Locavore News — Canada

Mobile Fresh Markets: Social Innovation in Food Access

Mobile fresh markets (MFM) are an emerging social innovation for increasing access to healthy food.  While mobile markets are clearly not a new invention per se, using MFMs as a strategy for increasing food access in low income, food insecure areas is a new approach.  MFMs have been increasing in popularity in the US for the past five years and are beginning to make an appearance in Canadian Cities. Financial Snapshot of Mobile Fresh Markets in North America.

 

Farm market economics measured

Hutten has been a market mainstay for nearly 30 years (he grossed a grand total of $55 his first week), and in that time, he’s watched as the number of markets in the province has grown. A newly released study notes that over the last 10 years, their number has shot up from 15 to 45 — which gives Nova Scotia the largest number of farmers’ markets per capita in the country. Keltie Butler is executive director of the industry group Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia, who released the economic impact study. It’s the first in a decade to look at the state of farmers’ markets in the province. The study is more of a first step than a comprehensive look, providing a snapshot of market use at 21 venues on a typical day. FCC Express story.

 

Slow Money trickles into Vancouver

And Slow Money investors are a different breed altogether. Slow Money is an organization and a movement that’s just arriving in Canada from the U.S. The idea is to organize investors and donors to steer new, “patient” sources of capital to Slow Food — small food enterprises, organic farms and local food systems. “We need a market economy for local food. We can’t look at food as a charity or a non-profit venture,” conference organizer Rory Holland said. Buying local is not enough, he said. Investing local is the next step. Vancouver Sun story.

 

Shoppers Can Now Buy Chicken Labelled “Raised by a Canadian Farmer”

Responding to growing demands from consumers to know where their food comes from, Chicken Farmers of Canada has introduced its “Raised by a Canadian Farmer”, a branding program showcasing the commitment of farmers to provide families with nutritious chicken raised to the highest standards of care, quality and freshness. Digital Journal story.

 

Canada selected for sustainable beef pilot project

McDonald’s choice of Canada for its sustainable beef pilot project is a positive step for ranchers  according to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “We are currently working with the [CCA] and other industry stakeholders towards an agreement on a pilot project with the goal of advancing the ongoing improvement in the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the Canadian beef value chain,” says McDonald’s Canada’s western Canada spokesman John Gibson. FCC Express story.

 

Everybody Eats: Our Vision for a Pan-Canadian Food Strategy

Our 2011 NDP Election Platform committed to introducing a “Canadian Food Strategy that will combine health goals, environmental goals, and food quality objectives, and increase access to local and organic choices for consumers across the country.” This vision document outlines the major elements for such a pan-Canadian food strategy. We identify progressive federal leadership opportunities on agriculture and food issues. It is our hope that this can ignite a dialogue with those who care passionately about these issues, connect to new audiences outside those already engaged, and strengthen our work with business and farming communities. NDP strategy.

 

CFA Supports NDP Food Strategy Initiative & Implementation of an Agreed-Upon Vision for Canadian Farm and Food

“It is our strong belief and what the CFA has been advocating for some time – that industry, government and consumers must develop a set of common objectives for the food system in Canada. We are encouraged to see the NDP’s food strategy initiative and action taken towards a long-term vision for Canada’s food and agriculture sector,” said CFA President Ron Bonnett. As the NDP ‘Everyone Eats’ strategy notes, “We need to look at the whole picture and bring an integrated approach to federal policy that connects agriculture, rural development, health and income security.” Canadian Federation of Agriculture post.

 

Vegetable & Agritourism Field Day

If you’re a direct marketer and want to see what happens behind the scenes at an agritourism operation, an upcoming field day is a great learning opportunity. Caitlynn Reesor spoke with Rob Spencer, commercial horticulture specialist with Alberta Agriculture, about the Vegetable & Agritourism Field Day that’s being held June 23 near Calgary. Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development post.

 

Annual ALUS-Norfolk tour, August 27

The annual ALUS-Norfolk tour will be taking place on August 27th, 2014. This is a great opportunity to see an ALUS program which has been running since 2007. We will visit some older projects, and some new ones too. The tour will last the whole day and includes lunch. Alternative Land Use Services post.

