Category Archives: Nourishing Communities

OMAFRA-sponsored Ontario Regional Food Hub Survey

For Ontario’s local and regional food producers, processors, distributors, and food service procurers: This is your chance to make your needs clear!

OMAFRA-sponsored Ontario Regional Food Hub Survey

This survey will help us to report on the current capacity of food hubs in Ontario, and recommend improvements for farmers, processors, distributors, retailers and restaurants. The ultimate goal is to help funding agencies to understand community and business needs, where funding/resource gaps exist, and how to effectively support operations such as yours. We very much appreciate the time you will take filling out the survey and hope that we can receive your input by Family Day February 17.

For technical issues or questions about filling out the survey please reply to Mike Nagy nagym@uoguelph.ca. For questions about this project, please contact Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer: ablaypalmer@wlu.ca. Thank you!

Follow this link to the Survey:
New Directions Food Hub Survey

Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
https://uoguelph.eu.qualtrics.com/WRQualtricsSurveyEngine/?Q_SS=e2Omc92FS1HeXlz_bP1JYQMeBNU8iDH&_=1

Fortnightly Feast

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Pan Cape Breton Local Food Hub

(Capre Breton Post) — A small group of food producers came together Wednesday to discuss how they could organize to get more of their locally grown produce, livestock and seafood on the dinner plates of Cape Bretoners. The gathering at the Cape Breton County Farmers’ Exhibition in North Sydney was the third of five meetings hosted by the Pan Cape Breton Local Food Hub, an initiative funded by the Department of Agriculture and administered by Inverness County. Read more…

Vidéos: Diversité des systèmes alimentaires et changements globaux

Dans le cadre du Mastère « Innovations et politiques pour une alimentation durable » (IPAD) de Montpellier SupAgro et du Cirad, nous avons organisé un séminaire de formation ouvert à tous et accessible en streaming. Avec notamment :

Nicolas BRICAS, Cirad : “Alimentation durable : quels enjeux pour la recherche ?”
Pierre-Henri GOUYON, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle : “La diversité des plantes cultivées”
Sébastien TREYER, Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales : “L’agriculture face à l’épuisement des ressources”.
Benoît DAVIRON, Cirad : “Les enjeux des marchés internationaux de produits agricoles”.
Gilles TRYSTRAM, AgroParisTech : “Quelles innovations en technologies alimentaires ?”
Olivier DE SCHUTTER, Université de Louvain, ancien Rapporteur spécial des Nations unies pour le droit à l’alimentation de 2008 à 2014 : “Bilan et perspectives de six années de mandat aux Nations unies”.

Global Sustainability and Local Foods: Call for contributions

Deadlines: Papers: 15 February 2015 | Videos and Posters: 30 May 2015

The complexity of industrial food production, processing and distribution and the growing distance between producers and consumers are at the center of heightened attention in academia and in social movements across the globe, with the latter in particular reclaiming democratic space on how food is grown processed and commercialized. The industrial production and distribution system by transnational and national corporations has been qualified by various scholars as deterritorialized, placeless and generating foods that are standardized and homogenized. Read more…

Principles of agroecology can get us out of the food crisis in simple steps

I believe the solution is a combination of modern technologies and organic systems with greater attention to agroecology and income generation from new cash crops. But we need to recognize that the biophysical and socio-economic issues are different in temperate and tropical environments. Read more…

Barbarians at the farm gate

Farm gates have traditionally been closed to capital markets: nine in ten farms are held by families. But demography is forcing a shift: the average age of farmers in Europe, America and New Zealand is now in the late fifties. They often have no successor, because offspring do not want to farm or cannot afford to buy out family members. In addition, adopting new technologies and farming at ever-greater scale require the sort of capital few farmers have, even after years of bumper crop prices. Institutional investors such as pension funds see farmland as fertile ground to plough, either doing their own deals or farming them out to specialist funds. Read more…

Building a Food Strategy for Wellington and Guelph

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From Phil Mount and Ashley McInnes, Co-Chairs of the Guelph-Wellington Food Round Table:

The Guelph-Wellington Food Round Table (GWFRT) and Ontario Public Interest Research Group-Guelph (OPIRG) invite you to the first in a series of events focusing on a Food Strategy for Wellington County and Guelph. Join us for this free event, to help determine our regional food policy, investment and development priorities with a diverse group of stakeholders—including public officials, community organizations, farmers, restaurateurs and engaged citizens—as we begin the process of developing a community-led Food Strategy for Wellington County and Guelph.

