Food security exists when all individuals and their families, at all times, have physical and economic access to food that is safe, sufficient, nutritious and culturally acceptable. The food should meet their dietary needs and food preferences as well as support an active and healthy lifestyle. Because 21% of Prince Albert's population lives below the Low Income Cut-off (LICO), the food security of a very large number of individuals is compromised.

The goals of Food Security pillar of the Social Development Division are:

• To enable food security for all, especially children and youth who are in the process of "becoming"
• To help the community move from charity models to those models that build capacity and skills; in other words, move from giving them fish to teaching them how to fish.
• To oversee the Child Nutrition and Development Program Grant through the Ministry of Education.

Items included in this program:

Community Gardens
Community Gardens build skill development, create community cohesion and beautify the landscape.  The harvest of nutritious fruits and vegetables eases the financial burdens of buying food and reduces our carbon footprint.

Community Kitchens
A community kitchen is a group of people who meet regularly to cook.  In a community kitchen, the group members share recipes, plan meals, shop for groceries and buy in bulk, combining their resources to cook nutritious meals while they learn and share skils.

Good Food Box Program
This program is operated by the Smart Families Food Co-op.

The core actions for 2010 include:

• Remain a core member of the Prince Albert Food Coalition,
• Continue to help agencies and government organizations understand the continuum of Food Security Stages:
  • Meet the immediate need for food,
  • Build capacity and increase community potential for addressing food security needs, and
  • Develop and follow food security policy to correct the systemic problems that lead to food insecurity.
• Continue to build collaborative partnerships that foster food security,
• Remain a core member of the Community Kitchen Working Group,
• Nurture the development of 12 new community kitchens,
• Develop one additional community garden,
• Continue to assess, evaluate and monitor the Community Kitchens program,
• Continue to write reports for progress in the Community Kitchens program,
• Develop a framework paper in the Community Gardens program,
• Continue to expand and nurture the partnerships in both the Community Kitchens and Community Gardens programs,
• Develop a series of 12 fact sheets to promote knowledge exchange in this area,
• Map the locations of kitchens, gardens and other food security supports in the community, and
• Manage and report for the provincial Child Nutrition and Development (Ministry of Education) grant.

 Reports