Annual General Meeting Chair Report May 12, 2025

Vision: Where are we going?

The Sayward Community Food Table Society is looking to build, support, and remove barriers for the local people who need access to nourishment, educational resources, social engagement, and community connections around long-term food security.

What is our Mission?

The Sayward Community Food Table Society (SCFTS) is committed to food security by feeding the vulnerable and hungry members of our community. We are dedicated to creating outreach programs to prevent hunger for tomorrow by improving regional food redistribution, food procurement, educational programming, and food processing to promote a sustainable, resilient, inclusive food security system in Sayward. We treat our clients and all people with dignity, and respect without judgment. Our community food security projects serve the vulnerable people within the Strathcona Region.

Goals

Our goal is to build a community grassroots food security legacy by focusing on Priority projects that:

• Feed the hungry & stop hunger.
• Remove barriers to access food.
• Developing and implementing food security.
• Building upon existing community relationships.
• Apply for funding that helps us to impact our Sayward community.

Year One Strategy

• Implementing basic physical infrastructure to improve upon current operations of the SCFTS.
• The SCFTS Food Security Center is a grassroots project that expands on current SCFTS food redistribution for the clients of Sayward.
• Each month Loaves and Fishes delivers food to give to those in need of a food hamper. The following upgrades will support our goal of developing and implementing food security locally in our community by increasing distribution bi-weekly.
• Distribution policy changes from a hamper model to a personal choice and shopping experience. This will increase dignity, confidence, and social interaction.
• We will build up stores to improve the items we can have on hand, currently we are operating without this luxury.
• Implementing a personal choice inventory list and doing what we can to keep specific items stocked for individual nutritional needs and preferences.

The Sayward Community Food Table Society fosters collaboration to support the availability of and access to nutritious, sustainable food in a culturally appropriate and equitable manner through the coordination of education, policy development, and priority food security projects for all communities including vulnerable people within the Strathcona Region.

The Sayward Community Food Table Society fosters collaboration to support the availability of and access to nutritious, sustainable food in a culturally appropriate and equitable manner. SCFTS will coordinate education, policy development, and priority food security.

Once the infrastructure grant has been approved, the Food Security Center will commence with breaking ground and leveling the leased land area for a gravel pad for the 2 C-Can placements. Following that the electrical will be installed and the construction phase will happen next. This process will take about 6 months.

• Secure a three-year land lease to place 2 moveable containers (C-Cans) to jumpstart our vision of building up capacity for a project called Sayward Food Security Center. It is a space for housing non-perishable, long-term capacity building for food redistribution, food processing, and outreach educational Programs center for food security.
• Site preparation completed for the moveable containers (C-Cans).
• Electrical Installation: this will provide us with an independent space to build infrastructure and future capacity for storing, processing, canning, and growing foods.
• Leveling land and compacting gravel for the base.
• Placement of the moveable storage units (C-Cans).
• Finishing of the interior C-Can (Electrical and installation of Interior Walls).
• Construction of a covered deck with Handicapped access to community welcome space.
• Set up for fridge, freezer, and all the interior storage infrastructure.

Administration Infrastructure

• Office set up for onsite administration including Computer, desk, and printer for record-keeping, correspondence, inventory, and client records.
• Strategic Planning Meetings for year 2 & 3 and review of year one.
• Keeping stats and records for our successes, learning curves, and growing pains.
• Ongoing volunteer recruitment and training, capacity building, and appreciation days.
• Community connections for harvesting, sharing excess foods, and seed saving library.
• Volunteer Fundraising at community gatherings.
• Social engagements for community wellness.
• Attend local events to stay up to date with the pulse of the community.
• Meeting monthly with community affiliates and partners to learn about community projects and what grants are available.
• Building administration capacity to get correspondence for future grant applications created and organized for easy access.
• Emergency and Crisis Response planning with the local emergency response teams:
  – Strathcona Regional District
  – Emergency Services Program
  – Sayward Volunteer Fire Department
  – EMS Services
  – RCMP Sayward Detachment

Year Two Strategy

Building capacity based on review and year one evaluation looking at our successes, resets, and learning curves. We intend to research what has worked for other programs like ours to see what we can learn without reinventing the wheel.

