The Shuswap Food Action Co-op is going to go it alone.
Neither the Columbia Shuswap Regional District nor the City of Salmon Arm said yes following presentations from the co-op seeking support for a funding opportunity from Interior Health to develop a food security plan.
While Salmon Arm council offered a letter of support, funding was not forthcoming.
The regional district board relied upon the opinion of its economic development committee, which decided no, reporting “it was identified that there are other priority projects in the Shuswap Economic Development work plan for 2016.”
Interior Health is offering a maximum of $15,000 per year for three years to three projects, with local government providing matching monetary (preferred) or in-kind contributions. The deadline for applications is tight, Dec. 11.
Food Action Co-op spokesperson Romana Frey told council at its Dec. 7 planning meeting that the co-op has received more than 70 letters of support from the community, and would try to go it alone if necessary.
Coun. Kevin Flynn said a food security plan is a regional issue while Coun. Ken Jamieson argued it’s local.
Coun. Tim Lavery said he would be more interested in volunteering with groups to work on it, and pointed out the Kamloops plan appears to be a good one.
Coun. Chad Eliason said city staff might have mapping, data and documents that would help, and agreed with Frey that the timeline is last-minute.
Food security is defined on the co-op website as “when every member of the community has reasonable access to affordable, safe, nutritious food that has been locally produced.”