Home Grown Security

Through the last couple of months, we have struggled fighting COVID-19, our Premier has seemingly. finally admitted, what we all have known for ages about the financial situation in our province. In Newfoundland and Labradors Mea Culpa letter Dwight Ball sent to the Prime Minister, Ball made no attempt to push aside the severity of the situation. While I think this admission was far too late if nothing else it is a welcomed change. The first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one. Finally, and perhaps the most prevalent to me today, are the issues around food security in NL.

We have heard this come up multiple times of late, and it has stoked a certain amount of fear and controversy within our province. While not glorifying any of these articles, as I do not wish to add to the fear. I would like to explore a couple of solutions that might be of help in strengthening our supply and leaving us less dependent on shipping containers for perishable foods.

The first suggestion, which was brought to my attention during a discussion, was a community gardening program. It could consist of many individuals, having small greenhouses and growing different items needed for community. A system like this where contributors could focus on individual items, like greens, berries, fruits, or other vegetables, which a portion of could be exchanged between people in a co-operative environment. While the remainder could be kept for personal use or sold at small farmers markets. These programs if presented in the right manner, I believe it may even be eligible for funding. Plus, they would have the added benefits of securing food for the growers and their families, making fresh produce available to the public. Gardening also has been known to provide health benefits from eating better with less consumption of preservatives, it helps people stay active, helps peoples mental state just to name a few of the many positives.

Another thought, which came up in discussions was to up-size the community program a little bit and build larger greenhouses in smaller communities around the province. This would provide the same types of produce as in the community gardens. This would likely result in separate communities focusing on a specific group of vegetables and bringing them to market. These would have to be small commercial groups growing and produce being sold in markets or supermarkets. Local grown fresh to market for profit. This would result in employment in the smaller communities and let the province be less dependant on outside sources for our produce.

A third idea would be larger still, however may also be viable. We have many vacant government owned buildings. Rather than having them empty, could we not utilize them for hydroponic centers? There has been much advancement in these processes over the years. Let’s face it if we can give tax breaks for cannabis commercial grow operations to help them get off the ground here. Could we not do it for feeding the people of Newfoundland and Labrador? That seems like another way which could be discussed to help with the food security issues.

Some of us who have been around longer than others, have bad memories of greenhouses. Its difficult not to be haunted by the ghosts of projects past, in Newfoundland and Labrador. If Grow Pods can help feed communities of Nunavut who face more challenges than we do, surely, we can initiate a program here to address some of our needs. I would love to get input on these ideas or hear concepts other people have in mind.