Author Archives: Phil

About Phil

Research Associate, Nourishing Ontario

Fortnightly Feast – vol. 6.2 (Sustainable Food Systems)

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Does your health insurance company support your local farmer?
CSA wellness rebates boost local food systems and increase sustainable agricultural practices … while giving consumers a little extra pull in shaping our national food supply.  Maybe policymakers will take note. Read more…

HUBS

Local Farmers Plant Seeds for Sustainable Food Hub in Central Vermont
The mission of the Farm-to-Table program is to provide universal access of locally grown foods through education, marketing and distribution.  Read more…

Value-Added Food at the Mad River Food Hub
What products do local restaurants, retailers, schools and hospitals regularly use? Among these products, where do they value freshness and quality most? Of these products, can we reconstruct them with the local ingredients presented to us from our initial question?
Read more…

Simcoe County Feasibility Study: Regional Food Distribution Hub
See the Stakeholder Focus Group Day’s presentation [pdf], including information about the project and feedback provided on barriers and solutions.

Community Infrastructure

Cooperative Groceries: Is this the Future of Community Food Retail?
Imagine shopping at a grocery store that only carries local products with prices set by members of the community, rather than a corporation. Read more…

We envision The Mustard Seed becoming a beautiful place to shop, a place that promotes food access, connection between local producers and consumers, and a vibrant sense of community. Read more…

The West End food Co-op will: Promote co-operative values and ownership; Act as a catalyst for local food security by coordinating community driven food initiatives; and Provide the local community with a full-service grocery store that focuses on selling products that are ecologically sustainable, local and healthy, such as fair trade and organic. Read more…

Food Systems Approaches

First Nations Development Institute Awards $375,000 to 10 Native Food-System Projects under the Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (NAFSI), which addresses issues confronting tribes and Native communities as they seek to strengthen the food system in their communities, improve health and nutrition, and build food security. Read more…

Bioregion Food System Study
Led by Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Institute for Sustainable Horticulture, the three-year initiative -the world’s first bio-region study aiming at increasing food security- will lay out a plan for stakeholders and governments in the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Sea to Sky Corridor to create a regional food system. Read more…

The Sustainable Food Cities Network is an alliance of public, private and third sector organisations that believe in the power of food as a vehicle for driving positive change and that are committed to promoting sustainable food for the benefit of people and the planet. Read more…

 

Fortnightly Feast – vol. 6.1 (Upcoming Events)

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Until 30 April 2013, the UN FAO is running an open e-consultation on ‘Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems’

WEBINARS

Financing Farmers and Food Hubs
April 30, 2013
2:00-3:30pm
Michigan Food Hub Learning and Innovation Network
 Learn more about two exciting financing projects: the Shade Fund (part of the Conservation Fund) and the Northwest Michigan Farm and Food 20/20 Fund.
To participate in the webinar, go to: https://connect.msu.edu/richpirog
 Read more…

Stocking the Pantry: Fundraising in the community food sector
Upcoming free webinar: Wednesday, April 24, 12:00-1:00pm EDTJoin Nick Saul, President & CEO of Community Food Centres Canada, and Cheryl Roddick, Director of Development at The Stop Community Food Centre for a conversation on fundraising for small to mid-size organizations. The discussion will touch on the evolution of fundraising at The Stop, key development moments, the art of stewardship, the importance of diversified funding, and more. Click here to register – https://cfccanada.webex.com/

Foodweb Solutions 2.0

Food Hackathon was the first of its kind event empowering food lovers and developers with a focus on building hardware and software products and services that positively impact the production, storage, distribution, access, discovery, sharing, consumption, and social impact of food. Read more…

Crowdsourcing crop improvement and local indicators?
Can we preselect varieties for a future climate, from a similar climate here and now?
What indicators of season changes will stop being useful to farmers? Will these work in a different place in the future? Read more…

Web-based Community Food Toolkit goes ‘live’

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Nourishing Ontario constructed a community food toolkit, to help local food initiatives develop sustainable regional food systems. As part of an Agri-Food and Rural Link-funded project, (the knowledge translation and transfer program of the OMAF and MRA- U of G Partnership), we converted this Sustainable Communities of Food toolkit into a web-based platform, using feedback from our community and research partners on both the physical and web-based versions.