In a rapid-fire format, a handful of presenters will answer the challenge question “Why do we need a regional food strategy?” — including speakers from FarmStart, The Seed Community Food Hub, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Transition Guelph, Ontario Farmland Trust and Zócalo Organics.

Free childcare is available with registration. Refreshments will be provided. Pick up your coupon for $2 off the ticket price of the Ignatius Ecology Film Series screening of The Family Farm, January 28 or 29 at the Bookshelf!

Further events in the GWFRT Food Strategy Engagement Series — Erin (February 13) and Centre Wellington (3rd week of March)— will include a free screening of The Family Farm.

Please visit the link below to register, to read a food strategy description, and for more information about the event. Limited space available.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/gwfrt-engagement-series-building-a-wellington-guelph-food-strategy-tickets-15201466997

Food Strategy Poster [pdf 367 kb]

Kitchen Table Talk: Local food dialogues

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What could be more important than feeding ourselves daily? Do you ever wonder how food is grown in the farmlands around you? Perhaps you’re wondering what it means to be ‘organic’ and how you can afford it? What does it mean to be sustainable? Are genetically modified foods good for us and the environment that supports us? How do you save your own seeds?

KIM FELLOWS (Sunday January 18th, 2015) 1:30pm at Kitchener Public Library, Meeting Room A

Title of Talk: The World of Pollinators: What’s the Buzz?
Description of Talk: Why should we care about buzzing insects? Kim will draw you into the world of pollination and how it relates to issues of food security.

DR. RALPH MARTIN (Sunday January 25th, 2015) 1:30pm at THEMUSEUM

Title of Talk: The Dynamic of Responsible Consumption and Sustaining Food Production

Description of Talk: Food production capacity depends on healthy soil, clean air and water, sufficient biodiversity and appropriate adaptations to shifting climatic conditions. Creative options are needed to go beyond simply producing more of what consumers have become accustomed to, at low prices. What food is really needed and how can it be preserved and stored? How can food waste be reduced? How can farmers be fairly compensated to sustain their agro-ecosystems and their families?

ANN SLATER (Sunday February 1st, 2015) 1:30pm at THEMUSEUM

Title of Talk: Moving Towards Food Sovereignty
Description of Talk: An overview of the current situation of farms, farmers and agriculture in Ontario followed by a discussion of how we can all be part of the movement towards food sovereignty.

See the full line-up…

Fortnightly Feast

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Sudbury food co-op poised for expansion

…The goal is to make Eat Local Sudbury a regional hub for local food distribution with the added offshoots of increasing awareness of local food production, supporting local farmers, and boosting the economy. The funding will be used to develop a three-part business plan to expand both its retail facilities and its programming to accommodate a much larger volume of food. Read more…

The need to ‘grow’ more topsoil

from the Guelph Mercury, Ralph C. Martin:

When I hear a big, hairy audacious goal, I expect drum rolls and trumpets, or if it’s really big, tubas. There was not even a piccolo adagio when Abe Collins, a Vermont farmer, educator and consultant shared his passion for topsoil formation and grazing at the Ecological Farmers of Ontario Conference, held earlier this month in Guelph. Nevertheless, the audience was all ears. His big, hairy goal? He expects a community, near Lake Champlain, to blanket their watershed in deep topsoil in a decade. Read more…

CED Net National Jobs Postings include many food jobs

Communications and Marketing Manager, Community Food Centres Canada
Nova Scotia Organic Market Research Assistant
Entrepreneurship and Marketing Coordinator, Le Santropol Roulant
Farm Co-Manager, Le Santropol Roulant
McQuesten Urban Farm Community Animator
Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton
CSI’s Desk Exchange Animator Program, Centre for Social Innovation
Ecological Gardening Internship, Harvest Moon Society, Clearwater Manitoba

NGFN Food Hub Benchmarking Study 2014

Food Hubs are delivering on their promise of enabling identity-preserved, primarily local and regional food to enter the wholesale market, enabling small and mid-sized farms access to buyers that would otherwise be unattainable.

