How can the civil society influence decision makers to play their part in advancing healthy, sustainable and just food systems? A presentation highlighting advocacy activities and campaigns of Food Secure Canada, presented by communications coordinator Francois Zeller, during 'Advocating for Success' session at Bring Food Home 2015.

1. Eat Think Vote
let’s make food an election issue!
Food Secure Canada’s election campaign 2015

2. Table of content
Advocating for success!
Evaluation
and lessons
learned
Goal and
Strategy
PART 1 PART 2 PART 3
PART 4
Boost visibility
Raise
awareness
Mobilize Engage

3. Eat Think Vote
Our goal: to make food a federal election issue

4. Eat Think Vote
Our strategy, inspired by previous successes

5. Eat Think Vote
4 planks supporting the idea of a national food policy
Several expertscontributed

6. Eat Think Vote
Encourage local organizations to engage their candidates on food issues

7. Organization
Eat Think Vote
• A communications coordinator
(online mobilization)
• Two campaign coordinators (on the
ground mobilization)
• A National Election Team of
volunteers (consultation and on the
ground-mobilization-group)

8. Eat Think Vote
Politicians
Organizations
Individuals
3 audiences
Candidates:
Say ‘YES’ to
a national
Food Policy

9. Easy actions for
interested people
Endorsement actions
for supporters
Harder actions for
supporters
Alpha-team of
ambassadors
• Visit the website
• Share the word on social media
• Sign the petition
• Join the movement (survey –
subscribe for updates )
• Join an event
• Donate
• Host a local event
• Engage candidates and citizens
• Create or contribute to a blog
article
Caring
Acting
Leading
Eat Think Vote
Boost visibility Raise awareness Mobilize Engage

10. Eat Think Vote
Social Media: outreach call to action,
news curation, with use of a campaign
#hashtag
Newsletters: targeted updates during
the campaign.
Media: press releases, opinion articles,
local event coverage…
Website: deliver content and gather
contact information through online
actions.
Boost visibility
Boost visibility
Raise awarness
Raise awarness
Mobilize
MobilizeRaise awarness Engage
Boost visibility

11. Obstacles
Individuals Organizations Politicians
Complex political claim not
likely to engage massively
(interrelated issues that lead
to federal action). Perception
handicap: lack of touchable
result when calling for
national food policy.
Political engagement that
can discourage some
organizations to engage
even is the campaign is
non-partisan. Charity
chill.
The statute of a non-profit
organization implies to be
careful about how to engage
politicians. Elections Canada
gave concrete instructions for
candidates to not take pledges
during the campaign.

12. Results
Local, 46
Provincial,
14
National, 33
Local events:
Articles in the news:
20,500 website visitors
4,250 petition signatures
15,500
people engaged on FSC’s Facebook posts
More than 6,000 tweets shared with the hashtag #EatThinkVote
Online communications:

13. Eat Think Vote
More than 200 organizations hosted an ETV
event and/or signed the petition.
Host: members vs. Non-members – 68% & 32%

14. Candidates who participated
Conserva*ve,
10
Green,
47
Liberal,
43
NDP,
43
Other,
23
0
10
20
30
40
50
2 Elected 1 Elected 21 Elected 8 Elected 1 Elected
Ministers who
participated to
an ETV event

15. A story to be continued…
available
here
http://storify.com/
FoodSecureCAN/eat-think-vote/