On April 4, at the OMAF and MRA- U of G Partnership Knowledge Exchange Day 2013: The KTT Toolbox, we took part in a workshop that ran through the processes involved in gathering and dealing with the feedback, and the positive changes in the digital toolkit that resulted.

We have also coordinated the development of this web-based Community Food Toolkit with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and University of Guelph Partnership / Knowledge Translation and Transfer (KTT) Funding Program website, where the description of our project and links to our web-based Toolkit are now ‘live’.

Peter Andrée on GM Alfalfa

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Dozens of farmers drove into the city on Tuesday to spend part of their afternoon outside an office complex near Hunt Club and Merivale. They want the federal government to prevent the planting of genetically modified alfalfa. CBC Ottawa interviews Nourishing Ontario’s Eastern Region project co-lead Peter Andrée on the controversy.

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/ottallinaday_20130409_49873.mp3

Discussions with Geoff Tansey

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Geoff Tansey, visiting UK scholar, will be available for private meetings on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 in the Guelph region. For more information, please contact Alison Blay-Palmer (alison.blaypalmer at gmail.com).

Or, you can catch Geoff at one of two upcoming public lectures in Ontario:

“Tinkering or Transformation: going beyond food and energy security for a well-fed world at peace”

Tuesday, April 16th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Anthropology Building, 19 Russell Street, AP246
University of Toronto

Geoff Tansey will discuss the range of innovations needed if we are to avoid food and farming becoming a source of conflict in the 21st century. He will outline a new project with the working title ‘Food is a key to avoiding World War Three.’

For further info: http://www.devsem.utoronto.ca/.
The seminar is sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Science. It is co-sponsored by Anthropology, Geography, Political Science, Sociology, and the Comparative and International Development Education Centre at OISE.

 

“Hungry for what? Reflections on food, hunger and justice”

Thursday, April 18th, 2013, 7:00-8:30 pm
University of Waterloo
Environment Building 3, room 3412

Geoff Tansey will discuss the differing narratives – notably the `productivity ́ vs. `sufficiency ́ narratives – which underlie differing approaches to creating a well-fed world. Solutions must look far beyond a focus in technology and production to achieve that goal. Key questions revolve around which of the various actors in the current dysfunctional food system is hungry for what – and how systemic change is needed to create just food systems that enable everyone to be well-fed.

A public lecture supported by the Wilfred Laurier University, Nourishing Ontario Research Group (SSHRC/OMAF sponsored) and the University of Waterloo Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability.

 

Geoff Tansey works for fair, healthy and sustainable food systems as an independent writer and consultant. (See his website). His books include The Food System: a guide (with Tony Worsley) and co-editorship of The future control of food – A guide to international negotiations and rules on intellectual property, biodiversity and food security. He was honorary visiting professor of food policy at Leeds Metropolitan University from 1996-99 and is an honorary research fellow in the Department of Peace Studies at Bradford University and honorary visiting fellow at the Centre for Rural Economy at the Newcastle University.

Public meetings for Northumberland County Food Charter

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Help define county food goals:

Two public meetings are set to allow the public to assist in the process of determining food-related priorities for Northumberland County:

In Codrington on Wednesday, April 3, from 7-9:30 pm at the Codrington Community Centre (2992 Highway 30).

In Port Hope on Thursday, April 4, from 7-9:30 pm at the Port Hope Community Health Centre (99 Toronto Rd.).

The food charter working group includes local farmers, agricultural organizations, food banks, health and social agencies, Northumberland United Way and concerned citizens.
Read more…

Fortnightly Feast – Vol. 5

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In Ontario, Food Charters Abound

Last chance to endorse the Waterloo Region Food Charter!

