[WRFoodNews] Update February 16, 2009

[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.

1. Heart & Stroke Foundation decries lack of food access in Canada
The Heart & Stroke Foundation released a report on food access in Canada
last week, detailing large discrepancies in the cost and accessibility of
basic healthy foods in communities across Canada.  The report details the
high numbers of Canadians who cannot afford basic healthy foods, and
describes how entire communities - especially remote and northern ones -
have poor access to food. It recommends that governments consider a number
of measures to raise the incomes of Canada's poorest people, e.g. by
increasing the Canada Child Tax Benefit, social assistance, and minimum
wage rates. It also recommends expanding the Food Mail program to remote
and northern communities, and recommends a closer look at how agricultural
subsidies may affect the pricing of processed versus healthy foods.

The full report, as well as a map detailing basic food prices in
communities across the country, can be found on the Foundation's website
at:
http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.4959411/k.CA9/2009_Report_Card__Map.htm?src=home
.  Discuss your reaction to the report and its implications for Waterloo
Region at
http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=forum/view_thread&thread_id=10169&post_id=10170
.

2. "Creative Economy" Think-Tank Urges Ontario government to support Food
Economy's Transition from "Kraft" to "craft"
The Martin Prosperity Institute (Richard Florida's think-tank) issued a
call for the Ontario government to ramp up support for what it calls our
"creative" food economy.  It borrows liberally from the work of Waterloo
Region's own Alison Blay-Palmer and from Michael Pollan's "Letter to the
Farmer-in-Chief". It contrasts the "Kraft" food economy with the new
"craft" economy.

A summary of the report's conclusions and recommendations has been posted
on the Roundtable's website at:
http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=forum/view_thread&thread_id=10167&post_id=10168
.  The full report, "From Kraft to Craft: innovation and creativity in
Ontario’s Food Economy", can be viewed at
http://martinprosperity.org/insights/insight/a-new-menu-for-ontarios-food-economy
 .

3. 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.  Here's some highlights:

Fermented Foods workshsop - February 21, 1pm, Little City Farm, Kitchener
Things Go Better With ....Food (presentation by Wayne Roberts) - February
26, 7pm, Toronto City Hall (Committee Room #2, Second Flr), 100 Queen
Street West, Toronto
Canning and Preserving workshop - March 7, 10am, St John's Kitchen,
Kitchener

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