Project Related Updates

School Projects

The Food Program maintains the Community School Garden: Food program coordinators and community volunteers work with the school kids, teaching them about gardening, ecology and how to grow food. We also involve the kids in tastings, sometimes cooking on the picnic table what they have just picked. The Food Program also works with the school on a number of projects, such as Applefest and the Fruit tree project.

Community Kitchens

Community Kitchens meet once a month over the winter months. It’s a great way to meet new people, learn new kitchen skills, enjoy a nice dinner and get some food ready made for home. Costs are based on a sliding scale, and cover the cost of the food.

Soup for Seniors

This ongoing project works to connect seniors who appreciate an extra special meal or two in reserve, with volunteers who make the soup, and farmers with extra produce. This is essentially a service with a broad sliding scale from those who gratefully pay to those who cannot. Anyone wishing to be part of this process is encouraged to email us or call. Cooks, drivers and enthusiastic participants needed!

Community Greenhouse

The Community Greenhouse is located at the Galiano Community School and represents an ongoing growing opportunity. It also hosts the Spring Starts Project for gardeners wishing to get an early start on the growing year.

Public Relations, Publicity and Fundraising

Our public relations and publicity efforts are ongoing and we constantly strive to develop links between the members of our community, as well as with off-island groups and individuals. Here is a summary of what has been accomplished so far...

Fundraiser Food Film Festival Spring 2011
Galiano Community Food Program 2011 Calendar
Launch of Galiano Cooks, Storybook/cookbook May 2010
North End Jamboree and South End Fiesta SUMMER 2008 & 2009
Garden Club Harvest and Flower Show August, 2009
Fundraising Dance August, 2008
Mayne Island Food Program September, 2008 and September, 2009

Food Forever

Funded by the New Horizons for Seniors program (Government of Canada), this project aiming to forge links and promote information/skills/knowledge sharing between seniors and the children of Galiano. It is a four-fold project that comprises:

-Wild Foraging
-A cooking/kitchen exploration component
-Gardening
-The publication of a cookbook/storybook entitled 'Galiano Cooks', scheduled for release at the beginning of May 2010

Following is a detailed description of the events that took place under the Food Forever banner:

Preserving Begun March, 2009
Introductory Tea March, 2009

Seasonal Gleaning

Yearly, land owners on Galiano find that their fruit trees produce far more than they can use. In many cases, this bounty falls to the ground. But thanks to the Food Program's Gleaning Project, owners can take part in a program where they get volunteer labour to collect their fruit. A share of the bounty goes to the land owner, and the rest goes to the people who pick the fruit and to the Food Bank and the Food Program itself, for community kitchens and other redistribution efforts.

Workshops and Speakers Series

The Food Program hosts workshops on topics of interest to the island's food community. Topics are wide ranging and have included: Cheese Making, Garden Troubleshooting, Jam Making, Fermentation, Plant Propagation, Planting Fruit Trees, Making Pickles, Bread Making, Smoking Salmon and many more.

If you wish to register for any of these workshops, please contact us through this site, call 250-539-2175 option 2, or e-mail us at galianofoodprograms@gmail.com.

Growing Food

The food program organizes several community garden spaces on Galiano Island each year. In 2012, we will be involved in the following projects:

*Cable Bay Farms Growing and Gleaning Project
*Garlic-growing Cooperative
*Community School Garden
*Community Greenhouse Year-round Project and Spring Starts Project

Consult these individual headings to find out more about each Food-Growing Initiative.

If you are interested in participating in any of these projects, please contact the Food Program Coordinators, Janice and Alison, at 250-539-2175, option 2,e-mail us at galianofoodprograms@gmail.com or contact us through this website. You can also join us on Facebook under Galiano Community Food Program.

Indian Cooking with Therese - May 21st

Indian Cooking with Therese
Monday May 21st at 5:30pm at the Community Hall

We will be making three traditional vegetarian curries; Aloo Gobi (cauliflower), Bharta (Eggplant) Curry, and a Chick Pea Curry, to be served on Pilau Rice.

Please bring containers to take home food, and a $15 to $20 contribution.
Please RSVP - we are limited to ten people.

RSVP to Alison at galianofoodprograms@gmail.com