Shaping 2026: RCFNS Strategic Goals for the Year Ahead

As 2025 closes and 2026 opens, RCFNS is energized by what we've learned and ready to deepen our commitment to rural equity, food self-determination, climate resilience, and land justice.

Our 2025-2027 Strategy and Action Plan reflects interconnected priorities guiding us forward in 2026:

Food Self-Determination

By end of 2026, we will increase rural grant disbursements for community food projects and expand food security partnerships across Nova Scotia. We'll work to shorten supply chains—supporting Nova Scotia farmers growing for Nova Scotia markets—and seek ways to more effectively use critical food processing and distribution infrastructure.

Climate Resilience

We commit to co-funding climate adaptation projects including disbursing Joan Feynman grants to youth, women and gender-diverse climate leaders. Our goal: ensure rural communities, especially those most impacted by climate change, lead the adaptation efforts affecting them.

Equitable Land Management

RCFNS will participate in at least one new land management initiative for marginalized communities - deepening work with Community Land Trusts, supporting Mi'kmaq and African Nova Scotian land stewardship, and co-hosting land reform sessions that center justice and reconciliation.

Intersectional Impact

By end of 2026, we will co-design one intersectional pilot fund—a unified funding tool recognizing how food security, climate resilience, and land equity intersect. This fund will direct resources to initiatives addressing multiple barriers simultaneously.

Amplifying Rural Voices

We will publish six impact stories annually, focused on equity-deserving communities. Our digital presence and storytelling will ensure rural Nova Scotia's narratives—especially those of Mi'kmaq, African Nova Scotian, and Acadian communities—shape provincial discourse.

Moving Forward Together

2026 will demand flexibility, humility, and willingness to learn from communities. It requires listening to young leaders, honouring Elders' wisdom, and building bridges across isolated sectors.

The work ahead is bold. Rural Nova Scotia is ready. Here's to 2026: a year of deepening impact and tangible systems change.

#RCFNS #StrategicGoals2026 #SystemsChange #FoodSovereignty #ClimateResilience #LandEquity #RuralNovaScotia #TogetherWeThrive

To read the blog on Erika’s LinkedIn