A Christian Food Security Network
for Metro Vancouver
From beginning to end, the Bible commands justice for the poor and the vulnerable against a backdrop of divine hospitality that we are to extend to one another as beneficiaries and stewards of God’s abundance. Securing food for and eating with the poor figure large in the stories of Jesus and the history of Christianity.
Today in Metro Vancouver, thousands of people participate in and rely on faith-based food programs. But Christians and non-Christians alike are starting to point out profound difficulties in how we currently provide food to the poor.
So CityGate Leadership Fourm is delighted to be coordinating a Christian Community Food Network. Together with our collaborating charities we are seeding a cultural shift in the Christian community away from haphazard food charity toward a sustainable local food system.
We aim
- to increase access to healthy local food by starting community gardens and community kitchens in churches, agencies, and homes across the region
- to link these new community resources with existing ones, and negotiate bulk-buy arrangements with farmers and food wholesalers, so we can supply good food more reliably and cheaply to participating food programs.
- to boost our organizational capacities by centralizing some administrative functions like fundraising and volunteer recruitment and training
- to re-structure our community meals so we can increase nutritional values and menu choices, reduce overcrowding, empower our volunteers and participants with new food-related knowledge and skills, and build lasting community by turning “guests” into “hosts.”
Along the way we are creating resources and workshops, which we’ll use to attract and train future partners in best practices. And we’ll disseminate these resources through our national and international networks.
To view our Objectives and Community Standards, click here.
To find out how you or your faith-based group can get involved, contact Karen Giesbrecht by email or at 778-840-4775.