Kamloops Food Policy Council

The Kamloops Food Policy Council is the longest-standing independent food policy council in Canada: pollinating projects, developing partnerships, and contributing to public policy since 1995. In the early 1990’s, Laura Kalina, a public health dietitian with Interior Health, saw that many people in our community were going hungry, and pulled together a group of concerned, dedicated people from business, government, and non-profits and the farming community to form the Kamloops Food Policy Council with the goal of working collectively on solutions to food insecurity. Laura, together with Paula Rubinson, an organic farmer and one of the founders of the Kamloops Farmer’s Market, co-chaired the council and hosted our monthly potlucks for the KFPC’s first 20 years. In those initial years, Al Oliver, from the Ministry of Agriculture, also played a significant role in developing the council and supporting the expansion of Kamloops’s community garden program. The KFPC inspires and establishes programming through a community development approach. Many of the programs initiated by the KFPC continue to thrive today through our network partners. The Kamloops Food Policy Council continues to grow. There’s now a collaborative leadership structure of staff, an elected board and a very robust network of members from Kamloops, including our volunteers, donors, and representatives from government and non-profit partner organizations.

Our vision is to establish a local food system that is regenerative, sovereign, and just. Regenerative food systems endeavour to increase biodiversity, enrich soil, improve water cycles, enhance ecosystems, develop resilience to climate fluctuation, and strengthen the health and vitality of their communities by supporting local growers, using fair and equitable labour practices, and improving access to culturally relevant food. Our role in achieving this vision is building grassroots community capacity around food through policy, programs, education, and partnerships. Our programs include: - The Stir (Industrial kitchen rental space for small businesses/food processors) - Gleaning Abundance Program - Food Sovereignty Education Program (Previously the Butler Urban Farm) - Community Seed Library