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In This Issue
- Register Now - FFCO Virtual Conference and Speakers' Program
- Winter Speakers' Series - Next event scheduled for April 22
- Sold-out Garden-in-a-Box pilot provides the equivalent of 15,000 meal to Feed Ontario
- Strip tillage early-adopter case studies
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Meet a Member - Veal Farmers of Ontario
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There is still time to register for Farm & Food Care Ontario's Virtual Conference and Speakers' Program taking place on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. The conference will run from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
A member-only annual business meeting and board of director elections will be held on April 8. Members have received a separate invitation to that meeting.
For the first time ever, the conference is free to attend.
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FFCO is pleased to welcome two keynote speakers: |
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Peace, Love & Fibre
Mairlyn Smith is the only P.H.Ec. in Canada who is also an alumnus of the Second City Comedy Troupe, making her the self-proclaimed funniest P.H.Ec. in the entire world. A popular media personality, MC and keynote speaker Mairlyn is also a regular guest expert on the award-winning national daytime television show Cityline as well as a regular on Toronto’s Breakfast TV. Mairlyn’s forte is her ability to mix learning with laughter. She’s the author of seven award-winning cookbooks. Cookbook number eight - Peace, Love and Fibre: Over 100 Fibre-Rich Recipes for the Whole Family (appetite by Random House) made the bestseller lists at The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Amazon.ca and Chapters Indigo. Check out her website www.mairlynsmith.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @MairlynSmith or Facebook @mairlyn.smith
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Generational Change and the Future of Food in Canada
David Coletto delivers strategic advice and research design expertise to many of Canada’s foremost corporations, advocacy groups, and political leaders. A leader in online research methodologies, public affairs research, corporate and organizational reputation studies, and youth research, Coletto has led projects for top-tier companies in many sectors including pharmaceutical, transportation, financial services, educational, natural resource, telecommunications, media, arts and cultural, tourism, and retail. He is an outspoken proponent of transparency in the polling industry and is regularly called upon by media and organizations alike to provide expert analyses of public opinion and research methodologies.
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Thank you to our conference sponsors: |
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Winter Speakers' Series
On March 29, Farm & Food Care offices in ON, SK and PEI, in partnership with Canadian Food Focus, were pleased to host the second session in a series of three winter webinars, featuring Jo-Ann McArthur, Founding Partner and President of Nourish Food Marketing on “Food Labelling: The good, the bad and the ugly." The session had about 150 attendees from across Canada was moderated by FFCO Executive Director Kelly Daynard.
The Winter Speakers' Series invites leaders from across the food industry to share their insights and experience on how Canadian food producers are adapting to changing demographics, mindful consumers and unprecedented global events.
Next session:
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April 22, 2021 @ 1:00 P.M.
Scott McDeivitte
How has food service adapted during COVID: What does the future hold?
Join food service industry specialist Scott McDeivitte from Gordon Food Services for a discussion of how Canada's food system is adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. How are restaurants responding to changes and new markets? What trends will stay around for some time and which will fade? Learn more about the restaurants of the future and impacts to public trust in the food service industry.
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The three sessions are free to attend thanks to a partnership with:
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Sold out Garden-in-a-Box pilot raises equivalent of 15,000 meals for Feed Ontario
FFCO is pleased to announce that the Garden-in-a-Box campaign successfully sold out on March 22. Selling 500 boxes in one month through this pilot project, FFCO has helped provide the equivalent of 15,000 meals to Ontarians in need by donating a portion of the proceeds from each box to Feed Ontario.
Purchasers are invited to join an FFCO Garden Club on Facebook, where garden enthusiasts (with any level of experience) can gather and share their challenges and triumphs throughout the 2021 season.
FFCO will share helpful advice, contests, virtual events, and key messages that build common ground and dialogue about the similarities and differences between backyard gardening and growing on an agricultural scale. Industry experts from across food and farming, including farmers, will be featured in live events.
The first virtual learning event, focused on soil health, will take place on April 22 - Earth Day.
The Garden-in-a-Box pilot project was made possible by a growing list of industry partners including:
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Strip tillage early adopter case studies
As part of FFCO's Soil Health Project, four early-adopter case studies follow four different farmers around Ontario that adopted strip tillage.
Strip tillage disturbs a strip of soil for planting at a later date while leaving a space in between the strips undisturbed. Each case study, available in video and written formats, speaks directly on the benefits of the strip tillage and includes some of the challenges faced by growers when making the switch to this practice.
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Meet a silver member -
Veal Farmers of Ontario
Veal Farmers of Ontario (VFO) board and staff believe that we are all ‘stronger together’ and this is especially true when it comes to our partnership with Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO).
VFO is a farmer-run organization that represents the interests of Ontario’s veal farmers. We work on a variety of projects and address the issues directly impacting male dairy calf and veal farmers, to create a proactive and engaged dairy calf and veal industry in Ontario.
As a smaller organization, we know we cannot do everything ourselves and we need to use our limited resources wisely. That is why VFO works with our industry partners like FFCO to strategically address the needs of our sector and lay important foundation blocks that will serve our industry now and into the future. Together, VFO and FFCO use our combined strengths and expertise and share a common vision on the importance of clear, concise, and transparent communications that best represent our industry.
We truly appreciate the work that FFCO does, especially behind the scenes, to create ways for the broader agriculture sector to work together on behalf of our respective organizations on common goals that benefit all our farmers and engage with the consumer and general public. This past year, the level of collaboration, helping each other, and sharing among our industry colleagues has been unprecedented and something we hope will be sustained well past this pandemic. We are stronger together and VFO looks forward to continuing these partnerships into 2021.
Pascal Bouilly, Veal Farmers of Ontario
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