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…
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.
Read more on the LOFCN website
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.
Facilitated by Sally Miller, LOFC Network Food Hub Project Manager
Come participate in a robust discussion about how co-operative food hubs are offering Ontario communities viable, democratically driven business options for local food aggregation and distribution. Guests from the Local Organic Food Co-ops Network’s Regional Food Hub Expansion project will share their experiences before the audience has a chance to participate in small table discussions on Financing, Marketing, Governance, and Logistics for Distribution.
Special guests include Peggy Baillie, Eat Local Sudbury, Devorah Belinsky, Ottawa Valley Food Co-op, Kelly Skinner, True North Community Co-op, Jeff Pastorius, On the Move Organics, Alison Blay-Palmer, Wilfrid Laurier University, Jodi Koberinski, Canadian Council on Food Sovereignty and Health, Glenford Jameson & James Patterson, West End Food Co-op, Glenn Valliere & Randy Whitteker, Ontario Natural Food Co-op.
Tickets are $20 at the door, or included with registration at the Dan Kittredge farmer training (Feb. 23 & 24) or at Building the Soils of a Co-operative Food System, our 6th Annual Assembly (Feb. 24-6).
The special issue of the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD) on Cooperatives and Alternative Food Systems Initiatives has just been completed and will be freely available — no subscription needed! — through the month of July. The journal is doing this to make these papers more readily available to researchers and practitioners and to extend the research on and practice of cooperatives. It also offers prospective subscribers a chance to explore the contents of JAFSD.
This issue also includes an article about our community partner: Leveraging the Local: Cooperative Food Systems and the Local Organic Food Co-ops Network in Ontario, Canada.
Please share this information with your colleagues and networks.
http://www.agdevjournal.com/volume-4-issue-3.html
Gathering of Ontario’s Food and Farm Co-ops, February 25-26th
This year’s conference focus is on Co-op Wellness: Caring for ourselves and one another in order to sustain and grow successful, healthy and thriving food co-ops. This annual gathering is an incredible opportunity for you to meet the amazing people who own and operate food and farm co-operatives across Ontario, serving their communities fresh, local, sustainably produced and fairly traded food and creating space for meaningful participation and food citizenship. It is our chance to further a burgeoning movement in the province by getting to know one another in person, exchanging stories, and collectively making decisions about where we are headed. $100 registration.
Registration closes Friday February 14th.