Ontario Nature understands that forest foods provide a wealth of benefits to many northern communities: Local food sources underpin traditional economies that permit economic self-reliance; they provide health benefits through improved nutrition and promotion of active lifestyles; and they reduce the environmental costs of food grown with intensive inputs elsewhere and transported large distances to reach northern communities. Read more…
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.
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.
How Much: Free!
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.
Guest blog:
It’s finally happening. On October 3rd, after months of brainstorming and 
learning; development and design; and community engagement and outreach, Farm To Fork is ready to launch. It’s ready to help make a difference in our community by bringing all of us together to eliminate food insecurity.We’re very proud of what the Farm To Fork team has accomplished. It’s been a labour of love shared by the co-founders, students and staff from the University of Guelph, community partners, and concerned citizens of Guelph. We hope that you’ll join us this Thursday (October 3rd) from 7-10 p.m. at Innovation Guelph and be part of a community effort to support the most vulnerable among us.Farm To Fork is about conversations. It’s about connecting people in our caring community to Emergency Food Providers (EFPs). These connections, we believe, will help change the way we talk about food security by allowing EFPs to directly communicate their needs to donors on a weekly basis. In response, it will allow donors to commit to specific contributions and then update the system in real time.
This launch isn’t the end of our journey. It’s just another milestone in our community’s effort to make life better for all of its citizens. We hope you’ll join us, share some food and drink, hear the Farm To Fork story, and do your part to help.
Thank you.
Danny Williamson & Dan Gillis
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…
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…
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…
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…
“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
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…
Postdoctoral scholar: Agriburban food systems
We are looking for a postdoctoral scholar to assist with a funded SSHRC study to examine food production systems on the rural/urban fringe in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, with a potential for additional fieldwork in Portland, Oregon. The ideal candidate will have expertise in local food systems and experience analyzing small lot farming operations and land use change on the rural/urban fringe. There is significant scope to pursue one’s own interests within the larger context of the project.
This two year position, beginning in January of 2014, will be jointly supervised by Dr. Lenore Newman, Canada Research Chair in Food Security and Environment at the University of the Fraser Valley, and Dr. Hannah Wittman in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. The position will require residence in Vancouver or the Fraser Valley, and a valid driver’s license. GIS skills are also a desired asset. Salary is 40,000 per year plus benefits, with generous research expenses and conference presentation funding available. Please send an expression of interest, a CV, and contact information for two academic references to lenore.newman@ufv.ca and hannah.wittman@ubc.ca by October 15, 2013.
Lakehead University
Tier II Canada Research Chair in Food Systems Studies
Lakehead University invites applications for a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Tier II Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Food Systems Studies at a rank commensurate with experience and qualifications. We seek an innovative, outstanding emerging researcher that has demonstrated interdisciplinary research strengths, grantsmanship and publications in food systems study. The Chair will work closely with colleagues in the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences and will take a lead role at the Food Security Research Network (FSRN) (www.fsrn.ca ) which has an established track record in community-based research. Read more…
Ithaca College
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Environmental Studies & Sciences
Ithaca College invites applications for a renewable three-year non-tenure eligible Assistant Professor position in Environmental Studies in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences to begin Fall 2014. We are looking for an interdisciplinary teacher and scholar whose work addresses environmental issues from a social science perspective. We seek someone who specializes in one of the following: the culture of sustainable agriculture and food systems, environmental justice, community organizing, or sustainable planning/design. The successful candidate will play a key role in enhancing the social sciences curriculum within the department. She or he should have strong interests and/or experience in integrative and experiential education. The candidate will be expected to teach in the college’s new integrative core curriculum, as well as introductory and upper-level required or elective courses in environmental studies/science. Read more…
Helping to connect good food with low-income communities
Upcoming Webinar: Wednesday October 9, 2013 12-1pm EDT
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.
How Much: Free!
Take ‘mosaic’ approach to agriculture, boost support for small farmers, UNCTAD Report urges
Geneva, Switzerland, (18 September 2013)
Farming in rich and poor nations alike should shift from monoculture towards greater varieties of crops, reduced use of fertilizers and other inputs, greater support for small-scale farmers, and more locally focused production and consumption of food, a new UNCTAD report recommends.
The Trade and Environment Report 2013 warns that continuing rural poverty, persistent hunger around the world, growing populations, and mounting environmental concerns must be treated as a collective crisis. It says that urgent and far-reaching action is needed before climate change begins to cause major disruptions to agriculture, especially in developing countries. Read more…
From Food in the Hills:
The food hub concept, which is gaining traction throughout North America, holds the solution to a problem that continues to bedevil the local food movement, and that is lack of infrastructure. How can local growers, farmers and artisans aggregate, process, market and share their goods? How can they get what they grow and produce from their fields and home kitchens to the consumer’s dining table and local institutions? Food hubs are the missing link in the local food chain. Read more…
Job Post:
ALUS is hiring a Business Development & Research Coordinator to support the development of a national ALUS business model. This position is ideal for an individual with a background in business and an interest in sustainable agriculture, ecosystem services and valuation, and the role of business in environmental sustainability. For more information, contact Lynn Bishop, Ontario ALUS – General Manager: lbishop@deltawaterfowl.org
“Food and Healthcare: Does Local Fit?”
Co-hosted by the College of Management at the University of Guelph, My Sustainable Canada, and the Agri-Food and Rural Link, this symposium will be held in the OMAF Conference Centre in Guelph, Ontario on Friday, September 13th, 2013 from 9:00 am -1:00 pm.
Research Highlights:
Exploring the Feasibility and Benefits of Incorporating Local Foods into Ontario’s Health Care System
The project’s objectives were to establish the current state of food provision in Ontario’s health care system and to gain an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and constraints impacting food provision decisions in Ontario’s health care system. Read more…
Sugar beet industry converts to 100% GMO, disallows non-GMO option
The US sugar beet industry coordinated an industry-wide conversion to genetically modified sugar beets, thus eliminating a non-GMO alternative for food manufacturers and consumers. Read more…
More Releases from the Holland Marsh:
Moving Farming Forward
https://vimeo.com/channels/
Bonus Video:
http://www.king.ca/Business/
Adapting for the Future
https://vimeo.com/channels/
Holland Marsh Soupfest
https://vimeo.com/71869053
Cultivating Opportunities: Canada’s Growing Appetite for Local Food
The Conference Board of Canada offers a report that “examines the economic impact of local food systems in Canada and the challenges and opportunities local food poses for consumers, governments, and industry”. Read more…