Track and divide the community events to make sure at least one of our members can represent SCFTS and participate in building up the interweb of connections.

• Continued community relationship-building.
• Social engagements for community wellness.
• Committed to engaged collaboration with funders, partners, affiliates, volunteers, and residents by attending local events to stay up to date with the pulse of the community.
• Attending monthly meetings with community affiliates and partners to learn about community projects and what grants are available. We intend to build on their successes, resets, and celebrations.
• Educational needs assessment for SCFTS participants.
• Implementing surveys.
• Client relationships management program for tracking likes, needs, and capacity.

Goals

• Create project committees to gain focus and momentum that match volunteers with their interests and passions.
• Grant Writing.
• Food Processing and Preparation Library.
• Gardening.
• Community events & relations.
• Fundraising.

Priority Food Security Projects

• Continuation of year-round bi-weekly distribution for our clients to participate in a shopping-styled distribution program (Free Food
  Market).
• Creating and printing food education support like recipes and ideas on how to use certain foods.
• Developing the lending library program and policies.
• Lending library in operation.
• Borrowing agreement and policy development.
• Printing of manuals and operational guides.
• Participating in more existing food security programs like the tree fruit gleaning and process excess crops from local farmers.
• Seed saving library within our community connections to share with our clients and requesting volunteers to plant for starters to give out in the spring.
• Raised community garden beds.
• Greenhouse for seedlings and cold crops for year-round growing, this is where the initial year-one electrical will be sufficient to keep running throughout the winter season.

Strategic Funding

• By implementing a committee for grant research and writing our capacity to expand naturally.
• Researching for specific food group grants.
• Continuation of collaborations with participating in local events and gatherings.

Year Three Strategy

Building capacity based on review and year two evaluations looking at our successes, resets, and learning curves. Increasing economic development for fundraising capacity by connecting and requesting more corporate sponsorship.

Implementing committees for:

• Grant Writing.
• Food Processing and Preservation Library.
• Community Gardening.
• Community Events & Relations.
• Fundraising.
• Advisory Group for Food Security.
• Canvassing.
• Membership.
• Volunteers.

Priority Food Security Projects

• Accessing a commercial kitchen for farm-to-fork outreach meal preparation, community gatherings, potlatch, group teachings, and training sessions.
• Building capacity for emergency food stores and educational outreach programs for the public.
• Well-established seed-saving library and community garden with a year-round greenhouse to supply us with in-house food supply.
• Access to Greenways Land Trust Gleaning Program and excess farm produce for processing and redistribution.

Goals

• Applying for more grants.
• Access to a classroom for public food security outreach programs.
• Applying needs assessment audit outcomes to deliverable outreach.
• Offering employment by adding staff to the volunteer team.
• Refrigerator vehicle for pick-ups and deliveries.
• To be able to provide through community connection culturally appropriate foods training and sharing of knowledge with an outreach program series.
• Acquire a self-sustaining growing container.
• To be able to move these containers (C-Cans) to land that we own.

Affiliations

• United Way
• Village of Sayward
• Mid-Island Co-Op
• Sayward Valley Resort
• Sayward RCMP
• Sayward Fire Dept
• BCAS Paramedics
• Sayward Community Health Society
• Sayward Community Food Table Clientele
• Sayward Community Food Table Society Volunteers
• Sayward Nurse Practitioners
• Sayward Elementary PAC (Parent Advisory Committee)
• Campbell River Food Bank
• Strathcona Regional District Health Network
• Strathcona Community Food Hub
• Coastline Endurance Running
• Greenways Land Trust
• Sayward Garden Club
• Individual Donors

