Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Foodcore
The Gananoque and Area Food Access Network (G&AFAN) is made up of community volunteers, educators, and local agency representatives who follow the community’s lead to fulfil our:
The Gananoque and Area Food Access Network supports the residents of the Town of Gananoque and the Township of Leeds & the Thousand Islands to access healthy food.
Residents of the Town of Gananoque and the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands are accessing, growing, preparing and enjoying nutritious, safe and affordable food.
The Gananoque Community Garden continues to flourish at both the Arthur Street and Oak Street locations (thanks to many partners including the Town of Gananoque and the Rotary Club). For information email gancommunitygarden@gmail.com and visit them on Facebook.
Pam Forsyth Hudson continues to lead the Food Forest Initiative. With the gracious consultation of the First Peoples Circle of the Thousand Islands, the dedication and blessing of the Gananoque Food Forest occurred on May 7, 2022. See the Gananoque Garden and Food Forest Facebook site for more information. To learn more and how you can contribute to its continuing growth, email Pam at phudson.gananoquelibrary@gmail.com with “food forest” in the email subject line.
Since 2018, with a COVID-required pause, we have been working on the establishment of a community kitchen in Gananoque. Most recently we heard from residents through a survey, generously supported by community volunteers. The 131 responses confirmed great interest from learners and trainers to use an inspected community kitchen for improving cooking skills, with food handler certification, to prepare meals for those in need, by those who would rent the kitchen for use by service clubs or for commercial preparation of for-profit food items, and for community food programming by the library, local health care providers and others. In addition to survey results, we have many other pieces of information required for grant proposals.
While we look for sustainable funding for a permanent local community kitchen, G&AFAN pilot tested 4 community kitchens in the spring of 2022. They were a huge success thanks to you!! See the Community Kitchen Pilot Project Report.
A small group of members worked hard to offer 4 more fall community kitchen sessions to the community. Pre-register early to any of these sessions in October and November 2022!
Our biggest need is an applicant for funds as G&AFAN is a network of many but not a registered charity or non-profit group. Would you help with this? We are happy to present our plans. Please let us know.
Your letter of support would also be welcome letting us know how your organization or group would use a community kitchen or how you see access to healthy food as a local goal that is in line with your mandate. For more information on the community kitchen work email: marianhmcleod@gmail.com.
All along we’ve engaged Gananoque and Township of Leeds and the 1000 Islands residents in our work including two ‘Conversation About Food’ community meals in 2015 and 2017. Both were hosted by the GISS culinary arts program. We learned about local food programs, discussed ideas about improving equitable access to healthy food for all, sharing food skills, learning about food insecurity in the area and what success might look like. Progress included:
You can reach us care of foodcoreLGL through email at foodcorelgl@gmail.com or by calling toll free 1-800-660-5853 - ask for “foodcore”.
¹Food insecurity means not having enough money to buy nutritious food. It is an income-based issue, not a food-based issue.
²Foodliteracy.ca defines food literacy as “a set of interconnected attributes organized into the categories of food and nutrition knowledge, skills, self-efficacy/confidence, food decisions, and other ecologic (external) factors such as income security, and the food system.”