Durham Food Policy Council

Meetings

Durham Food Policy Council meetings will be held on an alternating monthly schedule, (the 1st Tuesday of every month from 4:30 - 6:30pm, alternating with the 2nd Monday of every other month from 2:00 - 4:00pm).

Durham Region Headquarters (DR Headquarters) - 605 Rossland Rd. E, Whitby, ON L1N 6A3
Oshawa Community Health Centre (OCHC) - 115 Grassmere Ave, Oshawa, ON L1H 3X7

Please Note:

Durham Food Policy Council (DFPC) meetings are open to the public! If you are interested in attending or have any questions on how to get involved, please contact Ben Earle at bearle@cdcd.org or by phone at 905-686-2661, ext. 115.

Background

The Durham Food Policy Council (DFPC) was established as a community-based group on March 23rd, 2010. This group was formed out of the core membership of the former Durham Food Charter Working Group of the Durham Lives! coalition and informed by community consultation conducted by this group.

Mission Statement

To create an environment that supports community food security through food sovereignty and a sustainable local food system in the Region of Durham.

Values

The work of the DFPC is directed by the Durham Region Food Charter. The Durham Food Charter is a community-based document that reflects the communities' shared values and principles about community food security upon which food-related policies and actions can be based. On November 25th 2009, the Regional Municipality of Durham passed a motion to endorse the Durham Region food charter as a community document.

To view the Durham Region Food Charter, click here.

Objectives

To bring together stakeholders from the food system (which include: farmers/growers, processors, distributors, consumers, and waste recycling), as well as government representatives, civil society organizations, food interest groups, and concerned residents.
To promote the goals of the Durham Region Food Charter and oversee its promotion and implementation.
To educate and empower local residents about the food system, benefits of local food, and how to access/grow local food.
To promote a sustainable local food infrastructure that will support the economic viability of farmers and connect local food with the community in a safe, relevant, and affordable manner.
To support the promotion and development of local food initiatives.
To influence and advise on the development of personal, organizational, and government food polices.
To create opportunities for youth to influence and advise on local food initiatives and policies.

Membership

The Durham Food Policy Council membership consists of three groups:

Core Members
Consultants
Community Members

For more information and to view the Durham Food Policy Council Terms of Reference, click here.

Durham Food Policy Council Sub-Committees

Dinner Plate Project Sub-Committee

The Dinner Plate Project consists of creating a large symbol in a farmer’s field of a dinner plate containing the shapes of local fruits and vegetables made by human participants, with a text below to read “EAT LOCAL”. The first event took place on September 19th , 2010 and was very successful. The Dinner Plate Project Sub-Committee will work towards recreating this event and also enage the community through creative processess of community development such as digital storytelling.

To view a video of the 2010 Dinner Plate Project event, click here.

Overall Vision

To creatively engage youth and their families in developing awareness about the local food system.
To expand awareness of the need to eat healthy food grown locally through a highly creative community art project.

Objectives

Work to delliver valuable information on healthy living through creative inclusive community practices and engage youth and their families about food sovereignty and supporting their local food system.
Support and develop the local farming communities throughout Ontario
Creatively engage the community through community events and through digital storytelling and photography

The Dinner Plate Project helps to fulfill the mandate of the Durham Food Policy Council to improve health, develop community awareness of food issues and to improve the economy of the farming community.

For more information about the Dinner Plate Project Sub-Committee please contact Ben Earle at bearle@cdcd.org or by phone at 905-686-2661, ext. 115.

Operations Sub-Commitee

This committee will be responsible for the management of the Durham Food Policy Council’s policy and research needs. Objectives for the committtee include, developing the Durham Food Policy Council’s policy agenda, develop funding proposals and identify funding sources, as well as creating partnerships to help the group initiate and support relevant research that supports the Durham Food Policy Council's mandate.

This sub-committee is currently being formed. For anyone interested in becoming a member of the sub-committee please contact Ben Earle at bearle@cdcd.org, or by phone at 905-686-2661, ext. 115.

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