April 2017 


We are very excited to announce that the  Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance, with support from the  Ontario Federation of Agriculture , is celebrating Canada's 150th birthday by recognizing the significant contribution of farm families who have been farming consecutively in the Golden Horseshoe for the last 150 years or more.

"Agriculture and family farms have played a major role in the development and growth of our country and province, so it feels right to pay tribute to these families during Canada's 150th celebrations," says Jamie Reaume, Chair of the GHFFA.

Farm families who apply to the program and are verified will receive a specially-designed 150 farm family sign for their farm, and will be recognized at events later in the year. Read the full news release on our website, and be sure to share with anyone you think may be interested in applying!

In March the  Toronto Star ran a report,  Ontario Nursing Homes Feed Seniors on $8.33 a Day on the provincial budgets allocated to feed seniors in Ontario's Long Term Care (LTC) homes. 

This of course piqued the interest of the Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance, due to our  Municipal Local Food Procurement project The article also triggered a reaction from many others who were unaware how much funding LTC homes receive to feed their residents. For the majority, it was a shocking number.

Read more  here on our blog, where we discuss how our Greenbelt-funded project is working to address the sort of issues the  Toronto Star article highlighted, and how our LTC teams are working to get more healthy Ontario fruits and vegetables into these  publicly-funded  institutions.
Plant Paradise Country Gardens photo

Recently, we had the opportunity to chat with Lorraine Roberts, co-owner of the award-winning Plant Paradise Country Gardens: recipient of the 2017 Destination Garden Centre of the Year Award, the 2016 Headwaters Tourism Award, and a 'Canada 150 Garden Experience' designation.

Lorraine shared with us her philosophy and deep passion for horticulture and the environment, a passion which has clearly helped shape the success of her business.

If you're looking for something to awaken your inner green thumb -- and it's the perfect time of year to do so -- check out our recent blog post on Lorraine's blooming business, where you'll also find information about some upcoming events and educational workshops.

Rhizome Institute for the Future of Food is hosting  Trade Fare, a series of upcoming events aimed at bridging the urban-rural divide in the local food supply chain.

The events aim to create successful business relationships between small-scale farmers in rural Ontario with urban food entrepreneurs that need a local supply of new & emerging crops. 

The first event is today in Toronto, focusing on world crops. Two more events will follow in London on May 8th, with a focus on heritage grains, and Clarington on May 15th, with a focus on heritage livestock. 

If you're interested in attending, Rhizome Institute has provided us with a coupon code, ' foodandfarming',  for a 15% discount. Learn more here.

Halton Food Council is hosting an event,  Policies, Practices & Partnerships: Reducing Food Waste Symposium, at Country Heritage Park in Milton on May 30th.

The symposium will explore policies and practices to reduce food waste along the food chain.  Stay tuned for more details to come from the Halton Food Council, including some exciting speakers.
French's Ketchup is already made with 100% Canadian tomatoes, but starting early this month, all of the company's ketchup sold in Canada will be produced here too.

Select Food Products Ltd. will soon be producing French's ketchup sold in Canada at its North York plant.

Read more from the Financial Post via the Canadian Press.

Contact:
Janet Horner, Executive Director,
Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance
janet@whitfieldfarms.com
www.foodandfarming.ca