[WRFoodNews] March 17, 2010 Waterloo Region Food System update

Wed Mar 17 16:17:48 EDT 2010

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.  Join discussions of the topics below and many more on our Discussion Forum<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=forum/view_forum&forum_id=10001>.

Edible Cities: Can Urban Agriculture Feed Us All?
The next event in the Roundtable's Healthy Food System series<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=69> at Kitchener Public Library is Monday, March 29, 2010, 7-9pm, at KPL Main Branch (85 Queen St N, Kitchener).  Join us for an informative session on urban agriculture, including green roofs, community gardens, SPIN (small-plot, intensive) farming, urban homesteading, urban forests and wild harvesting, as we explore how urban agriculture can be a solution for creating sustainable cities and feeding us all.

Reflecting on the Bring Food Home Conference

The Bring Food Home conference<http://www.bringfoodhome.com/>, held in Kitchener from March 4-6, 2010, drew over 350 farm and food leaders from across the province – Sudbury and Thunder Bay, Ottawa and Windsor, and most places in between.  The program was full of engaging conversations about the practical work that is going on right now – on farms, in communities, neighbourhoods, towns and cities, regions and province-wide. Read Lauren Baker’s reflections<http://sustainontario.com/2010/03/11/1125/news/reflecting-on-the-bring-food-home-conference> on the Sustain Ontario website.

New Food Assistance Blog by House of Friendship

The House of Friendship's Emervency Food Hamper Program served a record 276 people on February 16, 2010.  Executive Director Matt Cooper wrote about the day on the program's new Food Assistance blog<http://hofemergencyfoodassistance.wordpress.com/>: "It’s hard to wrap your head around a number like 276 families and individuals needing food in KW in a single day.  The 276 represented 700 people in total.  That’s 700 people who woke up in the morning, unsure of what they were going to eat for the next few days. That’s 700 strangers our incredible crew of volunteers were able to help with the donations from untold numbers of individuals, families, businesses, and churches in the Waterloo Region and beyond.  It’s disturbing that so many people need help but humbling and inspiring that there are so many selfless people who are determined they will not go without."

Area Municipalities begin reviewing Official Plans
In 2009, the Roundtable and many other people and organizations gave input into the Region of Waterloo's Official Plan (ROP)<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=forum/view_thread&thread_id=10274> with a view to encouraging the Region to include food policies in it.  Now, each of the seven area municipalities in the Region must create Official Plans of their own which conform to the ROP. There is an opportunity for these municipalities to include food-related policies that would address things like community gardens, the keeping of urban hens and bees, locating food stores, etc.  The Roundtable's Discussion Forum<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=forum/view_thread&thread_id=10435> contains information on the public input processes planned by the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, and invites you to post any information you may have on the other municipalities (Cambridge or the four rural townships).  Contact the Roundtable<mailto:MXuereb at regionofwaterloo.ca> if you want to help advocate for food policies to be incorporated into area municipal official plans.

Sustain Ontario Seeks Stories on Farming and Zoning
Are you looking for ways to add value to your farm?  Are you trying something new on your farm? Have you tried to do something innovative on your farm? If so, have you been helped or hindered by your local planning authority? Have you presented plans for an innovative use of your farm to local Council or to the Ontario Municipal Board? If your answer to any of the above questions is “yes,” Sustain Ontario<http://sustainontario.com/2010/02/06/1025/news/food-and-farming-in-the-greater-golden-horseshoe/comment-page-1> would like to hear from you.

Toronto Food Strategy Invites Public Comments
The City of Toronto has set up a special website to receive public comments on its proposed Food Strategy.  Comments will be accepted until April 12.  On the site you can download a 4-page summary<http://wx.toronto.ca/inter/health/food.nsf/Resources/D0446C74F57FDAAF852576E9004C3281/$file/Food%20Strategy%204%20page%20summary%20(March%209,%202010%20FINAL).pdf> of the Strategy as well as all the background documents.  See www.toronto.ca/foodconnections<http://www.toronto.ca/foodconnections>.

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

            Seed Starting - Saturday, March 20, 1-3pm, Little City Farm, Kitchener
            Edible Cities - Monday, March 29, 7-9pm. KPL Main Branch, Kitchener
            Intro to Organic Gardening - Saturday April 10, 1-3pm, Little City Farm, Kitchener
            Film Screening: The Garden - Saturday April 17, 1:30pm, KPL Main Branch, Kitchener

Marc Xuereb
staff support to the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable
c/o 99 Regina Street South, 3rd Floor
Waterloo, ON N2J 4V3
519.883.2004 x.5872
MXuereb at regionofwaterloo.ca<mailto:MXuereb at regionofwaterloo.ca>
[Note new email address: please start using this one.]

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