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In This Issue
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Breakfast from the Farm
- Local Food Week - in review
- Garden-in-a-Box project hosts second LIVE event
- Faces Behind Food
- FFCO Seeking Special Events Manager
- More Than a Migrant Worker initiative launched
- FFCO welcomes new partnership - Heartland Farm Mutual
- Meet a Platinum Member - Egg Farmers of Ontario
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Breakfast from the Farm
Although large scale, in person events are still not possible, FFCO, in partnership with members across Ontario, is pleased to offer a new Breakfast from the Farm experience in 2021. In this drive-thru style event, visitors will enjoy socially-distanced displays of farm equipment and livestock and receive breakfast in a bag - filled with all of the ingredients a family would need for a home-cooked all-Ontario breakfast.
Bags are $20 per car and will feed a family of four. Groceries included in the bags are valued at $50. The deliveries will also include resources like The Real Dirt on Farming and collectible items from event partners.
Upcoming Dates:
Carp Fairgrounds: July 18, 2021
Lindsay Fairgrounds: August 28, 2021
FFCO looks forward to once again hosting these events in collaboration with Ontario farm families.
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Local Food Week - in review
Farm & Food Care Ontario was pleased to host a series of virtual events during Local Food Week (June 7-13, 2021)
Joined by partners AgScape and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s (OFA) Six by Sixteen, five Virtual Field Trips were hosted.
Tours included
- Heeman’s Strawberry Farm hosted by Susan Judd and Tom Heeman of London;
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Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese hosted by Shep Ysselstein of Oxford;
- Beekeepers Shaunna and Ken MacQuarrie of Niagara;
- Shady Creek Lamb Co. hosted by Chris Moore of Kinburn;
- Potato grower Josh Dreise of Chatham.
Over 80,000 students and teachers registered for the events which helped to celebrate the fresh, healthy food grown, produced, and processed right here in Ontario. There was a reach of 106,000 views online. Be sure to visit www.FarmFoodCareON.org/fieldtrips/ to visit recent tours. More are planned in the months ahead.
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Garden-in-a-Box hosts second live event
The Garden-in-a-Box initiative welcomed "Frankie Flowers" to its second LIVE Facebook event on June 24.
Frank Ferragine is one of Canada’s most popular and trusted gardening experts . A best-selling author, he is known for his ability to combine practical gardening advice with humour, and loves to share his passion for everything outdoors with the world. Frankie believes that life should be fun and lives every day by the mantra “if you are green you are growing!"
The event had over 9,000 views and attracted 90 new members to join the online gardening club. Thank you CropLife Canada for sponsoring this event.
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Faces Behind Food
Food unites us, but how much do we know about the people who work hard day-in and day-out to ensure Canadians have access to fresh, safe, nutritious, and delicious food? With a food supply chain as diverse and plentiful as ours – it really does take a village - from farmers and food processors to researchers, veterinarians, transporters, Seasonal Agricultural Workers and more. Faces Behind Food captures the passion behind the food that we love, one person at a time.
Farm & Food Care is back out, travelling the province, capturing stories on farms, in greenhouses, in trucks and processing plants.
View the Instagram campaign here.
Do you know someone who would be a great feature in Faces Behind Food?
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Farm & Food Care Ontario is hiring!
Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO) invites applications for a full time, 15 month contract position of Special Events Manager, to begin in August, 2021. The Special Events Manager will be a valued member of the FFCO team, responsible for planning and organizing events and/or meetings for the organization.
The Special Events Manager will have the ability to pull off an event (either virtually or in person) and make it sparkle (working within limited budgets). It is expected that the majority of the events through the remainder of 2021 will be virtual with a return to in person activations in 2022. The deadline to apply is July 12.
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More than a Migrant Worker Campaign
The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association, Farm & Food Care Ontario, the Ontario Apple Growers and the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers have cooperated on developing a new outreach initiative called “More than a Migrant Worker”.
With a website launch on June 21, the proactive campaign aims to answer the public’s questions about farm labor and seasonal workers. It will also work to introduce visitors to the women and men who help Ontario farmers grow our food.
The website (www.MoreThanaMigrantWorker.ca) as well as Facebook and Instagram feeds (@MtaMigrantWrkr) will share worker profiles, answer frequently asked questions about the Temporary Foreign Worker and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programs and provides facts about fruit and vegetable production in Ontario. Farm & Food Care will be taking a lead role in doing photography and video interviews with workers across Ontario.
Take a moment to check out the website, give it a follow on Instagram or Facebook and share the campaign with members, colleagues and industry partners. More opportunities for member and stakeholder involvement will be made available as the project expands.
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FFCO welcomes new partnership: Heartland Farm Mutual |
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Heartland Farm Mutual is partnering with Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO) over the next three years to deliver critical training, industry support and public education with the goal of building public trust in food and farming. Heartland's support means an additional $5,000 annually over its Silver level membership.
As part of this funding, Heartland will sponsor 75 registrations this fall for first responders across Waterloo Region to attend Farm & Food Care Livestock Emergency Response workshops. These workshops have been designed to address the unique challenges involved in traffic accidents involving livestock trailers and experience has shown that responders with livestock emergency training more confidently respond to these situations, in an organized and safe manner while minimizing the overall time on scene.
This support demonstrates Heartland’s strong commitment to the agri-food industry that strives to meaningfully and proactively connect with non-farming audiences with the information that matters most.
FFCO is grateful for this generous support and the continued growth of this meaningful partnership.
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Meet a Platinum Member: Egg Farmers of Ontario
Egg Farmers of Ontario (EFO) is a proud Platinum member of Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO). Over the many years of our partnership, our focus may have changed, but our shared values remain the same.
Farm & Food Care has been a valuable advocate for Ontario egg and pullet farmers. Their efforts in sharing the story of modern agriculture across the province helps extend our messages to a wider audience; from students in the classroom to chefs, Registered Dietitians, food writers and consumers.
Through our shared understanding of the importance of creating and continuing the conversation between farmers and consumers, EFO has been happy to work alongside FFCO to share the egg farming experience. Programs like Breakfast on the Farm, farm tours and sharing of resources all help to bridge the gap between rural and urban and engage with consumers. Many of our farmers have also been able to access FFCO programs and resources to help them become better egg ambassadors, and connect in meaningful ways with the public.
We view FFCO as a valuable partner in engaging with consumers and an excellent resource for our farmers. We are confident the relationship will continue to evolve with the changing consumer.
- Scott Helps, Chair, Egg Farmers of Ontario
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