Launch of the NWO FOODEX Crowdsourcing Contest!

We are launching a crowdsourcing contest and inviting submissions from high school, university and college students to design a local food distribution system for Northwestern Ontario – it is called NWO FoodEx.

Please see our website (foodinnovation.ca) which describes the contest and how it fits into the larger project. We also have a Facebook group, which provides a forum to ask questions, and a link to our handout which has the full details of the contest.

Rationale for the Contest

The research team includes Connie Nelson and Mirella Stroink from Lakehead University. We have been studying for the last few years the emergence of local food hubs in Northwestern Ontario.  One of the realities is that the local producers and processors that are widely distributed from the Manitoba border to White River currently have no distribution network to assist them in marketing their local products across Northwestern Ontario. We need a more efficient and effective distribution system for local food in the region. Students can participate in solving a major issue for the local food movement in Northwestern Ontario!

Please Share Widely!

We are advertising the contest to secondary schools in Northwestern Ontario and to universities and colleges in Northern Ontario. We actually see this contest as applicable to many departments – Science, Geography, Environmental Science, Math, Computer Studies, and Food and Nutrition Science, etc. We would like it to be widely distributed to principals, teachers, and students.

Deadline for Submissions

The deadline for submissions is MAY 15, 2014. We encourage teachers and professors to incorporate the contest into assignments, projects and theses.

Questions

Questions about the contest can be directed to info@foodinnovation.ca, the Facebook group, or the Contact Us form on the website.