York Region develops food charter
The York Region Food Charter is a vision of thriving urban and rural communities in which residents, businesses and governments are creating a resilient food system… Read more…

Savour Muskoka charter to grow local food system

Food News

Environmental Commissioner of Ontario calls for province to invest in soil (and sustainability) through “bold action”

Importance of Sustainability Growing for Food Industry
… while a vast majority of companies believe sustainability to be increasingly important – 82 per cent of companies surveyed – only 19 per cent monitored the sustainability of the products they sourced. … Key drivers for addressing sustainability are meeting customer demand – 48 per cent – and saving the company money – 40 per cent.
While cost effectiveness is important, 67 per cent of respondents agreed that if they were in charge of procurement for their company, they would pay a premium for sustainably produced food or ingredients (emphasis added). Read More…

A new resource for Food Systems and Food Innovation Districts
A food innovation district is a geographic concentration of food-oriented business, services, and community actiivities that are supported locally through planning and economic development initiatives. These districts can promote positive business environments, spur regional food system development, and increase access to local food. Read more…

Get the guidebook Food Innovation Districts: An Economic Gardening Tool

Kwantlen Polytechnic U’s Sustainable Food Systems Working Group receives $50,000 donation from Vancity
(Metro Vancouver, BC) – On March 13, 2013, Vancity presented Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) with a $50,000 donation to the Sustainable Food Systems Working Group in support of their economic and community development study. Read more…
…and a related story:
Towards a More Bioregional Food System

Funding for Local Food Initiatives
As they head into their third season, Fresh City Farms is kicking it into high gear!  Over the past two months, they’ve been using Kickstarter, a unique funding platform, to raise awareness of their formidable urban farming initiatives and resources to grow their infrastructure city-wide. Read more…

Eating tomorrow – rethinking the world food system 
ETH Sustainability / World Food System Summer School (July 2012)

Save Food Newsletter, FAO

Media Food Fights: Feeding the world

God made a Farmer… but Dodge RAM channeled the Dominant Food Narrative

But Can We Feed the World?

The Domino’s Effect

When Did Healthy Food Become a Luxury Product?

Bill Gates Sees Veggie Burgers in Your Future

Ontario’s “Local Food Act”

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On Monday of this week, the Ontario government re-introduced the Local Food Act. The new Bill 36, “An Act to enact the Local Food Act, 2013” (pdf) contains two provisions generating most of the response in the press: local food procurement and Local Food Week. Some have complained that the Act would replace “Ontario Agriculture Week” with “Local Food Week” -by celebrating both in the week before Thanksgiving.

Local food procurement by public sector organizations is the focus of most of the Act’s provisions, which lay the groundwork for mandated “goals or targets” for various  sectors. These goals or targets are a way of addressing one of the practical constraints to encouraging procurement of local food in the public sector: metrics**.  Research on Ontario’s health care sector suggests that these mandated “goals or targets” are only half of the ‘metrics’ that are required. The report’s authors found that the province must first establish clear and definitive boundaries around the concept “local food” -and how it is to be measured- and then give public sector organizations the opportunity to establish baselines. This is the approach used by the Canadian Environmental Law Asoociation’s model bill [Ontario Local Food Act 2013 – pdf], which contained -as a first step- the assessment of existing local food procurement (along with production, processing, and distribution).

One of Ontario’s opposition parties has suggested that the province needs more food terminals, modelled on the Toronto terminal that handles most of the current produce sold in Ontario. Regions across Ontario (from Peterborough to Perth, Simcoe to Ottawa) are currently taking action on their own to establish regional food hubs that would provide aggregation, processing and distribution infrastructure to service regionally-determined needs. Anyone who follows the ‘Fortnightly Feast‘ on this page knows that, just across our borders, the state governments of Michigan and New York are investing economic development money into the construction of “food hubs” to help drive regional recovery.

