Tempest in a Stockpot

Tempest in a Stock Pot is a 12-episode podcast on Smithers Community Radio CICK 93.9FM focusing on food security in northern BC. It features conversations with food producers, academics, researchers, and community leaders to highlight inequities, raise awareness of challenges, potential solutions, inspire grassroots change, provoke reflection, and ultimately influence local and provincial action.

When the food system we want to eat from seems impossible to reach, there is hope in the actions people are taking. Across northern BC, people are impacting different parts of the system and making today better while also creating the elements for a future food system that will be delicious and just.

Theme music by Elijah Larsen at Soniquinn Studios. https://www.soniquinnstudios.com/

ALSO Streaming on Spotify!

Comments, questions, and feedback can be sent to info@storytellerssociety.org

Brenda Barritt, Executive Director of Storytellers’, is a settler of central European ancestry whose family has lived in Canada for several generations. Now based in northern British Columbia, she brings both lived experience and a strong sense of place to her work in community development and learning. Much of her work focuses on food security and food sovereignty, approached through a relational lens that recognizes food as more than sustenance. She often draws on the idea from Patti Digh that “the shortest distance between two people is a story,” adding that food is a close second—both serving as powerful ways to connect, nourish, and build community. Through this perspective, Brenda supports initiatives that weave together individual and collective stories, strengthening relationships and a shared sense of belonging.

Over the past 15 years, Brenda has been deeply involved in food systems work across Canada, including a decade as a farmer providing locally raised protein directly to households. This hands-on experience continues to inform her understanding of sustainable, community-based food systems. In addition to her professional work, Brenda is a mother and an elected member of local government. These roles ground her approach, shaping the curiosity, care, and commitment she brings to her work and to the communities she serves. You can reach her at brenda@storytellerssociety.org

Brenda & Christine with Charlie inside Sik-E-Dakh’s Growcer unit.

Christine Bruce brings a rich and multifaceted background that blends technical expertise, community advocacy, and a deep commitment to health, environment, and food systems. She began her career as a professional technical writer in Toronto’s software industry, building a strong foundation in clear communication and knowledge translation. In more recent years, her advocacy-focused podcasts through CICK have earned multiple awards, reflecting both her skill and dedication to community storytelling and engagement.

A lifelong volunteer, Christine has been widely recognized for her work in animal rights, housing precarity, and food security. Advocacy has been a constant thread throughout her professional and personal life, guided by core values of compassion and environmental stewardship. Her perspective is further shaped by her background as a certified personal trainer with expertise in nutrition, bringing a health and wellness lens to her work in food systems. Christine is especially passionate about the relationships built through food and the importance of supporting local producers. She actively encourages community members to buy and eat locally, seeing this as essential to both individual well-being and broader environmental and economic resilience. You can reach Christine at rusticscribe@gmail.com

Tempest in a Stock Pot was funded through the Ideas Lab for Food Systems Transformation, an initiative strengthening food security across northern BC by supporting collaboration, innovation, and more resilient local food systems. This initiative was made possible with funding from the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction and facilitation from the Public Health Association of British Columbia and Food Banks BC. 

For more information on this initiative and others being supported through the partnership, visit https://phabc.org/cfsd/ or www.CFSD-PHABC.ca

The Smithers Community Radio Society is an incorporated non-profit that manages a locally supported, volunteer operated community radio station (93.9FM).  Broadcasting from the historic Central Park Train Car, our programming focuses on local artists, non-mainstream Canadian music, and commentary reflecting the community's diverse perspectives.

Find out more about CICK and their programming at https://www.smithersradio.com/