Manitoba Government invests almost $1.1 million in Food Currency Program

Nov 15, 2022

The Manitoba government is providing almost $1.1 million over three years to Direct Farm Manitoba to support its Manitoba Community Food Currency Program, which works to improve food security for Manitobans in need while also supporting local agri-businesses, announced Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson.

“As exceptional inflationary measures continue driving up the cost of food, more Manitobans face the burden of being unable to meet their own and their family’s nutritional needs,” said Johnson. “This unique food currency initiative helps ensure Manitobans in need have reliable and equitable access to healthy food that promotes their well-being, while simultaneously supporting farmers markets and local agri-product businesses.”

Direct Farm Manitoba launched the Manitoba Community Food Currency Program in 2020 as a community-building initiative that aimed to empower Manitobans facing food insecurity by providing food currency that can be used to purchase locally produced fruit, vegetables, meat and processed foods at farmers markets.

The Manitoba government’s investment will ensure 700 families in the province benefit from the program annually over the next three years, noted Johnson.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.