The Community Development Council of Quinte continues to promote its new vision and mission promoting food security.
CDC Executive Director Ruth Ingersoll and Community Research Coordinator Amanda Solmes presented their revamped mandate to Belleville City Council on Monday.
The CDC began work on a new mandate before the pandemic started.
Ingersoll says their vision is for a community in which all members have consistent access to safe, affordable and nutritious food.
“We purposely have chosen those words consistent, safe, affordable and nutritious. And, we were very specific about those because those really deal with what food insecurity is. Consistent, safe, affordable and nutritious. And they align with the definition of food security.”
Ingersoll called food security a symptom of other social issues in the community such as high rents, low incomes and the high cost of food.
Council heard the CDC distributed almost 6,500 Good Food boxes and more than 4,000 Good Baby Boxes in 2022, boxes containing discounted fruits and vegetables and baby items.Community Research Coordinator Amanda Solmes told council they have been working with several other groups to combat food insecurity and have helped develop the Belleville Charitable Meal Programs Network” or “Champs Network,” 15 organizations that serve free meals, pantry programs, or other poverty and community-based agendas.They also champion the We All Deserve To Eat Campaign.
“So that brought more information out around the real root issues of food insecurity. We’re advocating together as, as a group to sort of solve these issues. And then to inform the community of what resources are out there.”
Ingersoll and Solmes said food charity is really only a band-aid and real solutions for food insecurity must be sought.
The CDC has been branded a Social Planning Organization under the Social Planning Network of Ontario.
As part of its next steps it will continue to strengthen the Champs Network mandate and have conversations about rethinking food charity.
They plan to use information from asset mapping to inform future projects and support and liaise with the City and local agencies.
