Tag Archives: local food

Talkin’ Local Food with University Health Network

The University Health Network in Toronto received funding from the Greenbelt Fund to investigate short and long-term opportunities to provide more local food for in-patients in their hospital network. From interviews and an advisory panel, they have identified 3 long term challenges that they would like to submit to the community for input. They have launched an idea crowdsourcing platform where you can vote on the existing ideas, or add your own ideas for review.

Do you eat food? Then you have an opinion! Join in and unleash your ideas to better connect local Ontario food to the hospitals at University Health Network. Read more…

Collaboration on Local Food in Niagara

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My Sustainable Canada

Thursday, 15 May 2014 from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM (EDT)

Jordan, ON

This event brings together public sector institutions in Niagara with the local value-chain to explore two questions that will help to get more local, sustainable food into Niagara’s institutions:

What’s already going on?
How do we collaborate?

This afternoon workshop will bring together participants from across Niagara for a dynamic and delicious session facilitated by My Sustainable Canada, the Greenbelt’s 2012 Local Food Champions. The afternoon starts with lunch, gets fun with Pecha Kucha style talks, and goes serious with a facilitated discussion around collaboration between institutions. See the full agenda here. Attendees of the morning workshop hosted by the Niagara Health System are welcome to join us.

More Local Food For City Of Thunder Bay

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…from the Greenbelt Fund:
Fresh, Healthy, Local Food Coming to Public Institutions in Thunder Bay
Thanks to the City, LA Quality Foods, and Belluz Farms

The Greenbelt Fund is awarding $210,000 in funding to support three innovative projects in Thunder Bay that will increase access to fresh, healthy, local food for the community.

With support from the Greenbelt Fund, and funding from the Ontario government, the City of Thunder Bay will provide more local food options for municipal and regional facilities including long-term care homes and daycares. LA Quality Foods has received funding to provide opportunities for beef farmers in Northern Ontario to extend the reach of their product and Belluz Farms will increase market opportunities for farmers in the Thunder Bay area.

Cloverbelt Local Food Co-op

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From the latest newsletter of the Cloverbelt Local Food Co-op…

Getting started: Looking back, I realize it’s been over a year since a group of us sat down and said: “Let’s turn the dream of a local food co-op in Dryden into reality”. The concept has been kicking around our community for a long time (learn more about the research behind the co-op here: http://www.dryden.ca/cms/One.aspx?portalId=7851&pageId=39046). The project really came to life when some of us attended a workshop about strengthening local food systems, that was hosted by the Northwest Training & Adjustment Board, and the Food Security Research Network in November of 2012. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come since then. Cloverbelt Local Food Co-op was officially incorporated on August 20, 2013, and we have been steadily receiving new memberships as people eagerly support the opportunity to become a part of change, for the better.

Fortnightly Feast – vol. 16

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Cardiff chosen as beacon of sustainable food

Cardiff has been selected as one of just six cities in the UK to share in one million pounds of funding to be invested in improving food culture and support its efforts to become a Sustainable Food City. Read more…

Sustainable Food European Style

For the first time, the European Commission is working towards a Communication on Sustainable Food. An important milestone in the move towards a more resource-efficient food system; Slow Food is actively encouraging the initiative, as well as the efforts of the Commission to open up the debate on this topic. Read more…

Hunger, income and the local food economy…

Foodlink Grey Bruce, Dec 10 2013

In the spirit of solving the terrible problem of hunger in our communities it’s vital to explore underlying issues. When we see headlines like: Food costs eating up limited incomes about the annual Ontario Nutritious Food Basket survey that measures regional costs of basic healthy food, the real issues can get obscured. One could also say that “rent costs are eating up incomes” or any number of other causes; see Open meeting this Friday to discuss poverty … It’s a good opportunity to say a few important things that relate to local food. Read more…

Island Chefs’ Collaborative

Many budding entrepreneurs start off by making their products in their kitchens at home, but depending on the type of product it is, they might have to make it in an inspected commercial kitchen facility, or quite often to take the next step up, they have to purchase equipment they just don’t have the capital for. This is where the Island Chefs Collaborative has stepped in… with a commercial microloan system. Read more…

New Report on Growers Cooperative

The Environmental Studies Program at the University of Montana is pleased to announce that a new report is available titled “Local is Delicious” But It’s Not Always Easy: A Case Study of the Western Montana Growers Cooperative.

The research presented not only answers questions of interest to the Cooperative and its partners, but also contributes to a general understanding of small-scale cooperatives operating as food hubs, values-based supply chains, and the possibilities and challenges associated with building a more democratic, regional food system in a large rural area.

