Food Connections Project

The Food Connections Project grew out of the Food Miles project.  Throughout our work, we saw growing awareness and excitement as to the importance of local foods.  And at the same time many people felt that they did not have the necessary skills to truly make use of the diversity of foods produced in Nova Scotia.  It is important that this excitement surrounding local food be translated to action – we want to reconnect people with local food and farming.

Here are some of the initiatives we're undertaking through this project:
 - Seasonal cooking workshops
Some wonderful community volunteers are sharing their favourite recipes in a series of cooking workshops each season.   Visit our blog, to see what we've been up to in the kitchen.

- Preserving workshops
Jam, pickles, tomatoes and more!  In summer & fall we teach workshops and share tips for preserving the harvest.  Check out the blog for recipes, photos, and tips.

 - Root cellar tour and construction
We conducted  root cellar tours in November 2010 and 2011.  We also compiled tips from all of the root cellar hosts into a short document on the basics of root cellars.  In May 2011 we constructed a root cellar at the EAC office.  We also have community root cellar grants available.  All of the grants for the 2011/12 year have been awarded, but please contact us if you would like to be notified of future opportunities.

 - Blog: Adventures in Local Food
For information, recipes, and photos from our workshops and from our volunteers, visit our blog: Adventures in Local Food.

Project Goals
The overall goal of the Food Connections Project is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to food transportation by promoting local foods and building skills to increase the consumption of local food, and thus replacing food imports.  Additionally, this project seeks to encourage intergenerational learning. There are many seniors throughout the province with strong cooking and preserving skills, who would be excellent mentors to younger people and we seek to encourage these connections. 

Specifically, the Food Connections project aims:

• To increase food preparation and preservation skills through a series of capacity building workshops;
• To connect food educators with farmers and local food markets;
• To support emerging and alternative local food distribution systems; and
• To evaluate the impact of this project on the purchasing behaviour and eating habits of participants in the project.

For more information or to find out more about our workshop offerings, contact Marla at foodaction@ecologyaction.ca.

Funding for this project has been provided by:
Public Health Agency of Canada, Innovation Strategy
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP).
Nova Scotia Department of Seniors, Positive Aging Fund
Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, Direct Marketing Community Development Trust Fund
Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, Agri-Food Industry Development (Category A)
Carrot Cache
Spirit Nova Scotia, Local Food Fund