What Is Food Sovereignty? A Primer on the Nyéléni Process
By: Sarah Siska, Executive Director, FAN-NWO This is the second blog in a series on the Nyéléni Process and food sovereignty. Read the first piece in the series reflecting on Sarah’s experience as a delegate at Nyéléni here. Take a moment to think about the role of food in your life, beyond simply eating. Have […]
Restoring Manomin: Supporting Indigenous Relationships with The Good Berry through Community-University Partnerships
By Sophie Shepherd, Rachel Johnson (Students, Lakehead University Masters of Environmental Studies), Dr. Charles Levkoe, Dr. Jill Taylor-Hollings & Dr. Martha Dowsley For at least 7,000 years, Manomin has been cared for and cultivated by Indigenous Peoples throughout the Great Lakes watershed. Though the name “wild rice” is often used for this plant, it is misleading because it is neither […]
Growing Co-operatively: Strengthening Food Systems in Northwestern Ontario
By Sarah Jensen, Regional Food Systems Coordinator, FAN-NWO It’s winter 1939, and you’re about to head out for a fun new winter activity – skating on the Thunder Bay Dairy Co-op’s frozen-milk rink, made from surplus milk as a creative promotion for local dairy farmers. Nearly a decade earlier, those farmers – spurred by new […]
Putting Indigenous Food Sovereignty First: Insights from the Fall 2025 Understanding Our Food Systems Gathering
By Liz Lovell, Community Food Systems Coordinator, FAN-NWO Actualizing Indigenous food sovereignty is about much more than addressing hunger—it is about rebuilding relationships with the land, reviving traditional practices, promoting ecological and cultural resilience, and enabling Indigenous peoples to determine their own food futures. The Understanding Our Food Systems (UOFS) project is just one of many initiatives that are […]
Local Seeds, Global Impact
“If people cannot save and plant a seed, they cannot feed themselves. When communities can save and share seeds, they keep knowledge in local hands, strengthen food security, and connect their work to broader global movements for seed justice. What we grow and protect here is both local and global, proving that small, community-led actions can ripple outward to make real change. ” Learn more about local food varieties and the seed saving work in our region!
Coming Home from Nyéléni: What a Global Food Sovereignty Space Leaves With You
By: Sarah Siska, Executive Director, FAN-NWO This September, I traveled from Northwestern Ontario to Kandy, Sri Lanka, to take part in the 3rd Global Nyéléni Forum on Food Sovereignty. For nearly two weeks, I joined more than 700 people from over 100 countries in a whirlwind of dialogue, debate, song, struggle, and solidarity. The scale […]
Reclaiming People’s Power Over Food Systems
The Walleye, November 2025, Vol 16, No 11
Harvest the Rewards of Seasonal Local Eating
The Walleye, October 2025, Vol 16, No 10
Good Harvest, Great Market
Learn more about the largest outdoor single-day farmer’s market event in the region, co-hosted by FAN-NWO & Goods&Co. Market.
Growing History into Future: 30 Years of Food Action in Northwestern Ontario
The Walleye, September 2025, Vol 16, No 9