To access the report, go to: http://www.lakecountycdc.org/_Resources_%26_Case_Studies

The logistics of going local

“If you’ve seen one food hub, you’ve seen one food hub.”
– Rich Pirog

It took 18 months and $650,000 to turn the Kalamazoo Street warehouse into a food hub, with the help of dozens of business and artisans who discounted their services or worked for free. Along the way, two layers of ugly ceiling tile were torn away to reveal a pleasant surprise: the graceful arched ceiling of the building’s first tenant, Kircher Grocery Store. Read more…

NWO FOODEX

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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.

How Local Food Helps the Economy

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AMES, Iowa — A new report from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture shows that institutional purchases of local food added nearly $9 million to the Iowa economy in 2012.

What’s more, the report points out enormous opportunities for local foods in Iowa that could benefit rural communities and farm-based businesses. Investigators measured significant sales from only a small segment of potential markets for local foods among grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, college and school food services and other institutions.

The findings are part of an evaluation of the Regional Food Systems Working Group (RFSWG) that supports local food systems in 90 of Iowa’s 99 counties. It is the first coordinated, comprehensive attempt to measure actual economic and community impacts associated with regional food system development in Iowa.

The coordinators distributed surveys to area buyers and farmers they worked with to collect information about these key indicators of economic impact:
·       Local food purchases in 2012: 74 buyers reported total purchases of $8,934,126.
·       Local food sales in 2012: 103 farmers reported total sales of $10,549,296;
·       New jobs related to local food in 2012: A total 36 new jobs (24 full-time equivalent) were created in 2012 (reported by a subset of buyers and farmers).

The statewide report, 2012 Economic Impacts of Iowa’s Regional Food Systems Working Group, is available on the Leopold Center website at: www.leopold.iastate.edu/local-food

Fortnightly Feast – vol. 15

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It has been a busy two weeks in sustainable food systems news! Here’s a round-up of recent conference and webcast announcements, as well as some interesting reports and articles.

2013 Eastern Ontario Local Food Conference

OMAF/MRA: The Eastern Ontario Local Food Conference is back for another year and it’s better than ever. This year’s theme is “Innovation Driving Local Food”. The conference will take place on December 2 – 3, 2013 at the Ambassador Hotel and Conference Centre in Kingston. It is hosted by Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ministry of Rural Affairs. Read more…

How to Feed 9 Billion on a Small Planet

USC Canada: On November 19th, Miguel Altieri (University of California, Berkeley) – a world leading authority on agroecology – will speak on ecological agriculture as a key solution to food insecurity, hunger, and climate change. He’ll be joined by panelists:

Jean-Martin Fortier, farmer and author of The Market Gardener,
Sarah Archibald, Campus Food Systems Project Coordinator, and
Henry Lickers, Environmental Science Officer, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne.
Bob Carty, former top CBC radio journalist, will moderate the webcast.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 from 12-2 pm EST
Across Canada via webcast

REGISTER
To register for the webcast or to organize a private or public screening, go to: usc-canada.org/feedingtheworld.

For more information, please contact genevieve@usc-canada.org.

This event is organized by USC Canada, Inter Pares, Food Secure Canada, School of International Development and Global Studies, Sierra Youth Coalition, Meal Exchange, ETC Group, CBAN, Ram’s Horn,National Farmers Union, and Development and Peace.

Farming in Ontario’s Greenbelt: Possibility Grows Here

Greenbelt: Co-authoured by professor Wayne Caldwell, of the University of Guelph, and recognized expert on agricultural and rural planning issues, Farming in Ontario’s Greenbelt: Possibility Grows Here, provides recommendations to ensure economic prosperity and viability of farming in Ontario.
Read more…

Urban Food Strategies: the rough guide to sustainable food systems

FoodLinks: Academics, policy makers and CSOs from 9 different European countries have collaboratively produced a guide to provide motivation and support for those actors interested in building more sustainable food systems in urban contexts. Far from proposing a recipe to develop Urban Food Strategies, we have compiled distinct motivations, measures, ideas, processes and examples from around Europe that we hope are useful to inspire action towards more sustainable and just food systems for all. Read more…

Civic Engagement in Food System Governance

A Comparative Perspective on American and English Local Food Movements
Alan Hunt

Using longitudinal empirical evidence, Hunt finds that local food projects in the US are more collaborative than those in England. His research demonstrates that increasing inclusion in civil society can increase policy outcomes despite countervailing trends of social segregation and political polarization. Read more…

Farmland Conservation

Wallace Center: The National Young Farmers Coalition recently released a report, Farmland Conservation 2.0: How Land Trusts Can Protect America’s Working Farms (pdf), discussing the successful strategies of farmland conservation to secure permanent and affordable land for working farmers. Read more…

