December 2008

In This Issue

CED Profile: The Good Food Club

CCEDNet Manitoba's internship project, Emerging Leaders MB, placed five emerging CED practitioners with five local community organizations full-time, for six months to work on CED projects. As part of the work, each intern profiled their projects for our newsletter. This months profile comes from Jennifer Neufeld, who worked at the West Broadway Development Corporation (WBDC). Jennifer concluded her internship in December and created a solid business plan for a soup making business to employ low income people and use ingredients from local producers, and WBDC is currently working on funding to start up this social enterprise.

I have the privilege of doing very interesting work. It involves creativity, great people, healthy food, farming, markets, innovation, and research. I work for the Good Food Club, a program of the West Broadway Development Corporation.

The West Broadway Development Corporation is a non-profit neighbourhood renewal organization. It supports residents, community-based organizations, businesses, government and other partners toward environmentally sustainable social and economic development. Its programs focus on housing, greening, a publication called The Broadcaster, and food security through the Good Food Club.

The Good Food Club's goal is to make healthy, affordable food available in West Broadway. It offers community cafes and potlucks, weekly trips to a farm, a weekly market in the summer months and fresh food boxes in winter. Members may be involved by working in exchange for "sweat equity points" that can be redeemed for healthy food.
My internship involved expanding the Veggie Van Market and preparing a business plan for a social enterprise.

In the summer, the Veggie Van Market runs every Thursday at Klinic Community Health Centre on Broadway. The Market is adjacent to an Urban Agriculture Pilot Project which is tended by the ‘landless farmer's collective'. This group of farmers is growing vegetables in the heart of the city and studying the viability of using vacant land to supply food locally. The harvest is donated to Agape Table, the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre, and the Good Food Club. Produce from this land and from the Wiens Family Farm is sold at affordable prices to Good Food Club members. Other vendors at the market sell hand-made goods. People who visit the market are enthusiastic and they enjoy buying local and meeting neighbours.

Good Food Club members are anticipating a social enterprise: a business that will provide employment and will sell a product that promotes food security. I facilitated the development of the business plan. From a long list of ideas generated by the members, my research led me to identify a soup-making venture as a viable enterprise which fits with the aims of the Good Food Club. Our trial run in October was a tremendous success that delivered butternut squash and almond soup all over the neighbourhood.

This internship was a great learning and leadership experience. It gave me the opportunity to build on my knowledge and practice of CED and to contribute to a great neighbourhood.

CED Tool

Fantastic New Resource: CED in Calgary Booklet

Many organizations, individuals, and businesses are practicing Community Economic Development (CED) and don't even know it. Others are in a position to be involved and will gain awareness of opportunities. The purpose of this booklet is to educate more people about CED and encourage more creative CED initiatives in our community.

National News and Events

National Co-op Orgs Launch CDI Renewal Campaign

Canada's two national co-op organizations have launched a campaign to ensure the renewal of the Co-operative Development Initiative (CDI), a federal government program that provides support for new and emerging co-ops. The program, which has been funded by the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for the past six years, is scheduled to expire in March 2009.

For more information on CDI, as well as tools to allow you to e-mail your MP, go to www.coopscanada.coop/cdi

Senate Report on Rural Poverty

Recommendations include renewing the Social Economy Initiative, endorsing the Co-op Housing strategy, CDI renewal, targets for rural poverty reduction, rural broadband initiatives and CAP funding, a study on guaranteed annual income, housing initiatives, literacy funding renewals, support for CFDCs and expanding micro-credit options, support for new and expanding credit unions, and much more.

Can Values Make a Difference? Co-operatives - moving from the Rochdale Pioneers to the 21st Century.

Call for papers for July conference in Manchester. Submission Deadline Jan 16.

Early Bird Registration for 10th Anniversary Social Enterprise Summit, New Orleans - Dare to Dream, Dare to Do.

Early-bird registration closes January 7, 2009. Conference April 15-17, 09.

What Sport Can Do: The True Sport Report.

Health; positive child and youth development; stronger and more inclusive communities; economic development and renewal; and environmental sustainability are all cited as benefits, in a recent release on behalf of the True Sport movement, http://www.truesportpur.ca/
via Tamarack

Report from the Social Enterprise World Forum in Edinburgh

Video Archives of National Housing Research Committee's Nov. 4th Session now available.

Topics include: Changing Patterns in Homeownership and Shelter Costs in Canada from the 2006 Census, CMHC'S Lifecycle Costing Tool for Community Infrastructure Planning, and Access to Housing Finance Among Recent Immigrants.

A Case for Social Innovation Article

Social entrepreneurship and social enterprise have become popular rallying points for those trying to improve the world. These two notions are positive ones, but neither is adequate. We contend that social innovation is the best construct for understanding - and producing - lasting social change.
via Tamarack

Call for Innovative Proposals: Aussie conference ‘Building Community Centred Economies'

The 2009 International Association of Community Development and Community Development Queensland is currently seeking proposals for participation in the largest community development conference held in Oceania to date! Proposals due by January 10, 2009.

The aim of the conference is to create outcomes that assist the practice of sustainable community development both locally and internationally. The following topics will be addressed: Building Sustainable Livelihoods; Promoting Human Scale Economies; Engaging and Leveraging Community Development Finance; Exploring Government, Corporate, and Community Relationships; Protecting the Right to Local Security and Sovereignty; and Breaking New Ground on Old Issues.

Learn more about the Building Community Centered Economies: Dialogue for Action from June 17 - 20, 2009 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia at www.cdconference.com.au

Job Postings

For the latest CED postings visit the National and Regional job pages on CCEDNet's website

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Positions to post? Send them to breimer@ccednet-rcdec.ca

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Northern Territories Newsletter

The Canadian CED Network

Strengthening Canada's Communities

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