African Community Wellness Initiative Promoting holistic wellness in the local African communities.
Meredith Weldon Foodie Wannabe!
Garden Party Local organic food hub - CSA shares, buying club , PYO flowers
Theresa Schumilas Food Systems Consultant, Doctoral student & Organic CSA Farmer
History of the Roundtable
The idea of forming a body that would be representative of all the key sectors and interests of Waterloo Region's food system was first proposed in a discussion paper published by Region of Waterloo Public Health in October 2005. That report, titled Towards a Healthy Community Food System in Waterloo Region, acknowledged that achieving a healthy food system would require the co-operation of many different organizations and individuals.
Over eighty people participated in public consultations on the report in 2006, and endorsed the proposal to create the new organization. An initial group of eight people drawn from various sectors of the food system met throughout 2007 to refine the scope and mission of the new organization, and endorsed a Terms of Reference for it in September 2007.
In November 2007, the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable announced itself to the world by hosting a public launch event at Conestoga College. Over one hundred people attended, and the event enjoyed extensive local media coverage.
The new eighteen-member body had its first official meeting in January 2008, and has met bi-monthly since. You can read highlights of those meetings on our Meeting Highlights page.
The Roundtable has evaluated progress towards its own goals each year. Here are evaluation reports from its first three years:
