Food Theme Team

Supporting local food suppliers and ensuring food security were the primary goals of the Food Team. They are already knee deep in projects that celebrate local foods, increase awareness and access, and transfer skills.

Notes from December 7th Meeting

Painting the Picture

From Lanark Highlands Official Plan, March 2003 The Vision 7: Much of the Township is forested and rural in nature. There are some 332 farm properties although the capability of the agricultural land base varies substantially across the municipality. This Plan recognizes the importance of maintaining the existing agricultural base and contains policies which encourage the maintenance of farmland especially the stands of maple trees which provide seasonal revenue from the maple syrup industry as well as tourism.

■ limited supply of fossil fuels will affect our existing agriculture and food distribution system in such as

way that there will be a much greater reliance on local farms

■ future climate instability will also affect our local farms ability to successfully grow food

■ conventional, industrial style farming relies on lots of energy for inputs, transportation, storage,

refrigeration

■ encouraging the development and supporting small diversified farms that sell directly to consumers or

to local businesses is a way to ensure they will be around in the future as food from far away becomes expensive and unreliable

■ Avian Flu, Mad Cow disease etc are indicators of how quickly and drastically Ontario's and Lanark

County's food system can be affected by events taking place far away

■ most citizens and politicians are not aware of the difficulties many regulations cause for the small farm

■ there are many corporate influences and obstacles at the global level that are working against the

survival of the small farm (see Maureeen Bostock's great notes "Food Security from a Farmer's Point of View")

■ at the present time, in the event of something like a border closure, it's likely that Lanark County does

not produce enough food to feed the people that live here

Research requirements

■ we need to get an idea of the inventory of available acreage and quality of farmland in the Highlands,

a list of active farmers and other food produce

■ much of this is available from various sources - Bruce Moore OMAF, the County, LH tax roll

information - will need it for the final report (CN)

■ there may be an opportunity to work with the Ottawa Just Food group to develop the farmer and food

producer inventory (CN)

Ideas for Policy Changes - we need more thinking here!

■ require that all Lanark Highlands events involving food source as much locally as possible (short

term)

■ offer some sort of tax incentive to ensure that good farmland stays as farmland (long range)

■ municipal advocacy (see note in text of e-mail)

Project Suggestions

Local Food Celebrations

■ a Slow Food potluck event around the release of one of the studies reports

■ invite LH and County politicians and staff, all people who participated in the Sustainability Plan

(CK/SO/JD/CN)

■ maybe have a speaker talk about the present and future of small diversified farms - anyone have

suggestions for this?

Advertising and Education

■ talk to the Lanark Era to see if they're interested in doing maybe a monthly article on small farms in

the Highlands AD suggested name 'Down to Earth' (AD)

■ could involve the MERA writers club

■ AD has approached Gene Basset who has agreed to write a story about how the first wave of

back to the landers were taught by old time farmer Bert Bingley

■ also see if they'd like a regular recipe column of some sort that features seasonally available local

ingredients and promotes Highland farmers (AD/CN)

■ develop a display/activity promoting the purchasing of local food for area fall fairs (JB)

■ a great opportunity to reach the 'unconverted"

■ farm/food 'branding' so that consumers are easily made aware of what they're buying

■ something like "Local Lanark"

■ could be used in restaurants, retail stores, as signage for farmgate sales

■ would probably be a county wide initiative (AD)

■ need to stay connected with what the Ottawa Tourism Board is doing around the province's

designation of Ottawa and environs as a 'Culinary Tourism Destination" (CN/Just Food group)

■ billboards along the highway - facts about nutrition, merits of buying local, changed every couple of

months or so (SO)

■ bumph up the farmgate sale brochure and get it out to more places

■ CN to raise it at the County agricultural committee meeting

Increasing Access

■ establish a local farmer's market at a location that is convenient to get to, at the same sport or on the

way to something else - maybe the North Lanark Health Centre (JB)

■ needs to be convenient, a people draw, part of a bigger outing

■ available land for market gardeners - set up a roster of people who have unused garden space

■ many people for whatever reason have unused gardens, tools etc., while people in apartments, rental

situations etc. may not have access to need to involve Janet Duncan/Hilary Chop to get advice about this

Transfer of Sustainable Skills/Knowledge

■ afternoon event/evening dinner featuring ol' timers - 'telling tales" dinner, local music interspersed

with tales about 'the old days', slides/pictures (AD/SO)

■ a connecting opportunity for the old guard and newer folks to mix and build/strengthen ties

■ food helps build community - something that many at the initial three community meeting felt LH

lacked

■ canning/storing/preserving food, horselogging, masonry work, fencing building, syrup producing

workshops

■ could build on the Health Centre's beginning community kitchen work

■ Titia Posthuma offered to help/advise/connect us with LH people who have specific sustainable

farming skills

■ expand on planned Youth Centre kitchen garden at Maple Grove to more directly involve students

- will work on this aspect as the first year progresses

■ could include food preparation, cooking and eating together opportunities, a celebration of the

harvest