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Sustainable food advocates gather in Victoria for annual Good Food Summit

Attendees can take part in field trips, hands-on learning, keynote presentations
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Greater Victoria is gearing up to host sustainable food advocates from B.C. for discussion, learning and of course, food, at the third annual Good Food Summit. (Black Press file photo)

Greater Victoria is gearing up to host sustainable food advocates from B.C. for discussion, learning and of course, food, at the Good Food Summit.

For more than 20 years, folks involved in sustainable food growing and consuming have gathered to share ideas, learn and celebrate food. Three years ago, the four-day gathering became the Good Food Summit which features keynote speakers, panels, and field trips and encourages networking across sectors.

The conference – organized by the Good Food Network and local the non-profit Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiative Roundtable (CRFAIR) – begins on Nov. 19 with Savoury Stories, an evening of storytelling. Starting at 7:15 p.m., stakeholders from across the Capital Region will share their tales of sustainable food activism relating to the theme of “Growing Resilience.”

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Due to the event’s success in the past, tickets for Savoury Stories sold out quickly, explained Linda Geggie, executive director of CRFAIR. In an effort to include more people, Stream of Consciousness, a local digital media company, offered to provide a livestream as a grant for people to watch from home.

The second day (Nov. 20) of the conference features a hands-on field trip focused on restoration work led by the WSANEC (Saanich) Nation at SNIDCEL, or Todd Inlet. In the evening, a youth-focused art-activism event will take place at the Victoria Event Centre. From 4 to 6 p.m., youths between the ages of 14 and 24 are invited to join in to create food-related art with the Just Transition Arts group.

On day three, attendees will be invited to take part in an urban walking tour or a farm tour. The walk will focus on the urban agriculture and gentrification and the farm tour will give attendees insight into community farming.

On the afternoon of the third day, the Main Gathering begins at the Songhees Wellness Centre and continues on the last day of the Good Food Summit. Keynote speaker Dawn Morrison, the founder and curator of the working group on Indigenous food sovereignty, will open the gathering with a talk about resilience and Indigenous food systems. Panels, presentations and discussion sessions on topics ranging from food literacy to self care for activists will continue into the final day, Nov. 22.

READ ALSO: Annual Good Food Summit in Victoria will workshop food sustainability ideas

While folks directly involved in the regional food system – researchers, farmers, food sellers, community associations and members of local governments – are encouraged to attend, anyone concerned about food sustainability is welcome to join in, Geggie explained. She noted that attendees usually have different levels of expertise and various entry points such as a focus on food and the economy, food and health or food and the environment.

Tickets for the main gathering went on sale on October 10 and will be available online until the first day of the event. The field trip tickets are sold separately. The preliminary program can be viewed online.


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devon.bidal@saanichnews.com