Category Archives: Notices from Community Partners

Community Food Security Report Card

from the Thunder Bay Food Strategy:

A growing local food scene and strong community support means the time is ripe to take a more coordinated approach to addressing food issues and to designing solutions that protect and nourish the environment, foster local and diverse economic development, build community, improve access to food, and much more.

This Report Card establishes baselines around the 7 pillars of the Thunder Bay and Area Food Strategy so that progress towards a food secure community can be measured. Involvement and support from all sectors of the community will continue to be key in making measurable progress towards community food security.

Read the report card [pdf]…

Food Waste Audit

Pioneer Ridge Home for the Aged

Prepared for the Thunder Bay & Area Food Strategy

This project was undertaken as part of the City of Thunder Bay Materials Management Division’s six local‐food procurement initiatives for 2015. The goal of this survey was to learn how food travels through the system at Pioneer Ridge Home for the Aged, to identify ways it could be made more efficient so that less of the food purchased overall exists the system as waste, and to reinvest any savings into the budget for the purchase of locally‐produced foods. Read more (pdf)

Farmland Forever – Help Make it Happen!

…from Ontario Farmland Trust: Announcing the 2016 Farmland Forum

Date: Friday, April 8, 2015
Time: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Place: Bingemans Conference Centre, Kitchener
Cost: $110 early-bird rate by March 25th (includes lunch & dinner); $90 for farm organization members (OFA, CFFO, NFU); $60 student

The 12th annual Ontario Farmland Forum supports and facilitates cross-sector dialogue about how we can work together to strengthen farmland and agricultural planning, policy development, and grassroots, permanent land protection initiatives in Ontario.

This year’s Forum features presentations & discussion following two streams: farmland policy and hands-on farmland protection:

– Protection of Ontario Farmland & Agriculture: A Provincial Priority
– Farmland Protection in Practice:  On-the-Ground Examples of Effective and Progressive Policy Implementation
– Farmland Conservation in Ontario: Case Studies of Leading Land Protection Initiatives
– Toward a Regional Land Trust in Waterloo: A Collaborative Community Dialogue
– Ontario’s Cap & Trade Initiative: Connections to Land Conservation
– Inspiring Land Protection Stories and Collaborations from the U.S.

CLICK HERE for more program information and to Register.

Ontario Farmland Trust is Hiring a New Executive Director!

On the heels of a significant investment by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, OFT is seeking a hard-working dynamic executive leader to take Ontario farmland conservation efforts to a new level of success.  This individual will bring demonstrated talent, energy and experience to the organization, particularly with respect to all fundraising programs and financial management. Find out more about OFT here.

The new Executive Director will be a superior communicator who will add leverage to existing OFT relationships and further develop strategic partnerships with other farmland conservation stakeholders. Apply today, or share with others who may be good candidates.

Key position responsibilities include:

  • Fundraising, communications, community outreach and donor relations
  • Supervision of staff and management of contract and project based staff
  • Financial management and annual budgeting for all programs and services
  • Government relations, partnership development and stakeholder networking

Applications are due by March 31st.

Read more

Fortnightly Feast

Grow Local! Grow Strong! The 7th Annual Assembly of the LOFC Network

The Assembly is an event in which emerging and established co-operatives explore possibilities for collaboration and affirm aligned visions for sustainability, stewardship and co-operation. Celebration of various co-operative successes, active working sessions and network planning are included in the agenda. Read more
February 23 – February 24, 2016
Loyola House, Ignatius Centre, Guelph, Ontario

preceded by

Fair Financing for Local Food and Farms

The various workshops and plenaries will explore innovative and adaptable forms of finance.  Conversations with lenders and funders will explore various financing sources and how to build meaningful dialogue.  The day will also begin to build the case for sector bench-marking and creating the narrative necessary to prove the economic impact of food systems across Ontario. Read more
February 22, 2016 – 9am – 4pm
Loyola House, Ignatius Centre, Guelph, Ontario

What You Get When You Mix Chickens, China and Climate Change

Every few months, it seems, an invasive virus from a distant land attacks the Americas: dengue, chikungunya and, most recently, Zika. But the pathogens that frighten me most are novel strains of avian influenza. Novel avian influenza viruses are mongrels, born when the influenza viruses that live harmlessly inside the bodies of wild ducks, geese and other waterfowl mix with those of domesticated animals like the ones at Jiangfeng, especially poultry but also pigs. Read more

The Eden Alternative

…He decided to transform the nursing home. Based on a hunch, he persuaded his staff to stock the facility with two dogs, four cats, several hens and rabbits, and 100 parakeets, along with hundreds of plants, a vegetable and flower garden, and a day-care site for staffers’ kids. Read more

George Brown launches fund for nutrition research

Toronto’s George Brown College is launching a new initiative that aims to engage municipalities, universities, schools, health agencies and hospitals in helping to improve the diet, physical health and wellness of people in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Called the Helderleigh Nutrition Application Fund, the new fund will make a total of $400,000 available over a four-year period for nutrition and health-related applied research projects conducted in partnership with the college’s Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts and its food innovation and research studio, FIRSt. Read more

