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In This Issue
- FFCO's Gala-in-a-Box raises $23,000
- Source Local partnership with OFA
- Recap: Virtual Food & Nutrition Forum - November 2, 2021
- AgScape and FFCO sign MOU
- Call for Breakfast on the Farm hosts
- Pancake mix sales
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Best of CAMA award for The Real Dirt on Farming
- Trillium Mutual Champions Emergency Livestock Training
- Give the gift of FFCO this Christmas!
- FFCO holiday hours
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Gala-in-a-Box
November 13, 2021
This month, Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO) welcomed 400 of agriculture's finest for the second virtual Gala, raising $23,000 for public trust initiatives.
Participants received a box filled with Ontario flavours, including goodies such as salsa, chutney, cider, chips, ingredients, and recipes to make their Gala meal. On the menu for the evening were turkey breast medallions and pan-roasted fall vegetables with the main ingredient partnership from Turkey Farmers of Ontario and the help of Chef Nick Benninger of Fat Sparrow Group. Guests were invited to cook up veal escalopes alla pizzaiola as an appetizer and apple clafoutis for dessert for chances to win prize packages from partners Veal Farmers of Ontario and Ontario Apple Growers.
The Gala-in-a-Box experience included a live mixology session with a cocktail from Grain Farmers of Ontario and The Porchlight in Elora. Other highlights included the Live Ontario Tourism Auction and the presentation of the Paul Mistele Memorial Award.
Guests took to social media to share their enthusiasm for this celebration of Ontario agriculture that brought farm families and FFCO supporters together from all corners of Ontario.
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A glimpse of some of the meals shared via social. |
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Mair family with mixology drinks |
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Eyre family from Lambton County cooks live in kitchen. |
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Thank you to event and box sponsors, and everyone who attended and supported FFCO. Read the full press release here
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NEW "Source Local" project with Ontario Federation of Agriculture
November 22, 2021
FFCO and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) launched a new public trust/consumer outreach program. The announcement was made at OFA’s 2021 Annual General Meeting in November.
Titled Source Local, the year-long pilot project aims to inspire support for food and farming, beginning with local community activations, followed by larger events in urban and suburban centers. The program will also focus on strong communications through both traditional and digital media opportunities. The project’s goal is to connect Ontarians to farmers, families, and those directly involved in Ontario’s food value chain.
Everyone has a reason for the businesses they support, the products they purchase, and the food they eat. Ontarians make decisions every day that are based on their own values and principles, and it is our intention to connect with consumers over these shared values. Through this connection, we hope to create a better understanding and appreciation for Ontario’s farmers and the agri-food value chain. Together, we can connect with Ontarians and showcase the best our industry has to offer.
The partnership between the OFA and FFCO builds on the work that the two organizations have done together for decades. In recent years, partnerships have included shared exhibits at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Speak Up and media training sessions for farmers across the province, and collaboration for many initiatives, including Six by Sixteen, Always in Season, and local events like Breakfast on the Farm.
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Food & Nutrition Forum
On November 2, FFCO partnered with the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (RAWF) and Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan to host a virtual RAWF Food & Nutrition Forum.
Annually, the event held at the RAWF attracts Professional Home Economists, Registered Dietitians, dietetic instructors, nutritionists, chefs, culinary instructors, other health professionals, and more. This year's conference was designed to appeal to a national audience of attendees across all time zones and drew 215 attendees from coast to coast.
The four keynote presentations included:
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Bob Blumer of Love Food Hate Waste Canada spoke on the topic: Zero Food Waste (Keep calm and cook on!).
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A panel on The role of Seasonal Agricultural Workers in Canada with Felena Pereira, Seasonal Agriculture Worker from Trinidad & Tobago; Amanda Dooney, Owner of Suncrest Orchards; Stefan Larrass, Senior Policy Advisor, Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers' Association.
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Marianne Smith Edge, a sixth-generation farmer, and Registered Dietitian from Kentucky, produces the bi-monthly Meet Me at the Table blog and The Agri-Nutrition Edge Report newsletter. She explored The Complexities of Sustainability From Farm to Fork—it's More than a Label or Word.
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Award-winning dietitians Lucia Weiler and Sue Mah focused on Nutrition for Healthy Aging.
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AgScape and FFCO sign MOU
In late November, members of the FFCO and AgScape teams met for an all-day business planning session.
Together, both organizations are reaching further and making greater impacts because of our resolve to collaborate. To that end, an important component of the meeting was signing a new Memorandum of Understanding, solidifying the future of the collaboration.