 

New homes permitted in the green zone

More than 30,000 homes could be located in the agricultural zone in Quebec, legally. This situation stems from decisions made by the Commission for the protection of agricultural land in Quebec (CPTAQ) under “collective requests” accommodated by regional county municipalities (MRCs). So far, 52 MRCs have used this procedure but it is impossible to know how many of these potential homes were built. In theory, the MRCs which receive such authorization must file an annual report to the CPTAQ and UPA Federation concerned including the number of homes built in the agricultural zone. La Terre de chez nous story (French).

 

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Starving for agriculture coverage

Canadians are starving for agriculture coverage, Marilee Devries reported in the Spring 2014 issue of Ryerson Review of Journalism. “If food is the world’s most essential industry,” she asked, “why have newspapers forsaken the farm?” “The quality of agriculture reporting in the urban press is like a wheat crop infected with fusarium head blight,” Devries observed. Her article explored trends in agriculture reporting by newspapers in Canada, causes of slippage and results for citizens and the entire country. Agricultural Communications Documentation Center post.

Locavore News — Canada

Going local: moving beyond produce

When people think of local food in grocery stores, fruit and vegetables from nearby farms come to mind. Packaged fare is not part of the picture. But that situation is starting to change, with a growing number of grocers highlighting the local food sold in jars, cans and plastic containers on store shelves. “There is such a thriving processing industry in Canada with a lot of innovation,” says Meghan Dear of Localize, an Edmonton-based shelf-labelling service that identifies local and regional food producers in grocery stores. Canadian Grocer story.

 

Province sets up roundtable group for small farmers and processors

Small-scale producers are welcoming the formation of a new working group headed by the province’s former chief veterinarian to help develop local food-marketing chains. Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn said the working group will review regulations and programs that affect the province’s burgeoning and diverse number of smaller-scale food producers. Manitoba Co-operator story.

 

Can a locavore dream of public produce come true?

In downtown Kamloops, B.C., on a narrow patch of land near the hospital thrift shop and a tanning salon, there’s a vegetable garden. Its raised beds are planted with kale, peas and squash – a whole variety of produce, growing in the open, with no fences to keep out passersby. Which is exactly the point. The garden is called the Public Produce Project and has an official open-picking policy: Anybody is invited to come in and harvest food for free. There are signs instructing people what to take, when and how. The Globe and Mail story.

 

Why There’s a Black Market for Ramps in Quebec

These sought-after alliums are the first forgeable to poke their slender leaves through the chilly soil each year. And like the first signs of spring after a long winter, these plants attract a lot of attention. Springing up from Georgia to Quebec, wild leeks, also known as wild garlic, wood leeks, ramps and ail des bois, are coveted throughout their range, spawning a full spring calendar worth of celebratory feeds and festivals dedicated to this smelly wild onion. Modern Farmer story.

 

Kamloops Food Policy Council

Established as a not-for-profit organization, the Kamloops Food Policy Council (KFPC) acts as umbrella to 20-30 food- related associations in our area.  KFPC emphasizes public education on food security issues as well as supports concrete food system projects, of which Public Produce is one.  Public Produce is part of Community Food Action Program of the KFPC. Website.

 

Manitoba not farm-to-table friendly, meat producers say

Some of Manitoba’s local meat producers are fuming after having their products seized by provincial officials. In August 2013, inspectors seized five years’ worth of Harborside Farms cured meats. The Pilot Mound farm has won an award for its famous prosciutto from Manitoba’s agriculture department, and the producer is used by a number of local eateries in Winnipeg. CBC Manitoba story.

 

City looks at massive food strategy

Instead of civic bylaws restricting the kinds of foods people can sell, the City of Saskatoon should encourage people to eat produce grown in local backyards, say advocates from the Saskatoon Food Council. “It’s technically illegal to use your yard to grow food to sell to other people,” said Rachel Engler-Stringer, a food security advocate and member of the food council. “The city could change bylaws to make the city more urban-agriculture friendly.” The Star Phoenix story.

