Active & UpcomingProjects
The Belleville Abundance Project is a multi-year community building project that will use asset-based community development tools to discover the many gifts of Belleville and its residents. It was launched at our CDC Open House on September 19, 2023.
The primary goal of this project is to improve access to healthy and local food, however, we hope to reach many other goals along the way. Some of these include building and strengthening community relationships; creating new connections and interconnections; discovering hidden gifts, skills, knowledge and passions of residents; and shedding light on the abundance of assets and opportunities in our own backyard.
The Belleville Abundance Project intends to offer a collective mission by which to bring the community together. While the immediate tangible goal is to improve access to healthy and local food, this project is intended to inspire and support the development of a culture of trust, cooperation, hope and empowerment.
Please email cdcresearch@cdcquinte.com if you are interested in getting involved.
What is Food Security?
“Food security is when all people at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.” – United Nations Committee on World Food Security, 1996
Food Insecurity in H&PEC compared to Ontario
- 10.5% (1 in 10) of H&PE households are moderate or severely food insecure versus 8.5% (1 in 12) of households across the province
- 16.8% (1 in 6) H&PE households experience some level of food insecurity versus 13.1% (1 in 7) households at a provincial level
Hunger is the face of poverty
If you had to choose between paying your rent or buying food, what would you do, knowing that if you get evicted, you won’t have a cupboard to put your food in?
If you had to choose between paying the hydro bill or buying food, what would you do, knowing that if the hydro is cut off, you won’t have any way to cook your food or keep it refrigerated?
Hunger is the face of poverty!
The cost of eating poorly over the long term comes in the form of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, leading to health care costs increasing up to 3x that of a food secure person - further perpetuating experiences of poverty.
Past Research & Reports
Assessing the State of Food Security in Belleville, Ontario
February 2002 The purpose of this project was to gain insight into the magnitude of food insecurity in Belleville, Ontario....
Focus Groups Explore Food Security Issues
2012 In the autumn of 2011, the Food Security Network of Hastings & Prince Edward Counties conducted six local focus...
Leaning In: Community Conversations on Poverty in Hastings Prince Edward
March 2018 The Community Conversations Report was developed to help our community lean in, to hear, to learn and to understand...