But aggregation and distribution of food is a very thin-margin business, and hubs take on additional expense working with smaller farmers, providing technical assistance, and other grower and community services. Are food hubs able to support themselves with their operations? What are industry-standard financial and operational benchmarks for food hub businesses?

Fortnightly Feast

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Farmland Forever Campaign

To celebrate their 10th Anniversary, the Ontario Farmland Trust has launched a $1 million Farmland Forever fundraising campaign. With this campaign, they will be able to nearly double the amount of farmland under agricultural protection easements. Currently more than 20 farm owners are waiting to donate easements. The Farmland Forever campaign will also give OFT more capacity to support farmland policy development and expand research and education for improved farmland protection across Ontario.
** And from now until December 31st, every donation will be matched dollar for dollar by the Metcalf Foundation!! **
In this season of giving, why not save some land for a future farmer?

Conference on Sustainable Food Choices Livestreamed

LiveWell for low-impact food (LIFE) is a project which aims to contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the EU food supply chain and demonstrate what healthy, sustainable diets could look like for different European countries.
Over the last three years, LiveWell for LIFE has worked with members of the multi-sectoral Network of European Food Stakeholders – which represent key stakeholders from across the EU – to reduce the impact food consumption has on the environment.
‘On our plate today: healthy, sustainable food choices’ is LiveWell’s concluding conference. Here they’ll look at the need for a global food strategy, and the role policymakers and business leaders alike play in encouraging sustainable food consumption.
To learn more about the project, please visit livewellforlife.eu
Watch the entire conference live online.

The Fourth Annual Eastern Ontario Local Food Conference

What is local? Some describe anything within a 50 or 100-kilometre radius as local; others include anything grown in Ontario or made in Canada as local. What was clear at the conference was that foodies want what they want, and business owners can’t afford to ignore them. Buying local is not a trend that is going to disappear.
Be unique. Grow your business as big as you want. Food hubs and sharing ideas and distribution processes are great ways to leverage your growth—as the master of your own destiny you can still remain niche while becoming mainstream. Read more…

Taking Stock of the Mobile Good Food Market

“Basically the jury’s still out on how to operationalize it and make it sustainable, even for a nonprofit that’s subsidized,” says Debbie Field, executive director for FoodShare Toronto, the organization that runs the Mobile Good Food Market. “I don’t think that it’s actually working for anybody who’s doing it right now.”
The biggest value of mobile markets, she says, might be in demonstrating that there is a demand for healthy food in even the poorest neighborhoods. “It’s not that low-income people aren’t interested,” Field says. “They will buy the food if we can get it there. What FoodShare is proving is that people will buy this food and what we have to do is figure out logistically how to get it into communities.” Read more…

Healthy food out of reach for many

If you suspect it cost more over the past year to buy groceries and cook even basic healthy meals at home, you’re right, according to new study. The 2014 Food Cost Survey released by the Brant County Health Unit reveals that the cost of eating healthy food for a family of four is now $193.85 a week in Brantford and Brant – or $839.37 out of the monthly budget. That’s an 8% increase over last year’s figure of $179.50 per week, or $777.19 a month. “The reality is that many families in our community can’t afford basic healthy food after paying for housing and other living expenses.” Read more…

La Montañita Co-op: Fresh, Fair, Local and Organic!

La Montañita, a consumer cooperative, believes in the shared benefits of healthy food, sound environmental practices and a strong local economy with results that justify the resources used.
The Co-op is a leader in the local foods movement! We support local farmers through the Food-Shed Project. This initiative helps local farmers and producers get their products into more markets. Over 1,100 local products from 400 local producers make it to small community grocers, restaurants, and commercial kitchens as a result of the Co-op Distribution Center.
We know local, but we call it community. We serve our membership, but we also collaborate with farmers, local food and environment advocates, and educators to build community awareness about the links between food, health and the environment. Read more…

Supply Management and Dairy News

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The last month has seen some interesting developments in the discussion around both supply management and the dairy industry. Here are a few highlights:

Vers une gestion de l’offre 2.0 au Canada

Document de réflexion de l’Union paysanne

Le document Vers une gestion de l’offre 2.0 au Canada propose des pistes de réflexion sur les enjeux reliés au système de gestion de l’offre au Canada et ses impacts sur les fermes, les paysans et la relève agricole.

