'We want to fix it': Islanders unite to try to solve food insecurity

A group of concerned Islanders gathered in Charlottetown on Thursday to share ideas about how to deal with food insecurity on P.E.I.

The Let's Talk Food Summit was hosted by the city and attracted a diverse crowd of activists, chefs, fishermen and other members of the food industry. Some of the issues discussed included food educationand food access for people affected by poverty.

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Ramona Doyle, the sustainability officer with the City of Charlottetown, says residents have made it "loud and clear" they want to see policies and programs that address food insecurity.

She said the city hopes the event will provide "more directed feedback on how we can really make those changes" as well as help them address goals identified inCharlottetown'sIntegrated Community Sustainability Plan, like the possibility of a food charter or food policy.

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"Depending on what we hear, we'll have a better understanding of where our next steps need to be," Doyle said.

Food waste

For participants such as private chef Glenda Landry, the summit also offered an opportunity to network in new circles.

"What's wonderful about this, is we're all getting together, we're going to see what the problems are, in everyone's discipline, and we're all going to talk about it to see if we can come up with an action plan to be able to help food insecurity and to help starving children on the island starving families. We want to fix it."

ForLandry, food waste was top of mind.

"I see a lot of things that are going to waste in a refrigerator.... So I want to discuss that and see how we can get around that," she said.

"I want to be part of the solution."

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