The Centre local de développement de Brome-Missisquoi (CLD Brome-Missiquoi) has launched its new project “Nurturing Community.” Working with eight different municipalities in the Brome-Missisquoi region, including Brome Lake, “Nurturing Community” is about creating a stable food system that strives on local produce for  a better quality of life for residents. 

“In 2020, we surveyed the businesses in the area, the farmers, the restaurants, the grocery stores. We asked them about their priorities and we made this strategic plan. (…) This initiative involves creating a network. So, we are trying to increase the connections amongst our local food system,” explained Leslie Carbonneau, agri-food business advisor for the CLD. 

Connecting Brome-Missiquoi farmers to the larger food system, “Nurturing Community” seeks to make local produce more accessible. The CLD will host workshops with each of the participating municipalities in the fall to come up with individual action plans. 

“The current project (…) is to gather a common understanding of the current food system in the towns. (…) We are gathering a group of representatives of farmers, of businesses, of citizens, to speak on what their needs are, what their priorities are, and together we will create this action plan,” said Carbonneau. 

Carbonneau explained that the action plans will be based around five criteria that makes for a nurturing community. 

“The first one is productive territory, to have productive land and productive spaces. Then we want to have prosperous and responsible businesses. We want to have businesses that strive and that have success,” said Carbonneau. “Third, we want better access to healthy foods. Then, we want to increase the demand for proximity, and finally, we want to have an optimized life cycle for all of the leftovers and trash.”

Carbonneau emphasized that it was the pandemic that really pushed the CLD to initiate the project. 

“Of course the pandemic showed us how fragile our food systems can be. We rely a lot on international imports. (…) We really do believe that with climate change and the unstable worldwide economic situation, that it’s important to have resilience in our communities. Our local food system is one place to begin,” mentioned Carbonneau. 

More information on “Nurturing Community” can be found by going to one of the participating municipality’s (West Bolton, Brigham, Cowansville, Farnham, Frelighsburg, Brome Lake, Notre-Dame-de-Stanbridge and St-Ignacede-Stanbridge) websites. 

Listen to the full interview below: