The Good Food Gathering
December 18, 2025
Here at the Compost Education Centre, we see composting as essential for the cultivation of good food. Yet compost is just one ingredient in the recipe for good food – we also need growers, distributors, chefs, teachers, elders, researchers, and youth.
On November 27th, I was grateful to be able to attend the 10th Annual Good Food Gathering (GFG), where I was able to learn about the work of many folks involved in these various roles throughout the Capital Region District. The Good Food Network exists to support and connect us, which is facilitated by CRFAIR.
As a relative newcomer to the “food system” scene, I was particularly excited for this event. As I stepped into the spacious upper hall of the Gorge Pavillion, with a beautiful view of the Gorge waterway, the room was abuzz with reunions, new connections, fruitful discussions – and of course, delicious food. Though I was feeling a bit shy in this busy room, throughout the day many people introduced themselves to me and made me feel welcome and shared a bit about their work with me.
The day began with an overview of the current context surrounding food systems – how recent years have seen skyrocketing grocery prices but stagnating farmer incomes and increasing food insecurity, especially among equity-denied groups. Despite these growing concerns, many folks have made large strides in our region’s food system over the past 10 years, from Flourish!’s school food programs to Pauquachin First Nation’s clam garden restoration to the development of regional FoodHubs, there is much to celebrate.
After this (and my favourite part of the day), 10 individuals shared stories about their work, their successes and challenges. During these stories, I was especially excited by the work of Ariel at Iyé Creative, where they have done significant research into increasing community capacity to grow culturally relevant food crops. Importantly, a key learning from the Good Food Gathering was that we still have a lot of work to do in our region around supporting the cultivation of cultural foods and prioritizing Indigenous food systems. For those of us engaged (or wanting to engage!) with our local food systems, it is of the utmost importance that we envision food that feeds not only our bodies, but our minds and spirits, and serve everyone equally – and this is what I took away from this awesome day.
Though there was much more that occurred at the GFG, such as an afternoon of group discussions and a yummy lunch, I will leave it there. For myself (and I think others) this was a day to look back, celebrate our successes, name our challenges and shortcomings, and look to the future, energized and focused!
Posted in Blog, Events, Food Security, News