Northern Foodways Development Network
Reports
Our NFDN research, reports and impact
This Northern Foodways Development Network (NFDN) is an unincorporated network, focused on supporting sustainable foodway solutions across all of Northern Ontario, recognizing the value of regional, local and traditional foods and their benefit on health, communities, the environment and the economy.
The NFDN’s purpose is to bring together community advisors, advocates and food system actors to build a more resilient and sustainable food system in Northern Ontario. Through the development of shared goals, and action plans that are developed through a community consultation process, the NFDN will execute long-term collaborative projects to address challenges in Northern Ontario food systems.
The following reports demonstrate the research the NFDN has done over the past years of its development.
NFDN Spring 2022 Report
Acknowledging that the Northern Food Distribution Network (NFDN) was challenged with a large mandate and faced structural obstacles, the research in this report was undertaken to identify the most successful activities of the NFDN and propose actions for the next five years to advance the mission of the network to address food value chain challenges.
The food distribution system in Northern Ontario is complex. The vast geographic area, dispersed population, climatic considerations, and agricultural capacity play into a functioning but inefficient food system. While there are many food distribution mechanisms, each comes with its challenges. Factors such as the corporate global food economy, lack of food system infrastructure, oppression of Indigenous foodways, and minimal food production capacity contribute to people across Northern Ontario having limited access to the foods they self-determine to be valuable and essential for their sustainability.
Addressing these challenges cannot be done in isolation or by one organization. Bringing together the numerous food system actors and organizations to create a shared plan to classify the work, divide activities to appropriate people and organizations, and collectively learn from each other as the work advances are the goal that the NFDN has taken to address this complex problem. Read more from the Spring 2022 Report.
NFDN Spring 2022 Report - Executive Summary
The Executive Summary of the NFDN Spring 2022 Report is available for download below.
Barriers + Bridges full Report:
Exploring Value Chain Coordination in Northern Ontario
Winter 2022
This report is the culmination of research done in 2021 carried out primarily by our Northern Food Distribution Network Coordinator, Kelleigh Wright, and our Northwest Regional Coordinator, Jen Esposito Springett. This research informs about exploring the application of Food Value Chain Coordination to address barriers and create bridges between a diversity of food communities in northern Ontario.
Weaving the complexity of food systems found in northern Ontario (forest, agricultural, mainstream imported) with Indigenous food systems and their associated knowledges and perspectives could have positive effects at local, and regional scales across the north. This weaving could protect food environments, restore Indigenous foodways and cultures, improve food security and accessibility, address food security and sovereignty, and support local economies.
What is missed or overlooked in these Western processes is the relational and inter-relational aspects of lands, waters, between peoples and food supply chains, and within food systems. Water is life, land is the first teacher, food is both sacred and medicine.
A northern vision of a sustainable food system supports food and farming businesses that develop value-based food systems, where power is retained within the hands of northern Ontario peoples, diversity of culture is respected, our lands are nourished and valued, and economic and social benefits are achieved for all engaged parties. Read more from our Barriers + Bridges Winter 2022 Full Report.
Barriers + Bridges 2022 Report - Executive Summary
The Executive Summary of the NFDN Winter 2022 Barriers + Bridges Report is available for download below.