Waterloo Region Baby Friendly Initiative Advisory Group To protect, promote and support breastfeeding in Waterloo Region
Waterloo Hen Association Promoting small-scale urban henkeeping in the City of Waterloo
WRFoodNews August 30, 2011
Please find the latest Waterloo Region Food News below. WRFoodNews archives can be viewed at http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/wrfoodnews, and you can subscribe to the blog of the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable at http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=blog.RSS.
1. UW Food Services Among Recipients of Ontario Local Food Grants
The University of Waterloo was one of several recipients of a new round of funding to bump up the amount of local food served in public institutions. The university will use the grant to assess how much of its $6 million annual food budget it can re-direct to Ontario foods. For details, see Roundtable Discussion Forum post.
2. Cities Proposing Food Policies in Draft Official Plans
The Cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge all have new food policies in their draft Official Plans. The public has until the end of September to comment on the proposed policies. For examples of the proposed policies, and information on how to give your input, see the Roundtable blog.
3. Put Food on the Agenda in the Ontario Election
The Ontario provincial election is coming up on the 6th of October, 2011. Will you join with Sustain Ontario and its many volunteers to create the food system changes you want to see? For details, see Roundtable blog.
4. Wild Foods Featured in The Record
Congratulations to Jackie McMillan for getting front page coverage in The Record for an issue she has been working on for a long time: "wild foods" - the ones that need very little human intervention to provide nutritious food! Read the full story in the Roundtable Discussion Forum post.
5. Reviewing Emergency Food Distribution in Waterloo Region
Waterloo Region Shares, the project created to review the distribution of emergency food in the region, is nearing the completion of its mandate, and recently evaluated its five years of work. For details, see Roundtable blog.
6. Keynote Speakers Announced for Bring Food Conference
Sustain Ontario has announced the keynote speakers for it bi-annual conference connecting those individuals and organizations who are working towards a sustainable food system. Raj Patel will highlight the three-day conference, which will be held in Peterborough from October 27-29. For conference details and to register, see http://bringfoodhome.com/.
7. Topics Announced for Fall KPL events
Three new topics have been organized for the Roundtable’s Healthy Food Systems series, held in conjunction with the Kitchener Public Library. The next event is on September 27th, when Lynn Ogryzlo will speak about the potential of local food to revitalize local economies. For details on all the Fall events, see www.wrfoodsystem.ca/kpl.
8. New Meat Press Blog
Sustain Ontario has started a new blog calling attention to the situation faced by owners of small abattoirs. Meanwhile a Social Planning Council has issued a new fact sheet on the issue. For details, and link to the first couple of “Meat Press articles,” see Roundtable blog.
9. Farm Leaders voice Concerns over CETA
Two Ontario farm leaders recently voiced concern over the proposed Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) with Europe. For details on their concerns about how CETA will impact local food procurement programs, see Roundtable blog.
10. Petition to Demand Environmental Review of Highland Quarry
Orangeville MP David Tilson has created a petition requesting that the federal government require a full environmental assessment for the proposed mega-quarry in Dufferin County. For more information and a link to the petition which you can print and distribute, see Roundtable Discussion Forum post.
11. Work Opportunities in Food
A few new paid and volunteer positions in food systems work have been posted to the Roundtable’s jobs page, including volunteer positions with the Roundtable and paid positions with FoodShare and Local Food Plus in Toronto. For details, see http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/jobs.
12. Upcoming Food Events
Not many local Foodie events in the next month: are we all taking time off, or are people just not posting them to the Roundtable’s website?! Post your own Foodie events on our Events page and view details on these and other upcoming events.
Food Issues in the Election – August 30, 7-8:30pm, online webinar
Sustain Ontario’s Election Planning – September 1, 7-8pm, online webinar
Meander and Munch: A Forest Lunch – September 3, 9am-5pm, Kitchener
Huron Rural Food Conference – September 17, 8:30am-8pm, Clinton
Taste Local! Taste Fresh! – September 18, 2-5pm, St Jacobs
Local Food, the $2.4 billion Prospect – September 27, 6:30-8:30pm, KPL Forest Heights Branch, Kitchener
_______________________________________________
WRFoodNews mailing list
WRFoodNews@wrfoodsystem.ca
http://wrfoodsystem.ca/mailman/listinfo/wrfoodnews_wrfoodsystem.ca