WHO: Ensuring a safe, healthy and sustainable food supply

Policies in agriculture and fisheries influence public health by affecting the supply, local availability, safety, affordability and accessibility of foods. Read more…

Food Is the New Black

Huffington Post: “Food is the New Black” — I read that in a fashion or home or travel magazine a few months ago. The next 30 seconds of thoughts and emotions that flooded my mind are probably typical for people in my field. First I smiled at the silliness of that statement. Then, I felt confidence: People do seem to be catching on that healthful, bountiful food is at risk. Read more…

Sustainable food systems include food from forests

Biodiversity International: Globally, it is estimated that billions of people depend on forests and trees. This is true for many people living in developing countries, for whom forests are an essential part of a sustainable food system. Read more…

Upcoming Webinars

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Changing How Campuses Learn and Eat through Coursework

Interested in learning how applied student research can facilitate food system change?

Tune in on October 8th at 12:30pm EDT! Click here to register.

Hosted by the Campus Food Systems Project in collaboration with Food Secure Canada, this webinar will explore how to create, support and integrate student learning into food systems change on campus and in communities. Presenters Lilith Wyatt – Sustainability Officer at McGill and Brent Mansfield – Coordinator with UBC’s Food System Project will discuss the opportunities, benefits and challenges of Applied Student Research.

Bridging the Gap

Helping to connect good food with low-income communities
Join Community Food Centres Canada on October 9 from 12-1pm EDT for a webinar featuring Gillian Flies of The New Farm and Ayal Dinner from the West End Food Coop.

When: Wednesday October 9, 2013 12-1pm EDT
Where: Your Computer – Register Here! – https://cfccanada.webex.com/
How Much: Free!

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

Resilient Cities 2014

Building on the ideas shared at the 4th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation, ICLEI presents the 1st webinar in the 2013 series:

Resilient city-region food systems policies

Wednesday 16 October 16:00-17:00 CET (11:00 – 12:00 EDT)

This webinar will discuss the development and implementation of policies that support a resilient city region food system.

Speakers are Lauren Baker, Toronto Food Policy Council; Stanley Visser, City of Cape Town; and Marielle Dubbeling, RUAF Foundation.

Fortnightly Feast – vol. 14

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EVENTS

Conference provides forum for innovative cross-sectoral approaches to food system issues facing Ontario

Sustain Ontario and its presenting partners are proud to announce the launch of registration for the 2013 Bring Food Home Conference. Taking place in Windsor, Ontario on November 17-18-19, Bring Food Home is Ontario’s sustainable food system conference. With dozens of workshops and presentations by producers, educators, chefs, poverty advocates, First Nations’ leaders, and more, the three-day conference offers a forum to share experiences and expertise in assisting and directing the development of a better food system for the province. Read more…

Planning for Food-Friendly Municipalities

The Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable is calling on Foodies in Waterloo Region to join in the work of advocating for more food-friendly municipalities in Waterloo Region. The first organizing meeting will be held Wednesday, October 2nd. It will focus on a new report by Krista Long which outlines ways to create more supportive environments for community gardens and temporary farmers’ markets in Waterloo Region. Read More…

IN THE NEWS

Group exploring food hub for Grey County

Grey County farmers may soon have a hub where they can drop off their product to be distributed to markets across Southern Ontario. The Grey County Chefs’ Forum is currently working on creating a food hub in southern Grey County that would link the wares of local farmers with buyers in both the Grey-Bruce region as well as those in the GTA and beyond. Sun Times, Owen Sound.
Read more…

Food hubs seen as profitable businesses, US national survey shows

The 2013 National Food Hub Survey, conducted by MSU’s Center for Regional Food Systems and the Wallace Center at Winrock International, show that hubs throughout the United States continue to develop as financially viable businesses providing locally produced food to restaurants, schools, grocery stores and other wholesale customers. Food hubs may also provide much needed size-appropriate infrastructure and marketing opportunities for local food produced by small and midsized farms and ranches.
Read more…

Further Releases from the Holland Marsh

“The autumn wind is a pirate. Blustering in from sea with rollicking song, he sweeps along swaggering boisterously. His face is weather beaten, he wears a hooded sash with a silver hat about his head . . . the autumn wind is a raider, pillaging just for fun.”
A reminder, if you will, that all good things come to an end – as will this video series, which has only one more week after this. We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed this educational series about life in Ontario’s crown jewel – the Holland Marsh.

Video clips – for this week:
Confronting Climate Change + Bonus Clip

Projet de loi pour les aliments locaux / Bill to Promote Local Food

On June 17, I introduced Bill C-539 in an effort to promote local foods. The goal is to come up with a Canada-wide-buy-local strategy and to develop a local procurement policy for all federal institutions. This will help support Canadian farmers, create jobs and reduce transportation-related pollution. Read more…