• Get in touch!
• Special General Meeting
• Recent Reports
• Community Gardens
• Garden Tip of the Month
• Seed Library
• Seedy Saturday
• Spring Fling
• Kids in the Garden
• Dish it Up
• What's Happening in Richmond

• We are working from home as much as we can, so contact us via email.
• For inquiries about community gardens, seed library, fruit gleaning, and garden questions, email coordinator@richmondfoodsecurity.org
• For Kids in the Garden and our school programs, email programs@richmondfoodsecurity.org
• For general questions, contact us here. 

Recent Reports

Last Newsletter we highlighted new reports that were published. Below are some notes from those reports.

Position Statement and Recommendations on Responses to Food Insecurity

• Food insecurity is at a household level - 1 in 7 Canadians reported food insecurity

• Black and Indigenous households experience food insecurity at greater rates

• Food insecurity affects children’s’ mental health that can persist into adulthood

• Foodbanks are inadequate at addressing the primary issue of food security, income

• Diverting surplus food to foodbanks does little to help with food waste as this does not address the issue of the overproduction of food

• Reducing food security can be achieved through policies that improve household incomes

• A basic income guarantee is a great way to reduce food security

• Affordable housing contributes to food security, but does not ensure it

  Canada’s Food Price Report

• Predicting 2019 food inflation rates, the model was 99.8% accurate

• This report is then using the same prediction rate for 2020 food prices

• Overall food prices are estimated to increase 2-4%

• Major food issues for 2020 include: single-use plastic, difficult trade environments, outbreaks of illness from vegetables

• Over 4 million Canadians are food insecure and the recent new food guideline, although relies less heavily on expensive meat and dairy, does not help to increase household incomes

• In 2017 Canada launched a National Food Policy, hopefully tackling society’s biggest needs by providing safe, nutritious and diverse foods for our diets 

• Vegetables saw a 17% increase in price in 2019

• Issues with China impacted the export of canola oil and pork, Canada moved towards diversifying markets

• The rise of populism and protectionism has impacted global trade by increasing tensions

• Climate change adds to the unpredictability of how food prices will change. Increasing drought has a major impact on vegetable and meat prices

Seed Library 

Our seed library will be starting up again soon. We appreciate your seed donations and look forward to seeing all that you will grow!

We will continue to send seed starting and seed saving information throughout the year. If there are topics you would like us to cover, please email coordinator@richmondfoodsecurity.org.

This month’s lessons are all about worms and compost! The fun thing about teaching this topic during our rainy season is that it’s easier to find earthworms outside. We contrast that with the red wiggler worm that never burrows underground but thrives in leaf litter in nature or in a cozy bin with lots of vegetable scraps made by humans. 

Dish it Up - Vegetarian Tortilla Lasagna

From Taste of Home

Ingredients:

• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic

• 1 cup chunky salsa

• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) hominy, rinsed and drained1 can (15 ounces) no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained 

• 3 flour tortillas (10 inches)

• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

• 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives

*Hominy is made from whole corn kernels that have been soaked in a lye or lime solution to soften the hard outer hulls.

Instructions:
 

• Cut three 25x3-in. strips of heavy-duty foil; crisscross so they resemble spokes of a wheel. Place strips on the bottom and up the sides of a round 5-qt. slow cooker. Coat strips with oil.

• In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, salsa, tomato paste and cumin. Stir in hominy and beans. Place 1 tortilla on the bottom of a slow cooker. Top with a third of the hominy mixture and cheese. Repeat layers twice. Sprinkle with olives. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 3-1/2 hours or until heated through.

• Using foil strips as handles, remove the lasagna to a platter. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Find the full recipe here.

• B.C.'s First Virtual Seedy Saturday: February 19th to 21st. Find more information here.