Jen Cody

Background

About Jen Cody

I have been active in the food community since 1998. Currently I am a dietitian with Nuuchahnulth Tribal Council, working with families one to one, supporting nutrition with individual nations, and working to support long term food sovereignty with Nuuchahnulth First Nations. I am a director and founder of Growing Opportunities, a non profit coop focussed on engaging the community in practical agriculture and farm skills with a focus on providing an inclusive environment and skills for everyone of all abilities. For seven years I worked with Nanaimo Foodshare as Executive Director, a non profit that supports programs and community development related to food security and sustainable local food systems. I am a founding member of the BCFSN, a provincial network involved with food system issues. I extensive experience working with perinatal families as a dietitian and childbirth educator with the Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre in Nanaimo (2006-2013). My work with aboriginal families has enriched my understanding of food security, food skills, and indigenous food and culture. I have years of experience developing and maintaining provincial, regional, and local networks. As a health educator and patient advocate, I have extensive experience in helping families navigate the health system and making informed choices at critical moments in their lives. I have been involved in developing, implementing and evaluating participatory research projects engaging participants and community in partnership with universities and health care professionals. I have extensive experience as an adult educator facilitating workshops and making public presentations. I also chair other regional and local networks as a part of my volunteer work. In my role as Chair of the Provincial BC Food Systems Network, I represented a wide range of organizations and individuals. It has been a lot of fun! My new fun and adventure has been as an active coordinator/worker and founder of Growing Opportunities Community Farm. The farm is working with people of all levels of ability, and has supported people with mental health disabilities to participate. The farm is developing a commercial growing seeds project, is involved with a carrot seed participatory on farm research. I participate as a lead for seed variety trials and seed production at Growing Opportunities Farm Community Coop and as a founder of the BC EcoSeeds Coop.