[WRFoodNews] August 25, 2009 Waterloo Region Food System update

[xmarc at region.waterloo.on.ca]

Please find below the latest update on Waterloo Region's food system as
described on the website of the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable at
www.wrfoodsystem.ca .

NEW! Follow the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable on Twitter!  See
http://twitter.com/wrfoodsystem .

1. Do Local Foods Really Cost More?
Not when you compare apples to apples, according to an informal tracking
done by Bailey's Local Foods of Waterloo.  This local food buying club
tracked the prices of twenty of their items with similar products at major
grocery stores, and found their prices to be somewhat cheaper!  Bailey's
still emphasizes the importance of paying MORE for their foods, however.
See
http://baileyslocalfoods.blogspot.com/2009/08/baileys-buying-club-ordering-is-now_15.html
 .  (You may have to copy and paste their table into a wider document to
see it all.)

2. Locavore News
If you haven't already subscribed to the Locavore News' free listserve,
consider this another plug to do so.  Elbert Van Donkergoed used to be with
the Christian Farmers' Federation of Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area
Agricultural Action Committee, and he has always kept his finger on the
pulse of developments promoting local and sustainable food across the
continent.  The most recent manifestation of his work is the Locavore News,
which he sends out two-three times a week filled with snippets of inspiring
stories and new research that is sure to inspire your efforts to build a
healthy food system.  Past issues of the Locavore News are archived at
http://sustainontario.com/tag/locavore-news . To add yourself to the
distribution list, send an email to: Plumbline-subscribe at terracoeur.com .

3. Kitchener couple strive to be “light on the earth”
This is Little City Farm, described by its owners as an “urban homestead”
and an “eco bed and breakfast.” In the middle of the city on Duke Street
West, not far from Mount Hope Cemetery, Karin Kliewer, Greg Roberts and
their one-year-old daughter, Maya, are living a life as sustainable, as
environmentally sound, as ecologically ethical, as they can. “Urban
homesteading” is a term describing a fairly new movement that incorporates
simple living, sustainable gardening, home food production and
environmental responsibility into city living. Kitchener-Waterloo Record
story .

4. Lots More News on the Roundtable's Discussion Forum
There's been much to catch up on in the month since the last edition of
WRFoodNews (I took a vacation!), and I've posted some of the highlights
from my bulging inbox as new topics on our Discussion Forum.  There was the
British government report claiming organics are no more nutritious than
conventional foods, a story in Echo Weekly criticizing Hellman's Eat Real
Eat Local campaign, a new website promoting the fight to save Canada's
prison farms, a new article by Michael Pollan on our society's declining
food skills, and analysis of the Ontario government's plans to invest more
in local and sustainable foods in schools and hospitals.  Read more about
all of these issues and more - and add your own comments - at
http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=forum/view_forum&forum_id=10001 .

5. Upcoming Food Events
Full details on upcoming food-related events in Waterloo Region can be
viewed under "Upcoming Events" on the Roundtable's website (
http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=9 ).  To share news of your event,
email details to xmarc at region.waterloo.on.ca, and I will post it to the
website.  Some upcoming highlights include:

Saturday, August 29 - Seed Saving Garden Tour - Diversity Gardens, St
Agatha
Saturday, August 29 - Potatofest - Laepple Organic Farm, Shingletown
Wednesday, September 2 - Canning Peaches - Diversity Gardens, St Agatha
Friday, September 18 - The Future of Food, Toronto

Marc Xuereb
staff support to the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable
c/o 99 Regina St S, 3rd Floor
Waterloo, ON N2J 4V3
tel: 519.883.2004 x.5872
email: xmarc at region.waterloo.on.ca