 

Jobs in food nonprofits, community organizations, charities

Local food jobs, gardening jobs, sustainable/organic farming jobs, food security jobs and internships. FoodWork local & sustainable food jobs.

 

Hay Minister? Give Local Eating a Try

In trying to make the case that 90 per cent of British Columbia’s farmland is overprotected, cabinet Minister Bill Bennett took an easy shot at local eaters in his Kootenay East constituency. “I get a kick out of the 100-mile diet, which is a great idea, except that where I live you’d have to eat hay,” he said. The crack got a laugh from many of the reporters and agriculture industry representatives who gathered last week to hear what the government has in store for the province’s 4.7-million hectares in the Agricultural Land Reserve. But among people working on food sustainability in the East Kootenay, Bennett inspired groans. The Tyee story.

 

ALUS Returns to Manitoba

After a five-year hiatus ALUS returns to its Manitoba birthplace. Funding from Environment Canada to Delta Waterfowl will kick start a renewed Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) effort in southwestern Manitoba. The project will be delivered with the Little Saskatchewan River Conservation District, a watershed that empties into the Assiniboine River near the city of Brandon. Alternative Land Use Services post.

 

AND IF YOU HAVE TIME

 

O-inked: Is Tattooing a Pig Art?

After visiting the swine-friendly streets of a 19th-century New York City, when livestock were still a common sight in urban settings, Charles Dickens implored the readers of his 1842 travelogue, American Notes for General Circulation, to “take care of the pigs” because, as he wryly put it, the “gentlemen hogs” were “mingling with the best society, on an equal, if not superior footing, for every one makes way when he appears, and the haughtiest give him the wall, if he prefer it.” His sardonic admiration for the humble hog’s status was a pointed barb at “haughty urbanites” who conceded their space to swine. Pigs, of course, vanished from New York City streets as the urban and rural grew ever more separate. But 135 years later, in Denton, Texas, an artist returned hogs to the realm of the sophisticated, by exhibiting a live little piggy named Minnesota, flanked with resplendent tattooed wings no less, in a gallery for all to see. Modern Farmer story.

 

FOR LATER

 

Annual ALUS-Norfolk tour, August 27

The annual ALUS-Norfolk tour will be taking place on August 27th, 2014. This is a great opportunity to see an ALUS program which has been running since 2007. We will visit some older projects, and some new ones too. The tour will last the whole day and includes lunch. Alternative Land Use Services post.

Locavore News — Ontario

Peterborough Increases Local Food in Student Nutrition Programs

Peterborough students will be discovering more local food on their breakfast plates this year as a result of an exciting new project, Increasing Local Food in Student Nutrition Programs. Thanks to funding and support from the Greenbelt Fund and the Ontario government, the project lead, Peterborough County-City Health Unit, will work with Food For Kids Peterborough, Farms at Work, and YWCA of Peterborough Haliburton to increase procurement of locally grown food and to boost food literacy in the classroom. Sustain Ontario post.

 

Building that houses Radius is for sale, locavore’s mecca is staying put

Paven Bratch wants one thing to be clear: Radius the building may be for sale, but Radius the restaurant and locavore’s mecca is staying put. Bratch said he’d had some expressions of interest in the building from some Toronto folks so thought he’d “float” the building at 151-153 James Street South in a listing. But he says that’s no reflection on his love of Hamilton or the building, for that matter. In fact, he’s planning on growing Radius Café. Hamilton Spectator story.

 

Toronto’s Ethnic Buffet

When I tell my friends in Toronto how much I love their city, they often say, “Really?” I always assume they imagine I’m just trying to be gracious, or perhaps — with characteristic Canadian modesty — they’re reluctant to acknowledge how easy their city is to love. But they also have a great deal of justifiable civic pride, and a clear sense of why Toronto is such a special and unusual place to live and visit. There’s more to this understated city than many people might realize. New York times travel post.

 

Wynne Says Farm Support Today Affects Future

“We’ve introduced the Local Food Act, that’s why we have the Local Food Fund, it’s why I have challenged the sector to double the number of jobs and that’s in processing and producing,” said Wynne.  ”I know that there have been challenges.  I understand that in terms of risk management and in terms of compensation because of weather.  There are all sorts of issues that you deal with on an annual basis.” Blackburn News story.