Ontario Craft Brewery Ramps Up Production

After learning a little more about the program, Wellington Brewery decided to work with a business advisor – who had successfully worked with other breweries to access funding – to help them through the Growing Forward 2 application process. Read more

From Soil to Table: Eco Farm Day 2016

Workshop topics include soil biology, what to do with soil test analysis, holistic management in practice, organic seed potato production, mob grazing, Hops and brewers, direct marketing grains, and more. Read more
Saturday February 20, 8 am – 5 pm
Ramada Inn Cornwall, 805 Brookdale Ave, Cornwall, Ontario

Land Access Testimonials: Farm Viability Webinar Mini-Series

Looking for creative ways to get farming? Is land the last big piece? Explore different models of land access and ask all your questions as four successful farmers from across Canada recount their “land testimonials”. These sessions will be useful for farmers seeking land, farmland owners seeking farmers, and those interested in new farmer and land use policy. Cost: $25 per session or $80 for the series of 4. Series registration deadline is Monday February 15th. You can register for individual webinars up to 48 hours in advance.  Read more or register…

Growing Hops in Eastern Ontario

With an explosion in craft breweries in Ontario, as well as strong demand for locally sourced ingredients, now is a perfect time to consider the option of growing hops for commercial sale. Read more
March 21, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm
Two Rivers Food Hub, 361 Queen St, Unit 5000, Smiths Falls, ON

Selling Food to Ontario

Create new opportunities for your farm or food processing business by learning how to expand into new markets such as grocery stores, restaurants, food hubs, schools, universities and other public institutions. Read more

A first-hand account of development assistance gone awry. An important critique of development practices that undermine peasant strategies as well as suggestions for more effective approaches for the future. Read more
February 25th, 2016, 7-9 pm
Wilson Lounge, 40 Willcocks Street, Toronto

Growing Food for Health

Exploring the therapeutic benefits of food gardens at Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital, in Alexandria, Ontario

As a leading innovator in the delivery of hospital rehab services, Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital (HGMH) is home to an expansive therapeutic garden, established as an extension of the Stroke Rehabilitation department. The garden has been expanding slowly since 2011, and this past year—in collaboration with Project SOIL—the growing area almost doubled in size. In 2015, the garden team produced over fifty varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, using SPIn techniques, organic practices.

While they are consistently imagining ways to expand production and in-house use of fresh food, the team at HGMH is also looking to future projects — including working with researchers at Carleton University to develop tools to assess the preventative and therapeutic benefits of edible gardens.

You can find the full case study here!

LOFC is Hiring! Executive Director Search

This position manages and coordinates the activities of the Local Organic Food Co-ops Network. This position is responsible for fund-raising and financial management of the Network, monitoring expenditures and meeting the budget requirements as agreed to by the Steering Committee. The person is responsible for regular reports to the host Ontario Natural Food Co-op’s General Manager that can be forwarded to or summarized for the ONFC Board. Read more

Grow Local! Grow Strong!

The Local Organic Food Co-operatives Network hosts an annual Assembly bringing togethe farm and food co-ops from across the province. The Assembly is an event in which emerging and established co-operatives explore possibilities for collaboration and affirm aligned visions for sustainability, stewardship and co-operation. The 7th Annual Assembly of the LOFC Network promises to be a great event. Two Full days of peer-to-peer workshops and facilitated open space sessions, nourished by healthy and delicious meals in a cozy retreat setting.

February 23-24, 2016 at Ignatius Jesuit Centre, Guelph, Ontario

Read more on the LOFCN website

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Partnership Event – February 22, 2016 at Loyola House
Ignatius Centre, Guelph, Ontario

Fair Financing for Local Food and Farms” is a full day session and a partnership event with the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario and the Local Organic Food Co-ops Network. The various workshops and plenaries will explore innovative and adaptable forms of finance. Conversations with lenders and funders will explore various financing sources and how to build meaningful dialogue.

 

Local Sustainable Food Procurement in Municipalities and the Broader Public Sector

This toolkit developed by Sustain Ontario is geared towards Ontario municipalities and BPS institutions looking to initiate sustainable procurement policies and programs in their regions. By providing examples of policy language and analyzing perceived barriers to local sustainable food procurement (specifically policy and trade agreements), this toolkit equips good food advocates, industry stakeholders, and civil servants with facts and case studies to demonstrate the potential for effective, compliant procurement practices that invest in local sustainable food. In addition, we have compiled an accompanying workbook to provide useful documents to support action-planning!

Read more and download the toolkit here

Field notes for social change: a conversation with Raj Patel

Upcoming Webinar
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
12-1pm EST

Join Community Food Centres Canada for a webinar that explores how social change actually happens. In this one hour webinar, Raj Patel—an award-winning writer, activist, and academic—will deliver lessons from the frontlines of the food justice movement. He has worked for the World Bank and WTO, and protested against them around the world. His first book was Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System and his latest, The Value of Nothing, is a New York Times best-seller. CFCC’s Nick Saul will moderate the discussion.
This webinar interrogates the question: where does social transformation come from? We’ll explore successes and failures of various facets of the food movement in the global North and South, and we’ll unpack how different actors — individuals, organizations, businesses and governments — have championed change.

Register Here!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact mara@cfccanada.ca