The Kettle Valley Food Co-op hosted Jon Steinman, creator of online radio show “Deconstructing Dinner,” a show that addresses current food issues, to speak about Resilient Food Secure Communities.
Steinman discussed the impact of large food production companies such as Cargill and how food systems work, the rise of Nelson’s food co-cop and the waterway passage for delivering grains from Nelson to Creston by boats.
With local farmers and interested residents attending the presentation, Steinman discussed how to go from a small group to something much bigger.
“I think one of the many important steps for any emerging food co-op is to raise awareness in the community,” he stated. “I think that’s one of the strategies I’ve used on the radio; talking about food systems that we may not know about and are isolated from, and drawing attention to it.”
He uses the example of how Nelson’s Kootenay Co-op has grown and will be moving to replace the current Extra Foods building sometime in June.
“When we realize that the food system that most of us are part of, this industrial food system, is one that isn’t resilient, it’s not sustainable, and it doesn’t serve our local communities,” he explained. “When we learn those issues, then we start to value our local food producers and food co-ops.”
Steinman studied Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Guelph for four years and it was there he emerged from the traditional form of eating from chain grocery stores, to beginning to taste fresh fruit.
“After meeting farmers and chefs through my studies, I recognized there was something I was missing. My mother tasted great food but tasting food from the farm wasn’t something I was used to and that was what changed me,” he stated. “It made me think, how do we make this food, this amazingly flavourful food, available all the time?”
At school, Steinman’s program focused more on the business perspective with no insight or connection to the agricultural side.
The University of Guelph is known for its strong agricultural roots and innovative food programs.
“That for me, was a sign, because here we were being trained to be restaurant managers but no part of our education was about the food system,” he noted. “My only connection to agriculture and food was with my first-year roommate who was a farmer.”
Since then, Steinman has become involved in various food initiatives around the Kootenay region and Nelson, where he currently lives.
“There’s no reason that Grand Forks shouldn’t be able to grow into something more,” he concluded.