Ontario just marked its second annual Local Food Week. Although there were a multitude of events going on across the province, including a Foodland Ontario-run Twitter party and a one-day farmers’ market at Queen’s Park, the highlight for me was a Farm & Food Care Ontario media tour in the Ottawa area. It was a […]
Read MoreAn innovative shelf labelling program that is already being used in over 250 stores in Western Canada has come to Ontario. Through smartphone-enabled tags, Localize highlights regional products s and provides shoppers with information about the origin of food products right at the shelf. Each product considered local under the program has a QR code […]
Read MoreI suppose some might consider what I visited several weeks ago a “factory farm”. I’ve yet to actually meet someone who could give me a clear definition of what that term means when I’ve asked, but at first glance, the farm fits many of the notions people often tend to associate with that expression: a […]
Read MoreDo you wonder who actually produces our food? Would you like to learn more about who Ontario’s farmers actually are? A website launched last fall by Farm & Food Care will let you do just that. It was inspired by the organization’s popular Faces of Farming calendar, but also includes stories that have been written […]
Read MoreFarm & Food Care is leading efforts on behalf of Ontario farmers to encourage Ontarians to support local food – and they’re turning online to reach out to consumers. June 2 – 8 marks the first-ever Local Food Week in Ontario, which was part of the Local Food Act the provincial government passed last year.
Read MoreI await the coming of asparagus season the way many people anticipate Christmas. Yes, I absolutely love the fresh, crisp flavour of newly harvested asparagus spears, but it’s about more than just their yummy goodness. Or the fact that they’re good for you and loaded with iron and vitamin K. To me, it also signals […]
Read MoreA popular school snack program that has been in place in Northern Ontario schools for the past eight years has been expanded. As a result of increased funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, approximately 36,000 students in 191 schools are now receiving two servings a week of fruits and vegetables […]
Read MoreThere’s a potential market opportunity developing for farmers in south central Ontario – and they’re being asked to step forward if they’re interested in being part of a new food hub pilot project. The South Central Ontario Region (SCOR) Economic Development Corporation has received funding from the Greenbelt Fund to test a food hub concept […]
Read MoreThe strength of the local food movement and the potential of an untapped urban market keen to buy high quality beef direct from farmers are behind a new marketing initiative underway by Beef Farmers of Ontario. Farm to City Marketing is based on the popular community-supported agriculture (CSA) model that has been successful for vegetable […]
Read MoreFamily tradition is an important part of Ontario’s farming culture. Innovation and new technology, however, are what helps keep that family tradition going for the future generations. Fruit grower Phil Tregunno is proud of being the fourth generation of his family to farm in the Niagara Region – and with his two sons and a […]
Read MoreFacing a bumper crop after last year’s weather disaster, the Ontario Apple Growers (OAG) knew they needed to Ontarians to eat more apples than ever before. To do so, they needed more consumer awareness, so the organization turned to social media to reach out. A series of contests hosted on their Facebook page over the […]
Read MoreThey’re young, they’re educated and they’re passionate about their future as veal farmers in Ontario. Tom Oudshoorn and his brother Paul raise about 2,000 grain-fed veal calves on their home farm in the Auburn area near Goderich and on a second farm near Kincardine, where Paul now lives.
Read MoreThis is the week we mark Earth Day, on Tuesday to be exact. Many of us give a bit more thought to the environment this week or do a few extra things to mark this day. And those are all good things. Farmers, in my opinion, have a special relationship with the environment, a stronger […]
Read MoreDemand for edamame, a type of soybean popular in Asia as a snack and vegetable dish, is growing in North America. Most edamame sold here, however, is imported – something that a local Ontario farm family is working hard to change. MacKellar Farms, near the southwestern Ontario town of Alvinston, is Canada’s only commercial supplier […]
Read MoreAbout two-thirds of Canadian egg buyers have never bought eggs produced in cage-free facilities. They say they could be motivated to change their buying habits – but price will be the key factor and not hen welfare. That’s according to a study by NPD Group looking at consumer attitudes and demands for cage-free eggs, conducted […]
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