I put a note on Rachel’s blogpost #4, because I read her’s first.

Have you, or are you going to, ask around UWO to find out if it offers real, practical courses for students that have to do with shopping, cooking, expenses sharing, and real nutrition? Also, start asking them about using some of their space for community gardens. If you want to ask about gardens, get in touch and come visit my garden. Right now I’ve got lettuce, swiss chard, kale and spinach coming up (these vegetables winter over).

I used that phrase real nutrition because, for example, volume-wise, pasta may give 6 servings of cereal, but nutrition-wise you are only eating partial grain because pasta is so refined.

I’m not lecturing. My own diet could be improved on many fronts! And I sure don’t know all the venues around London for community kitchens (London Community Resource Centre, Middlesex London Health Unit (MLHU) have some, and aren’t there courses taught out of the Loblaws Superstores? And there might just be something out of the Intercommunity Health Centre and/or that centre on Dundas Street just past Adelaide that has so many wonderful immigrant services. And what programs does the food bank know about? What discussion goes into the food quality/preparation at the various churches dinner programs? I think the MLHU has a chart on-line that shows all the ‘out of the cold’ dinners during a week)

I do know that the City of London is working on a food charter and Ross Fair, General Manager of Community Services has had two meetings with people from many community agencies (rfair@london.ca), and a few individuals who are interested.

And thinking back to UWO, I know that the head of Western’s food services was at a Local Food for Local Tables conference in November 2008 talking about the efforts UWO was making to buy local and have healthy food options. I got the distinct impression from his presentation that the efforts for this were coming from himself and his staff and that – at the time – there was no student organization on campus that was involved in food-related issues. I don’t know if that has changed. But, you are in the place to track down this information.

As I said to Rachel, I heard a young woman on Ontario Morning earlier this week. I knew from what she said that she would be criticized up, down and sideways, and I didn’t want to get into criticism. Anyone going to university/college has such a debt load these days! It boggles me. What I’m hoping is that you and your fellows come out of this exercise more knowledgeable about food and food issues … go way beyond just a protest about the OSAP allowance you are given.

I’m involved with a local group concerned with the development of community gardens, and also with Transition London Ontario, which is having an Open space event on March 17, 7:00 p.m. at the Central Library on Dundas Street (discussion topic is localizing food).

Please do get in touch if you want to.

Best personal regards,

Maureen