Community Relationships Interweb Sayward Community Food Table Society Three-year plan July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2027

How Sayward Community Food Table Society affiliates, partners, relationships, and operations are embedded in these connections:

• United Way British Columbia: a major source of grant funding and support for priority food projects.
• Strathcona Regional District Health Network: a regional program that supports and advises groups, provides education opportunities, etc.
• Strathcona Community Food Hub (SCFH): Our connection to the 16 ‘spokes’ affiliated with the SCFH who meet monthly to connect, network, and share program successes in the many aspects of food security and sovereignty including homelessness, addictions, mental health, food access, etc. (e.g. mentorship and support from Campbell River Food Bank Coordinator).
• Greenways Land Trust: SCFTS participates in gleaning food, and educational opportunities.
• Sayward Gardening Club: Share educational opportunities, seeds, plant starts and offer mentorship.
• Village of Sayward: SCFTS supports the Kelsey Center After School Program, Teen Program, and Seniors Luncheon Program. SCFTS donates food supplies monthly to recreation programs. Provides a village community garden site (6 beds).
• Sayward Valley Resort and Food Store: receives local cash donations toward food purchases and offers free access to fresh, frozen, and non-perishable food to people in need. Receives a monthly donation of rescued food from SCFTS.
• Sayward Mid-Island Co-Op: provides usable discarded food from their local grocery shelves to augment SCFTS monthly distribution day.
• Sayward EMS Services (RCMP, Sayward Volunteer Fire Department, BCAS Paramedics): confidentially refers their service recipients (if a need is recognized) as potential clientele to the SCFTS program.
• Sayward Community Health Society: The Society has provided the “umbrella” for SCFTS financial oversight and use of their Charitable number to apply for grants.
• Sayward Nurse Practitioner: Refers clients to the SCFTS program. Coordinates bi-weekly seniors lunch program.
• Sayward Elementary School Parent Advisory Committee (PAC): receives monthly food donations to their breakfast and lunch programs.
• Clientele of SCFTS: Have expressed appreciation for the food donations and in return have volunteered at the monthly distribution days and delivered hampers to their neighbors.
• SCFTS Volunteers: The core group is dependable to show up consistently to distribution days and follow through from start to finish. Volunteers have successfully encouraged friends to become volunteers.
• Individual Donors: people aware of the local food stability and sustainability issues donate money to the strategically placed donation collection cans.
• Coastline Endurance Running: a for-profit organization that holds a yearly endurance race in Sayward. Makes generous post-event donations to local groups and clubs in appreciation for the welcome and support of local volunteers (many are SCFTS volunteers). SCFTS is a regular, grateful recipient.

Our History & Successes

• May 5, 2023: The first meeting of the Sayward Community Food Table Committee was held to commence the process of becoming a registered non-profit.
• SCFTC worked under the financial auspices of Sayward Community Health Services (SCHS) Charitable Organization to access food from Loaves and Fishes (NPO) organization, Nanaimo, BC.
• August of 2023: The Sayward Community Food Table Society (the Society) became a registered nonprofit society under the BC Societies Act. SCFTS eligible to apply for Charitable Society Status as of August 20, 2024.

Applying for grants 2024-2025

• Applied for Grants as SCFT Committee with SCHS’s Charitable Society Status to Nutrition Link $10K, which was unsuccessful.
• United Way Infrastructure Grant $100K unsuccessful.
• United Way Climate Resiliency Grant $20K approved.
• The SCFTS will continue to operate under the SCHS charitable number until the earliest date we can apply for charitable status is August 2024 and has agreed to cover SCFTS until August of 2025.

Statistics

Between the two options, we serve approximately 170 people in need of lower cost or no cost food.

Sayward Good Food Box

• 25-30 Households served between September 2022 and July 2024.
• Food weight from Strathcona Regional District 2324.2kg.
• Monetary value $7,766.
• Suspended due to lack of funding