Depuis 10 ans, la gestion de l’offre des produits agricoles canadiens voit les critiques se multiplier à son égard. Que ce soit la valeur prohibitive des quotas, le manque d’espace pour les nouveaux agriculteurs ou encore les entraves au commerce, les flèches ne manquent pas.

Traiter de l’ensemble des récriminations envers la gestion de l’offre et de leurs possibles solutions dans un seul document charcuterait inévitablement le propos. Du fait de son gigantisme, de son importance, et aussi de ses différences entre les provinces, il importe de cibler des parties de la gestion de l’offre afin de mieux en traiter. C’est le choix que nous avons fait en ciblant une tangente qui traverse l’ensemble du Canada, c’est-à-dire une lente cartellisation de la gestion de l’offre.
Lire la suite…

U.S. Organic Dairy Politics: Animals, Pasture, People, and Agribusiness

Bruce A. Scholten
Since 1950, production of U.S. dairy cows has risen 250 percent, while the longevity of cows has plunged alongside the number of family farms. Additionally, farmers have had to respond to lower farmgate prices and commercial pressures by intensifying production with agribusiness technologies, including genetically modified hormones and antibiotics to fight disease and illnesses brought on by dairy cow confinement. This book examines the current resistance to corporate agribusiness being waged by organic dairy farmers, cooperatives, and consumer activists—commonly referred to as the ‘Pasture War,’ which resulted in strengthened USDA National Organic Program policies. Recent power shifts in the USDA, weak labeling laws, and dairy advertisement which blurs boundaries between conventional and organic food demonstrate the need for farmers to cut out the middlemen in dairy chains from cows to consumers. Read more…

New Research Chair in Public Policy for Egg Farmers

History professor and UWaterloo’s AVP, External Research, Bruce Muirhead has just been announced as the first-ever research chair in public policy on behalf of Egg Farmer’s of Canada, an agricultural organization dedicated to the promotion and management of egg production across the country.

Professor Muirhead will be developing a research program in public policy that relates to the current and future challenges faced by Canadian egg farmers, providing historical context to the growing conversation about the value of supply management for all Canadians. Read more…

Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide for the Ontario Landscape

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The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development has received an Excellence in Planning Award from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute for its publication Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide for the Ontario Landscape. The award was received at Queens Park on Nov. 7.

The SEDRD project to develop the stewardship guide was led by Profs. Wayne Caldwell and Karen Landman, with contributions from a number of graduate students, including PhD student Paul Kraehling. Dozens of community members and groups also contributed to the project, which received funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the University of Guelph.

The Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide for the Ontario Landscape covers issues from water and natural heritage protection to energy conservation. Read more…

Northern community working with Cloverbelt Co-Op to address food security

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from the Dryden Observer, November 19, 2014:

Not just the title of the new book commemorating Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI, formerly Big Trout Lake), but a reflection of a time when life revolved around hunting, fishing, gathering and gardening, ‘We are one with the land’ is a reminder to current generations to tend to that connection and en-root themselves.

Chief Donny Morris, the KI band council, economic development staff and entire community welcomed Cloverbelt Local Food Co-Op (CLFC) President, Jen Springett and Food Security Research Network (FSRN) Director, Connie Nelson into their remote, northern community last week as they worked together to gather information and create a strong partnership dedicated to creating local opportunities and sustainable solutions to improve food security for all remote communities.

Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy

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A Plan for Healthy Food and Food Systems
October 2014

The Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy Design Team has identified the need for a cross-government, multi-stakeholder coordinated approach to address food policy and program development and to develop a plan for healthy food and farming in Ontario.

This framework is the result of consultations with over 40 representatives of agriculture, farm, food, nutrition and health groups, engagement with First Nations and Aboriginal service providers, as well as online surveys with over 200 submissions between 2012 and 2014.

Over the coming months, the OFNS Design Team will work on the development of a technical report to accompany the strategy and undertake a collective impact approach. Collective Impact involves diverse organizations coming together to solve a complex social problem and for a common purpose – creating alignment, commitment, policy and trust and coordinating across sectors.