 

**(Note: other practical constraints to public sector procurement include i) the BPS Procurement Directive‘s non-discrimination clause; and ii) group purchasing. A recent policy report on local food procurement in Ontario health care concluded that even allowing local food exemptions for procurement contracts under $100,000 would have little effect, as most food services contracts (because of group purchasing) involve amounts larger than that!)

 

Engaging with local food communities

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… from The Cord

Going local on food systems

Laurier professor urges students and locals to engage in their local food communities rather than getting food from abroad

James Shin  Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Behind the plates that get served at our tables every day, there are intricate infrastructures and economies that control how and where food is produced, processed and distributed. According to Alison Blay-Palmer, an associate professor of geography and environmental studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, this current food system may not be the most favourable for our local communities. Read more …

Fortnightly Feast Vol. 4

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Notice Board

The call for abstracts for the 5th AESOP Conference on Sustainable Food Planning is now open. The conference will focus on innovations in urban food systems, with specific sessions on flows, land and governance.
Abstract submission deadline is June 15, 2013.

Social Innovation Pop-Up Lab, March 21, 2013 – Brantford
Finance, Farms and Food – Exploring new ways to organize and raise money for sustainable food system projects. If you are interested in some new ideas and can travel to Brant County on March 21, we encourage you to participate in this learning event. Come out to hear from a variety of organizations on how they are using new tools and approaches to raise money for sustainable food projects. Details.

Petition to Support local food & good jobs in Ontario
The Premier of Ontario has committed to re-introducing a stronger Local Food Act to support our local farmers and eaters.  We think the government can do more to create jobs in Ontario like they’ve done with sustainable energy, by supporting the fast-growing local sustainable food sector, while making the province a more awesome place.  Please sign if you agree and want more diverse local food!

A draft Ontario Local Food Act, from the Canadian Environmental Law Association, with funding from the Metcalf Foundation, and building on work done by Sustain Ontario and it’s members.

Greenbelt Fund Green Papers: Volume 5
Access: Aggregating Ontario Product
Historically, farmers in Ontario have delivered their produce directly to local grocery retailers, restaurants, and institutions. This practice has largely disappeared for two reasons. First, distributors emerged as a one-stop shop for restaurants and institutions to obtain product, eliminating the need for multiple suppliers. Second, as franchises and corporate foodservice companies became more dominant, fixed contracts with select distributors to supply categories of products have become the norm. Read more…

New  2nd edition of the Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management [pdf]
Brian Caldwell, Dr. Eric Sideman, Abby Seaman, Emily Brown Rosen, Dr. Tony Shelton, and Dr. Christine Smart

Upcoming WEBINARS

Partners from the Intervale Center, the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) and the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (New Entry) will discuss farmland matching programs, helping farmers access capital, and the structure and challenges of continued support for graduates.

Title: NIFTI Webinar 6 – Transitioning Farmers Off the Incubator Site
Date: Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT

Food policy councils are becoming an effective way to foster healthy food environments in communities across the country.  Join us for an in-depth examination of the successful Los Angeles Food Policy Council.

Title: Food Policy Councils: Improving Healthy Food Retail in a City
Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

Limited retail access to healthy foods affects the dietary patterns and health outcomes of many Americans.  Join us to learn how new research and evaluation practices are helping to generate innovative solutions that stimulate change in local communities.

Title: Food Access & Health Impacts: Trends and New Research
Date: Thursday, April 4, 2013
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

New to us

Australian Food Hubs Network – understandizng, promoting, experimenting with introduction of Food Hubs to Australia
The AFHN is a collaboration of individuals from diverse backgrounds, who are bound by … the vision of fair, sustainable and resilient food systems for all Australians.
We recognise the severity of the many social, ecological and economic challenges our food systems face, locally, nationally and globally. We are convinced of the urgent need for transformative changes in these systems. Read more…

Shocking

Could a simple green calorie label make people see nutrition-poor foods as healthier?