Projects and Focus

Parry’s current work is centered on strengthening Prince Edward Island’s local food system, supporting the people within it and creating practical ways for communities to connect, learn and participate.

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PEI Food Strong

PEI Food Strong is a Canadian social enterprise that is building a more connected, inclusive and resilient food system for Prince Edward Island.

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It brings together the people who grow, catch, make, sell, serve, cook and share food, along with retailers, the hospitality industry, institutions, community organizations and those who shape policy and deliver services.

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Its work includes practical support for food businesses, strengthening connections across the Island, community food education and the development of digital tools that will make local food, food experiences, resources and opportunities easier to find.

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PEI Food Strong: Building a More Inclusive and Resilient System

 

PEI Food Strong grew from a simple observation: Prince Edward Island has extraordinary food, skilled producers and deeply rooted food traditions, but the people and organizations within the system are not always well connected. Too many opportunities are missed, and too many challenges are addressed one sector at a time.

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PEI Food Strong looks at the whole picture, from source to supper. It identifies what is already working, where the gaps are and which connections are missing. It brings together people across the food ecosystem and across the Island to develop practical ways to strengthen local food businesses, improve access to Island food and build greater resilience.

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That work includes helping farms, producers and food businesses find partners, reach new markets, build more visible brands and make practical use of digital tools. It also includes plain-language help navigating food-safety requirements, inspections, licensed kitchens, farm-stand sales and other parts of establishing and operating a food business.

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PEI Food Strong is also developing digital tools that will make it easier to discover Island food, food experiences, resources, workshops and events; connect growers with chefs, retailers and the hospitality industry; and help more Islanders participate in their local food system.

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The goal is not to replace good work already underway. It is to find it, connect it, strengthen it and make it easier for people to participate and succeed.

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A stronger food system cannot be built by one organization or sector. It depends on the people within it understanding how their work connects and helping shape what comes next.

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Community is more than an audience. It is the engine.

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PEI Cooks builds community around Island cooking, food knowledge and shared experience while collaborating with other food communities. Its work has included the community-created PEI Cooks at Home cookbook, weekly newspaper columns and cooking workshops in community halls.

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PEI Good Eats, its 21,000-plus-member Facebook home-cooking community, brings people from across PEI, Canada and the world together to celebrate Island food legacies, prized recipes and cooking ideas.

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Together, PEI Cooks and PEI Good Eats show the approach in action. They connect Island home cooks, local food businesses, producers and consumers while creating practical ways to share knowledge, promote local food and understand what people need.

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PEI Food Strong builds on those relationships and insights to support broader work in food resilience, preservation, distribution, food skills, local purchasing and community participation. It builds coalitions and supports other community groups working toward similar goals.

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A stronger food system is not built by one organization or sector. It depends on the people within it understanding how their work connects, recognizing what is possible and helping design what comes next.

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That is the system PEI Food Strong is working to build: more connected, more inclusive and more resilient, with community at its core.

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PEI Cooks turns that community energy into practical projects.

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Its first major publishing project, PEI Cooks at Home: A Taste of Prince Edward Island, brought together 79 Island home cooks and 150 of their recipes. The community helped create, improve and promote the book, which sold out multiple times (the first time in 8 hours!)

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The work has expanded to include weekly newspaper columns, community cooking workshops, local food promotion and the next community-created book, Preserving PEI. (Out in September.)

 

At Parry’s Table

At Parry’s Table is a multimedia series that will bring together food, conversation and the stories behind both.

Rooted in Prince Edward Island but not limited by geography, the series will feature home cooks, farmers, fishers, producers, bakers, chefs, newcomers, elders and others whose experiences shape the way we understand food and community.

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The guiding idea is simple: Come for the food. Stay for the stories.

 

Current Areas of Focus

• strengthening local food resilience and self-reliance

• helping small food businesses establish themselves, grow and reach new markets

• supporting food preservation, cooking skills and shared knowledge

• connecting producers with retailers, hospitality, institutions and consumers

• developing digital tools that make Island food easier to find and support

• cooking classes and workshops 

• community canning sessions to can and take it home

• newcomer and multigenerational cooking events

• recipe boxes that contain everything you need to make a recipe, like Pho

• building community-led publishing, storytelling and educational projects

• creating stronger connections among existing organizations, programs and communities

 

Across all of this work, the focus remains the same: understand what people need, identify what is missing and build practical ways forward with community at the core.