Sooke Voice News, August 22nd 2014
Mary Coll and her husband Steve Unger own InishOge Farm in Sooke. Mary is a food economist and activist exploring community economics, a founder of the Sooke Region Farmland Trust, and is working in collaboration with Sooke Food Chi, and the Sooke farmers. Mary presented to the Sooke Rotary this month on food self-sufficiency and the beginning of a community collaboration model she calls the “Foodshed”. She asked members to consider what would happen if the Sooke Road was impassible due to a natural disaster, energy crisis, etc. And further, to consider what would happen if the ferries became unavailable and/or exorbitantly expensive, or the Vancouver ports shut down for extended periods of time or permanently. How would we feed ourselves?
On Vancouver Island, we import 95% of our food and thus only grow 5%. Our food system stores only a 3-day supply in warehouses and grocery stores. And 70% of BC fruits and vegetables come from California, which is now in it’s 6th year of drought officially declared just this year. This is a big risk, and Mary recommended crisis management planning.
A food shed resembles a water shed, which makes water available to the whole community. It is a geographically defined closed-loop system (no new inputs required and no leakage of critical resources out). It would be independent of outside suppliers, and would source inputs from its own resources within, as well as through collaborations with other communities in the region. Food supplies would be available from the Sooke region to
the Sooke region, and would replenish within the Sooke region. It would be a circular economy within the local geographical area. This could involve the Chamber of Commerce. We need to identify, develop, support and protect the foodshed components (some already happening, others future opportunities waiting to happen) and create awareness of a Sooke foodshed culture. The foodshed manifesto is, “Eat where we live.”
Currently the Sooke Food Chi is exploring funding for a food security/food shed coordinator position.