 

Local Food Fund Forgotten?

During a statement in the Legislature, Ernie Hardeman, Oxford MPP and PC Critic for Agriculture and Food, raised concerns that, 126 days after applications were submitted, the Local Food Fund appears to have been forgotten or has been caught up in politics. “This government has held many photo-ops to talk about the Local Food Fund, but when the cameras turned off they seem to have simply forgotten about it,” said Hardeman. “These applications were submitted before it started to snow- we all know how long ago that was – and yet they still haven’t received an answer.” Ernie Hardeman, MPP Oxford news release.

 

Farm Boy to open London location, create 150 jobs by June

Ottawa-based Farm Boy will open a 27,000 sq-ft market at 1045 Wellington Rd. in time for a June opening, the company announced Tuesday. “Farm Boy has long been a supporter of local producers with many of its customer favourites being made by small, local artisans. As the company prepares for its first of many new stores planned for Southwestern Ontario, they will embrace the thriving local food industry.” Farm Boy offers a wide variety of fresh produce, natural and organic foods and unique specialty items, including artisan farmstead cheese, fresh meats, sustainable seafood delivered fresh throughout the week, and a line of private-label products. Metro News story.

 

How to Make a Living on 1.5 Acres, April 25

Jean-Martin Fortier will be giving a presentation on how you can make a good living farming 1.5, and how to succeed as a small-scale organic vegetable grower. Come early for the Potluck Dinner to meet urban farmers, and gardeners from across the city for a fun informal meal. This is also a great chance to meet Jean-Martin Fortier who will be signing books. Bring a dish to share. FarmStart post.

 

ALUS program takes flight in Norfolk

Pollinator habitat and stream bank buffers have emerged as priorities now that officials with the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program in Norfolk are executing their strategy in the field. The ALUS experiment in land stewardship grabbed national headlines last year thanks to demonstration plots on four farms in Norfolk. Simcoe Times-Reformer 2008 story. Paul Mauthe Farm Project History.

 

CFFO Welcomes Policy Changes

The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario is pleased with some changes to the Provincial Policy Statement but would like to see more done to curb aggregate extraction. General Manager of CFFO, Nathan Stevens in his weekly commentary says it has been a lengthy process with a huge number of stakeholder concerns to balance. Stevens says he was pleased to see improvements in the modified secondary uses definition to open up additional opportunities for today’s farmers to engage in other means of generating income including enhanced allowances around agri-tourism. Blackburn News story.

 

CPP Board Investing In Farmland

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is getting into farmland. The Board is buying the farmland portfolio of Assiniboia Farmland Limited. That portfolio includes about 115 thousand acres of farmland in Saskatchewan. Assiniboia was set up in 2005 to help investors buy Saskatchewan farmland. Blackburn News story.

 

AND IF YOU HAVE TIME

 

Chefs serve dinner cooked on the hot lava of an erupting volcano in Iceland

The ground shakes, belching fumes and spewing lava, but this has not deterred thrill-seekers flocking to see Iceland’s active volcano. The Fimmvorduhals volcano in the middle of the Eyjafjallajokull glacier erupted on March 21, and one couple chose the spot for a romantic – and dangerous – dinner. Telegraph story.

Locavore News — Ontario

 

Food for Thought, Michael Pollan and Sarah Elton, September 14

The 2013 Eden Mills Writers’ Festival present: Food for Thought, Michael Pollan and Sarah Elton. Join authors Michael Pollan (Omnivore’s Dilemma and most recently Cooked) and Sarah Elton (Locavore and Consumed) for an afternoon of conversation about food, culture and sustainability. The event will be hosted by the University of Guelph’s Dr. Evan Fraser. Saturday, September 14, 2013. Rozanski Hall, Room 104. 2pm. Eden Mills Writers’ Festival website. Tickets.

Sick Kids café transformed with fresh, local food

It may look and taste like a roti from any one of this city’s many Caribbean takeout joints: firm, flavourful chicken, well-spiced potatoes, a hearty wrap and throat-tickling mango chutney. But this $7.65 lunch comes with a few surprises. First, it’s hospital food. Second, it’s fresh, not processed. Toronto Star story.

