Meet Laura

meet laura

Laura Kalina

Laura is a pioneer and leader of the food security movement in Canada and has written numerous books including, Building Food Security in Canada: From Hunger to Sustainable Food Systems and the Community Kitchen Shopping and Leader Guide.

Laura is the founder and chair of the Kamloops Food Policy Council kamloopsfoodpolicycouncil.com and has championed numerous projects in her community including: Community Gardens and Kitchens, Gardengate Training Centre, Kamloops Food Share and currently working with local governments to develop urban food strategies and policies. With a keen interest in health promotion for kids, Laura is currently on the leadership team for the Farm to Cafeteria in Canada.

Laura is actively involved in health promotion through the media and has been a regular newspaper columnist and guest on numerous television and radio shows. She is the founder of Shop Smart Tours—the largest supermarket nutrition education program in Canada.

She has a passion for sharing the importance of healthy eating and cellular nutrition in the prevention of chronic disease—in particular the management of diabetes through low glycemic eating. Her most recent publication, co-authored with Cheryl Christian, is Low-Glycemic Meals in Minutes directed towards families. She has a daughter with type 1 Diabetes and therefore is very familiar with the challenges that families face.

After 32 years of working as a Public Health Dietitian with Interior Health, Laura retired to pursue her passion and personal commitment to work with First Nations Communities to support indigenous food sovereignty. She is currently partnering with Q’wemtsin Health Society, on the unceded territory of the Secwepemc people, as the community wellness dietitian and Food Sovereignty lead.

Laura Kalina has received numerous awards acknowledging her innovative approaches to nutrition education including the Dietitians of Canada’s Speaking for Food and Healthy Eating, the Kamloops’ Women of Distinction Award and the YMCA International Peace Medal for her work in social justice issues relating to food security.

She most recently was awarded the 2014 Dietitians’ of Canada Members Award for Innovation, in recognition of her outstanding volunteer contributions to the profession of dietetics.

She was awarded the 2014 Dietitians’ of Canada Members Award for Innovation, in recognition of her outstanding volunteer contributions to the profession of dietetics.

And more recently the prestigious 2017 Sharon Martin Award Community Development Award for her outstanding work in making Kamloops more food secure though the founding of the Kamloops Food policy Council.

To acknowledge her long standing career and dedication to the City of Kamloops—Mayor Ken Christian, awarded Laura with the 2018 Pioneer Spirit Award in recognition of years of leadership in food policy, and bringing attention to those less fortunate in our community.