envisages Galiano Island as a thriving, livable, food-secure community. It is a place where every resident is included, welcome and empowered to build a deeper connection with their food system. In so doing, the Program improves Galiano's ecological sustainability and community resilience in the face of climate change and uncertainty. The program seeks to set an example that reaches beyond our local community and spreads across the country.

Decisions are made in consultation with the community, by a steering committee, and implemented by the four part-time coordinators, Alison Colwell, Emma Davis, Barry New and Kris Krug. We are a non-profit organization that relies heavily on the work of our many volunteer supporters and on funding from various organizations and individuals. Most of our activities are either free, or by donation, thus ensuring the inclusiveness of our initiatives.

Since its inception, the Food Program has known many successes ,and we have received many invitations from neighbouring communities who wished to launch similar programs in their own communities, to share our knowledge and experiences with them.

The program has resulted in creating a more confident, hopeful and closely-knit community, increasing food security on Galiano, making Galiano a more interesting place to live, sharing of resources and ideas and knowledge related to food in all its aspects.

We hope you take the time to look through our website to discover the many facets of our Program!!

Guiding Principles + Values

1. Collaboration is a key component of our community-building. We believe each individual has a role to play and something to contribute. Connecting and cooperating with other community organizations and a broad cross-section of community members is how we can ensure that our programs are broadly accessible and relevant to the community's needs. This is also important for attracting the volunteers and participants that are an integral part of our programs. We want to be part of shaping a community that is inclusive and equitable, and as such our programs are open to everyone. We find ways to bridge differences so as to make space for everyone's cultural traditions and backgrounds.
2. A food-secure community depends on a healthy environment and healthy community members. We work to ensure our practices are sustainable and eco-conscious, and mindful of the fact that we are all connected.
3. Even when we are successful in working towards our mission, there is always more that can be done, people we aren't reaching, new opportunities for improving our food security. As such, we believe in having an attitude of continuous improvement.
4. Our ability to build community depends upon the trust that our community members place in us. As such, we work with integrity.
5. Our community is not just a collection of individuals. We have a responsibility to be actively responsive to the needs of our community as a whole, taking action when it is needed.
6. In the context of community-building, we want to promote food security in a positive way, so people are motivated to change their behaviour. As such, we work to inspire people. Our programs are fun and our messages are optimistic. Our messages are not prescriptive; instead, we help people question their own practices around food in order to learn more.

Contact Information

• Primary Contact Person(s): Alison Colwell
• Email: galianofoodprograms@gmail.com
• Phone: 250-539-2363
• Address: 141 Sturdies Bay Road, Galiano Is
• Website: https://galianoclub.org/food-program/

Preferred Method of Contact

• Best method(s) to contact: Email
• Preferred platform(s) for project meetings: In person, Email, Zoom
• Best day(s) to contact: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays
• Best time(s) to contact: Mornings, Afternoons

Project Description

Context: What challenge or issue does the project aim to address?

History of the Soup for Seniors Program

In the first years of the Food Program, staff explored the possibility of bringing a Galiano version of the traditional meals on wheels to the island. They investigated whether there was a need for such a program and whether it could be sustainable. The staff reached the conclusion that while the need was there a traditional program could not be sustained with the limited resources available. In May of 2011, we began with the idea of making soups, and freezing them for the seniors. Soup is easy to make, it can be made in large amounts, and often using produce donated by the local farms. Freezing the soup meant it could be distributed as needed, so we could have kitchens periodically, but the frozen soup would always be available. In the very first "Soup for Seniors" kitchen we put 95 containers of soup in the freezer with a total food cost of $40. In 2011 we had just 6 kitchens. After a year of this, I realized that once the soup was made, while it was cooling, and before we put it into containers, the volunteers and I always sat down and had lunch together, and I wondered if we should invite the seniors to join us. I'd been delivering soup to them for a year and was learning that the social aspect of the food was as important for most of them as the food itself. So in April 2012 we invited seniors to join us for lunch. We did that a couple of times, and then we wondered if we might increase community involvement by welcoming everyone for lunch. That was the beginning of the "Soup and Bread" lunches that we now hold at least twice a month. When we opened it up to a larger community lunch I had to enlist the help of a second staff person to work on the door and collect the money. By the end of that second year we started to hear feedback from the seniors. They were tired of soup. They wanted real meals. We bought some foil packaging and in October of 2012 we began experimenting with frozen meals. We needed meals that could be made in a large quantity, were easily packaged and would still taste great after they were frozen and reheated. (Bearing in mind that seniors would reheat them in a variety of ways, regardless of what the label says.) Shepherds pie was one of the first meals we made, and we made twenty five at that first kitchen. In 2012 we had 8 kitchens.

In 2013 we had 14 kitchens, we made 245 containers of frozen soup and 700 meals, the food cost was $2000. In 2015 we had 34 kitchens. We made 750 containers of frozen soup and 2000 frozen meals, as well as serving 1800 people lunch or dinner and the total food cost was $8000. In 2020 we had 42 kitchens. We made 450 containers of frozen soup and 3100 frozen meals, as well as serving 1000 people lunch or dinner and the total food cost was $10,000. Gradually we have increased the number of places where seniors can get our soups and meals. The program has come a long way from when I used to go door to door around the seniors village with a cooler in the back of my van.

The Soup for Seniors Program is one of the Galiano Food Program's most successful project touching more than 50% of the population.

Seniors with extremely restricted diets are limited in the food choices available. We need to make sure we have healthy choices available to all our seniors, regardless of their restrictions.

We also need to increase the visibility of our meal program and encourage more seniors to choose healthy food.

Main Project Activities and Expected Deliverable(s)

• Complete nutritional breakdowns on the new meals that have been created since 2019.
• Look at our meal/recipes and see if any of them are suitable for the restricted diet of the two seniors.
• Research other meals suitable for those special diets.
• We'll do a test kitchen on some new recipes that meet the dietary restrictions and if the meals are successful, I'll need a nutritional breakdown of those meals.
• Create an infographic poster highlighting the nutritional value of the available frozen meals.

Work to happen online or in person?

• Combination

Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)

• Understanding of nutrititonal information
• Understanding of different dietary restrictions
• Cooking skills
• Good communication skills

Are there any mandatory attendance dates (e.g. special event)?

• No

Is a criminal record check required?

• No

Related Community Service Opportunities for Students

• Ideally the students will be available to come to Galiano for a weekend. We will hold a test kitchen to try out any new frozen meals they have developed, plus they can expect to get their hands dirty at the Community School Garden or another of our outside projects!

Required Reading

Project/Partner Orientation Materials

• Students should check out our website - in particular the Food Program section. https://galianoclub.org/food-program/

Additional Project/Partner Orientation Materials

• N/A

Outcomes

Intended Project Outcome (Short Term Outcomes)

• Increased visibility of our meal program; improved communication of healthy food choices to all seniors in our community
• More local seniors will feel encouraged to choose healthy food that aligns with their dietary restrictions.