Karen Hutchinson – Caledon Countryside Alliance and Eat Local Caledon

Final Thoughts:

My final thoughts coming out of the week were mostly humble.  I did only do this for not quite five days and I choose foods I like when I could.  If I were to do it day in and day out, I am not sure how I would survive – I do know I would need all my best cooking, growing and food buying skills.  I have always respected food and I have a new respect for those who don’t have enough food.

I know there is enough food in the world to go around, it just isn’t fairly distributed.  I know according to Statistics Canada that 38 percent of food goes to waste from field to fork (Take a Bite out of Climate Change – www.eatlocalcaledon.org).  I know that we have hungry people, high rates of childhood obesity and diabetes and a farm income crisis.  It is a complex issue that crosses so many borders.  There are lots of local and Ontario individuals, groups, organizations and businesses working to make changes. 

There are many answers and here are some of the ones I know:

Eating local is one - see www.eatlocalcaledon.org for local producers, events, workshops, school programs and much more.

Community farms for community gardens and community supported agriculture – see Albion Hills Community Farm (www.albionhillscommunityfarm.org) for more information.  Also see Whole Village in Alton (http://www.wholevillage.org/), Everdale in Erin (www.everdale.org) and others in Headwaters.

Community kitchens like the Palgrave Community Kitchen (http://palgravekitchen.homestead.com/), for workshops, fun food events, summer camps and kitchen rentals.

Local Farmers markets opening soon – June 2 in Bolton (http://www.caledon.ca/farmersmarket/) , June 20 in Inglewood (http://www.eatlocalcaledon.org/farmers_market.htm) and  other markets in Orangeville, Brampton, Georgetown and other communities.

Farm open to the public in Peel and Farmers’ Markets -see Grown in Peel (www.GrownInPeel.ca) and farms, markets, retailers and restaurants in Dufferin - see Dufferin Farm Fresh (www.dufferinfarmfresh.com)

HAYville – a free youth food and farming entrepreneurship and skills building program for 12 to 19 year olds in Caledon and area (http://www.eatlocalcaledon.org/HAYville.htm).

Have your say on these issues by commenting on how you see the food system can change through the Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy Consultation @ Sustain Ontario http://sustainontario.com/initiatives/ontario-food-and-nutrition-strategy/comment-page-1#comment-57033

Finally, I want to thank Caledon Community Food Services for taking on this massive project to build not only awareness, but a Community Food Centre for all of the community.  At Eat Local Caledon, we look forward to working with them on the local food piece as we continue to grow our efforts with community programming and developing a local food distribution system for our Region.