This was the third annual shared meeting between the two groups. Throughout the day, participants discussed a number of areas for shared partnerships in 2022, focusing on each of the organization’s areas of expertise – AgScape as the Agriculture in the Classroom experts in Ontario; FFCO providing leadership in the area of agricultural outreach with a goal of enhancing public trust in food and farming.
In the past two years, the groups have collaborated on dozens of virtual food and farm tours. AgScape and its national counterpart, Agriculture in the Classroom Canada, have also led the development of new classroom resources for both The Real Dirt on Farming and the FarmFood360 VR website project.
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Kelly Daynard; FFCO and Taylor Selig; AgScape sign a new MOU between the two groups. |
Staff teams from AgScape and Farm & Food Care Ontario met on November 17, 2021. |
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Breakfast on the Farm: Call for 2022 Hosts
This year, FFCO ran three successful Breakfast from the Farm events across Ontario. These events helped us continue connecting folks with the people who make their food in a public-health-promoting drive-through setting.
FFCO is looking at having Breakfast on the Farm again in 2022 (taking into account all public health guidelines), and are in need of potential hosts.
If you are interested, please review the application form.
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Pancake Mix Sale
Support FFCO and share the joy of holiday pancakes with friends and family this Christmas!
Revenue from each package sold goes to support future FFCO initiatives, such as Breakfast on the Farm!
Each package includes:
- 1 kg bag of P&H Buttermilk Pancake Mix (Fan favorite!)
- 250ml of Ontario Maple Syrup
- A Reusable produce bag
- A copy award-winning publication The Real Dirt on Farming
Packages are $25 + $15 flat rate shipping.
*FREE Local pick is available from our Guelph office at 660 Speedvale Avenue W.
*Shipping is only available within Ontario.
In order to receive shipped orders for Christmas, order by December 5th
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Best of CAMA award for The Real Dirt on Farming
November 18, 2021
At the Canadian Agricultural Marketing Awards competition in late November, FFCO received another award – a Best of CAMA in the category of Company or Industry-Funded Marketing Tactic Directed at the General Public for The Real Dirt on Farming 5th Edition.
This is added to the two prestigious Gold awards presented by the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation (CFWF) to the same project in September. There’s really no higher honour in agricultural circles than wins at either the CAMA awards or the CFWF awards so to win both is a great achievement!
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Trillium Mutual Champions Emergency Livestock Training
FFCO is pleased to announce funding from Trillium Mutual Insurance Company's Community Support Committee in support of providing 100 first responders across rural Ontario the opportunity to take part in Virtual Livestock Emergency Training sessions this winter.
This course is delivered by FFCO and large animal rescue expert Victor MacPherson and is specially designed for first responders and emergency personnel. This course covers the factors that are important to the decision-making processes for accidents involving livestock trailers, including trailer design and the implications for extrication points, animal behavior, laws and regulations, euthanasia protocols, and how to develop response teams.
Tracy MacDonald, President & CEO of Trillium shares, “Protecting farm and rural communities is at the heart of what we do at Trillium. When the opportunity to support training for first responders in managing livestock emergencies in rural Ontario was presented to us, it completely aligned with our vision. Many of these accidents involve unique challenges for first responders as animals that are injured, trapped or loose require special attention and care. This training will allow emergency services to have the knowledge to deal with extractions, animal behavior & livestock trailers while responding in an organized and safe manner.”
Thank you Trillium Mutual for your support!
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Give the gift of Farm & Food Care
Your support drives our shared mission. Consider making FFCO your charity of choice this holiday season!
We’re grateful to friends at Agri Nutrient Solutions who have made a gift to FFCO again this year in honour of their incredible team. President, David Mair, pictured here as the jolly man himself, and his family have been generous champions of FFCO and our shared mission over three years of giving seasons. Thank you!
FFCO is a registered Canadian charity and a whole-sector coalition made up of representatives from all farming types and associated businesses. With the support of our members, partners, and donors, Farm & Food Care positions itself as a helpful expert on Ontario agriculture and produces high-quality consumer outreach events and activations that help connect farm gates to dinner plates with a common goal to build public trust in food and farming in Ontario and across Canada.
Give today and help build quality communications on behalf of the agri-food industry!
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President David Mair pictured as Santa Claus |
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FFCO Holiday Hours
Farm & Food Care Ontario wishes everyone a safe and joyful holiday season. The office will be closed from December 24 - January 4th.
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