Ontario Community Gardens Network (OCGN) Working Group Breaks Ground on Survey

Sustain Ontario’s Community Gardens Network Working Group is getting ready to launch a survey of the province’s community garden networks. After collecting best practices and policies from across Ontario, the OCGN will publish and share its insights with the public and members of the OCGN. We hope that with this knowledge sharing and collaboration, more municipalities and community organizations, will be supported to start their own gardens and help bring local, nutritious, and sustainable foods to their communities. If you are a community garden network coordinator or have a bird’s eye view of community gardens in your community, please contact Community Gardens at Sustain Ontario to receive more information on the survey.

University hires new contractor, with promise of more ‘local, sustainable’ campus menus

Ryerson University has ditched its long-time food provider for a company promising to put more “local and sustainable” food in campus cafeterias. In a move that surprised student officials, the downtown university has decided not to renew its contract with Aramark Canada Ltd., a multinational corporation that’s stocked most of the campus eateries for the last two decades. Toronto Star story.

Places to Farm: Alternative practices and policies for Ontario’s changing agricultural landscape

Paper by Metcalf Innovation Fellow Dr Sally Miller, explores the link between strong regional food systems and land use policies in southern Ontario. She identifies seven areas where innovative and strategic action could enable access to land and sustainable food production for new and existing farmers both now and long term. Paper.

The Ontario Edible Education Network is now on Twitter!

The Network provides resourceful updates and builds the dialogue on connecting children and youth to good food. Follow. Sustain Ontario post about the Network.

Taste Local! Taste Fresh! Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Foodlink Waterloo Region’s local food showcase and fundraiser has moved to a brand new location this year—Steckle Heritage Farm, 811 Bleams Rd. Kitchener.  Taste Local! Taste Fresh!  is celebrating a milestone 10th Anniversary and will take place Sunday, September 15, 2013, 2-5 pm. Guests will be able to spend a delightful afternoon strolling the picturesque grounds of Steckle Farm, a heritage designated property and working farm right in the City of Kitchener!  Much of the event will take place within a breathtaking post and beam style barn dating back to 1840. Twenty original food creations prepared by teams of the area’s finest chefs and farmers will be featured offering participants an opportunity to sample exquisite new recipes showcasing local foods and farm-fresh products. Details on Facebook.

Southwestern Ontario Farmer Earns National Award for Environmental Leadership

Texas Longhorn farmers in Norfolk County, just south of Tillsonburg, Bryan and Cathy Gilvesy raise their cows in an environmentally-sustainable manner on their YU Ranch. Doing so, and creating what they say is a leaner beef for health conscious consumers, has created a niche market for their product. Now their efforts have been recognized on national scale with the presentation of a Canadian Agri-Food Award of Excellence for Environmental Stewardship. The award is co-sponsored by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Royal Winter Fair, and was presented on November 10th. Norfolk ALUS post.

Worm-Share and Care, August 15

The Toronto Compost Leaders and Rye’s HomeGrown are excited to present the second Worm-Share event this year. Everyone is welcome to drop by for worm composting starter kits, small and large containers of red wigglers, and for worm bin construction and maintenance tutorials with some of Toronto’s most experienced composters.For the best compost there is! Your plants will love it all year round! No special tools or experience required. Details on Facebook

McVean Farm Picnic

Sunday September 15, 11am to 5pm. Come join us for a picnic on the farm! Bring your picnic blankets, sun hats, kites, and appetites –  enjoy the farm, listen to live music and share some delicious food! Throughout the day you are invited to take walking tours or wagons rides to explore our 45-acre farm overflowing with a diverse patchwork-quilt of small farms and restored natural areas. Kids activities, face painting, hands-on workshops and live music will run all day. Details.

AND IF YOU HAVE TIME

Holland Marsh – A reminder from Ontario’s Soup and Salad Bowl

New video series showcases the Holland Marsh. Each week, a new clip will be released – building up to a major announcement in mid-September from the Holland Marsh Growers’ Association.Vimeo.