31 replies to this topic

[Chris J]

Lifecycles also has a program where homeowners can offer their yards to people who dont have places to grow foods. Sharing Backyards it's called.
It has a neat little map that shows you where the gardens are and where people looking for gardens are.
http://www.sharingba...&welcome_box=2#

[Chris J]

I'm also involved in a project called Pedal to Petal. We use bicycles (with trailers) to collect domestic food waste from homes, then bring it to backyard compost bins. We have been doing it for six months and it is starting to take off. We charge each household $5/week (or every second week) for up to 5 gallons of waste.
It's an alternative to using trucks and centralized industrial methods of composting. No fossil fuels are involved in our process at all, and we have plans to use the finished compost in community gardens, so customers can know that they are not only contributing to employment, but food security as well. And they are saving landfill space, and by using our service as opposed to the services that use trucks and machines, we are completely fossil fuel free, so you get carbon karma points.
The limiting factor has been customers. At some point we'll be able to switch to vermiculture and make our money from selling worm castings, but until then, the $5/customer allows us to stay afloat. Once we are able to take food waste for free, we'll have no end of people wanting to give us food waste. But then we have to market the worm castings. So we're in no hurry right now to change our format.
I know that this might seem to be some kind of ad, and I hope it doesn't violate some kind of posting code here. We're not actually a business, we're a network of independent contractors. (Each cyclist keeps all the money they collect. Our advertising and admin is paid for by donation by members and other helpful people.) The P2P collective exists to help people run their own micro-business.
I don't actually do pick-ups anymore or make any money. I just volunteer to spread the word. Anyone with a bicycle and bike trailer and compost bin can take this idea and run with it, call themselves Pedal to Petal and use our flyers, etc. It's an idea we are offering to the world to help reduce landfill and build the soil in the city and increase our food security. We are willing to help anyone get set up to do this, with no compensation to ourselves beyond knowing that the idea is working.
It's also meant to be a alternative to can binning, which is getting to be a crowded occupation with the homeless population growing. (Not to mention we should be consuming less packaged goods, and soon we will have no choice...) We hope that once we have more customers we can involve more people who are on the street or face other barriers to employment.
So if you don't mind that I used this forum to talk about it (like I say, it's not a business, more of a community program), visit http://pedaltopetal.blogspot.com.

[Caramia]

Nah, it's fine - you are in a food security thread, so you are on topic, it is not like you are starting a separate thread to promote your business. If you want to go further in promoting it (or anything else), feel free to stick a link in your signature. That's a pretty non-invasive way for any VV community member to promote something while maximizing visibility.

[think local]

Eating locally is a huge passion of ours. Thus the user id. We too did not attend the Chef's Collaborative nor do we frequent the Food Roots Markets and dinners. We'd love to but they're just not in our budget...we're poor activists as well. However, we're very passionate about food security and do believe that this is going to become a bigger issue in a very short time. We've been making all our mistakes now in hopes that we're much more successful if ever we need to be self sufficient. We didn't start out trying to grow our own food because of this concern but rather because it's common sense that it's healthier to eat fresh and organic. We can't complain about the money saved either. We're still eating gourmet salads in November. I know just on salads alone we've saved significantly. You can't beat the lessons our kids are learning about feeding themselves. Granted there have been some expenses, deer fencing and a greenhouse being two of them. We want more tomatoes so broke down and built a greenhouse last month. The deer, well, they're the biggest battle.

Lifecycles has an excellent school program where they come into schools and teach kids gardening skills and then plan their own garden. It would be great if it were possible for every school to participate in this program.

Another source for local foods that's more cost effective is the Good Food Box Program. We buy 3 boxes a month and then prep meals from them for the week and then for the freezer. It's a huge savings and they're goal is to be as local and organic as possible, supporting local farmers whenever they can. It's a fantastic program and one that's working toward expansion, especially as times get more difficult, so that it's more accessible.

[Caramia]

Another way to support the ICC is to shop at the Bastion Square market on Thursdays. The market is chef-volunteer run, the food is bought outright from the farmers, and the proceeds go back into farm infrastructure. Plus the consumer gets fresh locally grown food.

I recognize that $50 is not possible for everyone. Even for me, there was some savings and frugality involved being able to attend. But often "I can't afford it" is shorthand for "I'd rather spend my money on a pack of smokes, or at my regular coffee shop, or a six-pack, or that gig that is playing next Saturday" Not saying that is the case with anyone here. But I am sure if you look around you will notice that it is often true.

[Ms. B. Havin]

The deer, well, they're the biggest battle.

They're edible, too, you know!

(sorry, couldn't resist...)

Another source for local foods that's more cost effective is the Good Food Box Program. We buy 3 boxes a month and then prep meals from them for the week and then for the freezer. It's a huge savings and they're goal is to be as local and organic as possible, supporting local farmers whenever they can. It's a fantastic program and one that's working toward expansion, especially as times get more difficult, so that it's more accessible.

Not sure I'm familiar with the Good Food Box program, or is this part of SPUDS? Where would I find more information?

[think local]

Here's the link to the Good Food Box Program
http://www.fernwoodn...oodfoodbox.html

The deer, well, they're closer to dinner all the time. It's unfortunate for us that our freezer is full.

[Jacques Cadé]

Apologies for crossposting, but I found a 2007 article listing the vacant school land around town that could be used for agriculture. See here.

[Bingo]

Dear Lana...

...is your mother still telling you to eat your broccoli?

 

 

Costco Wholesale is recalling Gold Coast brand Broccettes due to possible E. coli contamination.

Officials say the broccoli florettes may have come into contact with E. coli. The item was sold in B.C. and comes in a 907-gram bag. The code on the product is 12 AU 2017, and the UPC number is 7 35844 00033 5.

http://www.cheknews....ecalled-353331/

 

[VicHockeyFan]

Mayor Lisa Helps, who keeps chickens herself, thinks having hens in an urban area like Victoria makes sense.

“We live on an island, we’ve got limited space for growing food,” she said. “To me it makes sense that backyard chickens are allowed, but the chicken owners do have a responsibility.”

 

 

http://www.vicnews.c...onsible-owners/

 

Wrong.   It does not make sense.  We have millions of hectares for chicken farming on the Island if we wanted to.

[Mike K.]

Hens in an urban area almost always attract RATS in large quantities.

The family home had a rat problem last year when a neighbour's very well maintained coup became infested with rats. In fact it became a health hazard for neighbours in all directions. And when animal control finally became involved they flat out said these coups are virtually guaranteed to become a major issue at some point and are serious issues in Victoria where people with no experience suddenly decide to keep chickens.

Helps is out of line to be actively promoting such a thing.

[Bingo]

http://www.vicnews.c...onsible-owners/

 

Wrong.   It does not make sense.  We have millions of hectares for chicken farming on the Island if we wanted to.

 

You don't need millions of hectares as the commercial chickens are happy to be raised in a very small cage.