Tag Archives: sustainable food

Building Sustainable Regional Food Systems: two workshops

March 18, 9.30 – 4.00 – Food System Sustainability – Addressing Local Barriers to Success South West Regional Gathering 2013
Grey Bruce Health Unit, 101 17th Street East, Owen Sound
Purpose of the Gathering: To bring together people from diverse sectors to identify and address current challenges to supporting a local, sustainable food system.
Participants of this workshop will:
  1. Better understand the mandates, interests and challenges faced by various sectors involved in our local food system
  2. Discuss and determine what actions might be taken to address these challenges at the local, regional, provincial or national level
  3. Learn about local initiatives which have successfully supported the local food system Identify “next steps” that are timely, relevant and actionable.

 

March 21, 9.30 – 4.00 – Finance, Farms and Food Forum
Exploring new ways to organize and raise money for sustainable food system projects
1694 Colborne St East, Brantford

This forum provides tools to help farmers and food related businesses to raise funds through the development of co-operatives, and/or by selling community bonds.
Learn:

  • how conservancies and land trusts can work with retiring farmers to help them get the price they want, while still protecting their farmland
  • how conservancies and land trusts provide long term leases for farmers seeking land, whether it be for a small 2-3 acre market garden or for livestock and crops?

Fortnightly Feast

3 Upcoming Webinars:

Food Hubs – The Missing Link for Farm to Cafeteria

Farm to Cafeteria Canada‘s “Dig In” webinar series, in cooperation with the Ontario Farm to School Challenge, are pleased to bring you an exciting opportunity to learn about local food hubs serving the needs of school food programs. Julia Erlbaum, Founder and Principal Consultant at Real Food Colorado, will discuss her experience with existing food hub models and programs that support schools’ ability to access and use more locally-grown food.

This webinar will be held Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 3pm and will be 30 minutes long. To register, please go to Sustain Ontario‘s webex site

 

Land and Site Management

Join the National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (NIFTI) for a webinar on managing shared infrastructure and incubator sites. Partners from the Intervale Center, the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project, the International Rescue Committee and the Minnesota Food Association will discuss a wide variety of topics including leasing land, soil fertility management, infrastructure development, urban farming initiatives and general site maintenance (budget, staffing, etc.).

This webinar is designed for those interested in or already operating land-based beginning farmer training programs. We will include ample time at the end for participant questions.

Please note, a recording of this webinar will be available online afterwards at https://nifti.wikispaces.com/Webinars.
Title: NIFTI Webinar 5 – Land and Site Management
Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Time: 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now

 

Webinars on Social Enterprise for Nonprofits

February 27: Intro to Social Enterprise and Earned Revenue Strategies for Nonprofits
(presented in English at 10:30am and French at 1:00pm)

Is your nonprofit interested in generating funds that aren’t designated to a particular project?  Is your organization already exploring business ideas?
Are you a social entrepreneur with an idea for a community enterprise?
Are you wondering if your business idea is feasible?

The Rural Social Enterprise Constellation (RSEC) is pleased to present our Social Enterprise Webinar Series, beginning on February 27.  This series is sponsored by the Rural Social Enterprise Constellation (RSEC) of the Ontario Nonprofit Network and will be of particular interest to rural nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs.  For more information about the RSEC Project visit Rural Social Enterprise Constellation

Registration will open on February 1

 

Abbey Gardens: the Haliburton County Food Hub

“The Food Hub will retail local food products from our Gardens and from local partner growers, bringing Convenience to local food shopping and increasing the distribution capacity of our local food supply systems.”

 

“Sustainable Foods Summit Calls for Greater Supply Chain Efficiencies”

…offering large and small-scale adaptations to improve sustainable outcomes

 

The rise of Generation Y in the sustainable marketplace

Often considered to be “born green” because they grew up in a society where eco-consciousness was becoming a norm, and often to baby boomer parents who founded the environmental movement, it is only recently that Generation Y has begun to show leadership in the sustainable marketplace.

 

Althaea Herb Farm Barter and Volunteer Positions for 2013

Althaea Herb Farm is located 1/2 km. outside of Guelph, ON and is accessable by bus, walking or car-pool.
There are 2 positions on offer this year:
# 1 – Barter positions – 5 hrs. / wk. commitment. Trade your labor for plants, fresh herbs, dried herbs, tinctures, etc.
# 2 – General Volunteers – agree to be on phone / e-mail list and they’ll call / e-mail when they need help.
Get in touch for more details.

 

Greenbelt Fund Green Papers — Volume 4

Access: Identifying Processed Food Origin

 

FarmOn: A Community of Social Learning

“Some say you can’t make a living faming: we respectfully disagree.”

 

… and for something completely different:

Horse meat – the hardest thing to digest is that it’s your fault

Fortnightly Feast

Our biweekly roundup -from across the internet- of the interesting, the relevant, and the merely peculiar.

Try My Maccas: A short film
This Aussie marketing campaign from MacDonald’s has sparked a prolonged discussion on the Sustainable Foods Network: “…what i find really interesting is the admission, the acceptance, the demonstration by ‘Maccas’ marketeers that the gold standard in food safety, environmental responsibility, sustainable production -and the story they know their consumers want to see- is 1) small farm; 2) local; 3) ecologically sensitive agricultural production (wind and solar, trees and butterflies)…”

Power grows from Motor City soil
Waging Nonviolence | January 29, 2013
“We have lost the ability to think collectively about our own interests in the public political sphere…”

Sustain UK |  Growing Success: The impact of Capital Growth on community food growing in London

USDA  |   Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Signs Regulation Confirming “Government to Government” Consultation with Tribes
“…since 2009 the Department has worked with more than 270 Tribal governments to provide healthier food for more than 250,000 low-income Tribal citizens. Additionally, USDA has partnered with Tribal colleges to enhance community gardening efforts and improve nutrition education.”

Al Jazeera (English)  |  Resolving the food crisis: The need for decisive action
Global leaders squandered 2012, but prospects for resolving the food crisis in 2013 seem better – Sophia Murphy and Timothy Wise

The Atlantic | The Agricultural Fulcrum: Better Food, Better Climate
The National Climate Assessment, released this week, predicted increasingly negative impact of weather extremes on crops. But with industrialized farming as a key player in greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, the vicious cycle needs breaking.

Sustainable Cities Collective  |  How Physical Places Define Local Economies
“Human capital and creative talent increasingly goes where it likes; talent increasingly goes to great places; but talented people become most attached to places that they help create.”

Farm Foundation: Ag Challenge 2050 | Sustainable Health of the Food Supply
Another lens on sustainability…