Healthy food for all

On Oct. 18, 92 restaurants throughout 19 cities in Canada will be fundraising for their local community food centres. Participating restaurants in Winnipeg include Ben Kramer Pop-up at Kitchen Sync (370 Donald St.), Chew (532 Waterloo St.), deer + almond (85 Princess St.), Forth (171 McDermot Ave.), King + Bannatyne (100 King St.), and Promenade Café and Wine (130 Provencher Blvd.).

Restaurants for Change is a third party fundraiser event that will be gathering funds for NorWest Co-op Community Food Centre and Community Food Centres Canada. Lila Knox, director at NorWest Co-op CFC, said the money raised at this event helps them grow the programs they offer and raise awareness about the work they do in the community.

Knox said community members are living in a food desert. NorWest Co-op CFC looks into providing access to healthy food but more so builds skills, develop a strong community and confront the issues that lead to poverty and hunger.

"The community food centre came out of a community consultation done in 2013 that showed a need for food security and programs that would bring community members together for community development," she explained, adding the Canadian food system is a "complicated issue."

"We need to support local farmers, and we need to support people who are pushing the education levels."

Ben Kramer, the owner of Chef Ben Kramer Custom Catering, has been involved with Restaurants for Change for several years. He has contributed to innovate and find sustainable ways to consume food in Canada based on the belief that everything should be made from scratch using local ingredients.

Community food centres help the community realize new and sustainable ways to use and produce food, he said.

"I spent a good chunk of my career pushing for the local, the organic, the scratch side of cooking, to be able to give back to communities that are less fortunate in that venue is pretty meaningful," he said. "Community food centres are more about bringing people together as a community and treating people with dignity."

NorWest Co-op CFC was the first community food centre to open in western Canada. It’s one of eight Community Food Centres across Canada that provide vibrant and dignified community spaces for people to grow, cook, share, and advocate for healthy food. Knox said they pride themselves in providing the best food for their participants.

This year, Kramer is not only encouraging people to enjoy a dinner prepared by him, but he is bringing the Winnipeg chef community together to make a delicious meal that will give back to those in need.

"We hope to sell it out," Kramer continued. "These kinds of dinners for us are fun, but the biggest impact we have is raising those funds and getting the word out."