Guests were invited to “find out what’s growing in your community” at the Field to Feast dinner held Saturday, Aug. 1 in the Sechelt (shíshálh) Nation Longhouse. The event was hosted by One Straw Society in partnership with the shíshálh Nation.
Chief Calvin Craigan began the evening by welcoming visitors to the Longhouse. He spoke of the need to “share the land, to sustain ourselves. We have to use all our backyards, all our medicines. We have to go back to the natural ways of the land. We have to share in rebuilding the natural resources of our territory.”
Kym Chi, Food Systems Network coordinator for One Straw, explained the society’s mission to “connect and empower Sunshine Coast residents with the goal of food sovereignty and community resilience within a thriving natural environment.” She thanked the shíshálh Nation and local farmers for the contributions to the dinner and presented blankets as tokens of gratitude to Chief Craigan and to Elder Jamie Dixon, who offered thanks before the meal in both English and shashishalhem.
The delicious dinner featured mostly locally-sourced food created and prepared by chef Martin Ca (Health and Social Development worker with Sechelt Nation) and One Straw’s Laura Walker.
The event was the culmination of One Straw’s two-day Edible Garden Tour celebrating local farms and gardens on the Coast that included workshops, live music and family friendly activities.
– Heather Till
