Foodprints: a path to resilient food systems
In the Global South and Global North, food insecurity is on the rise.
Although the contexts may differ, many challenges are the same. Climate change, soil degradation, deforestation and unjust food distribution hinder equitable access to sufficient and nutritious food.
In 2013, a partnership was formed between FoodShare Toronto and Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) to explore the challenges of food insecurity and come up with solutions to this issue.
foodprints: a path to resilient food systems, was a public engagement component of CPAR’s Farmers First program and attempted to highlight some of the successful solutions to counter the challenges posed by worldwide food insecurity. In partnership with FoodShare Toronto, foodprints used storytelling to demonstrate the parallels between global and local food insecurity, and provides resources to help address common challenges.
Utcha Sawyers, FoodShare’s Food Justice and Community Food Animation Manager, went to Tanzania to visit CPAR's Farmers Field School (FFS), which are projects located in the rural regions of the village of Karatu in Tanzania. Visiting the conservation agriculture sites at the Umoja School children's garden, as well as clean water sanitation stations and a women-led community tree nursery, was a dynamic and unique opportunity for a visitor from outside of the local Karatu Village.
This global food security exchange enabled local rural farmers to share their respective challenges, opportunities for growth, and innovative solutions given the difficulties they face with regards to soil erosion, extremely limited access to water (at times no access at all), and lack of crop diversity. Seeing how many women are leading the Good Food Revolution across Tanzania had a great impact on Utcha, and she witnessed first-hand the implementation of gender relations training, which is an essential component of the Farmers First workshops and initiatives.