Welcome to our new e-newsletter!

We are Harvest Haliburton - a grassroots group of individuals and organizations supporting the development of a sustainable food system in Haliburton County.

Harvest Haliburton envisions a community where the ecological, social, economic and nutritional benefits of a local sustainable food system are valued and celebrated. We hope to raise awareness about the benefits of a sustainable food system, and to promote and support policies necessary for its development by working in collaboration with key stakeholders.

The purpose of this newsletter is to share information about all things food in the Haliburton Highlands and keep you up to date on the activities of Harvest Haliburton. If you know of anyone who would like to receive this newsletter have them send an email to barrieinthehighlands@gmail.com and we will add them to our distribution list.

Who we are

Harvest Haliburton is a part of the Haliburton County Community Cooperative

We currently have four committees.

Steering Committee includes Angel Taylor, Andrew Gordon (Director of U-Links). Angelica Ingram (Tourism Manager, County of Haliburton), Tina Jackson, Central Food Network, Pat Casey (Councillor, Municipality of Dysart et al). Aisha Malik (Co-chair and Public Health Dietitian, HKPR District Health Unit) and Barrie Martin (Co-chair and Coop Liaison

Official Plan Review Sub-committee - Lexy Feinstein (consultant) Angel Taylor, Aisha Malik, Barrie Martin. Reviewing official plans of all of the municipalities and recommending polices that support the development of a sustainable food system.

Food information Hub Sub-committee - Angelica Ingram, Aisha Malik, Barrie Martin. Creating a food information hub

Local Food Forum Sub-committee - Under development. To organize a forum to bring all stakeholders to share information and to network.

Other ad hoc committees will be formed to implement future projects and initiatives. We are seeking volunteers to serve on the above committees. If interested, contact Aisha Malik at amalik@hkpr.on.ca

A Little History

The Haliburton Highlands Local Food Coalition (HHLFC), a sub-committee of Environment Haliburton was established on March 8th, 2008, as a community-based group. On February 9^th, 2012, this group changed its name to Harvest Haliburton (HH) and in the spring of 2012 moved its operation under the umbrella of the Haliburton County Community Co-operative. In 2015 the Haliburton County Community Food Assessment Committee merged with Harvest Haliburton. Three workgroups emerged from the Community Food Assessment result in three workplans for Food Policy, Food Production and Communication for the term 2017-2018. In the March 2019, the Food and Agriculture Economic Development Forum identified priorities to build on previous work and define current activities. The work of HH has been supported since its inception by the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge Health Unit (HKPR) providing staff and financial support.

Activities of HH almost came to a halt during COVID. A small group of steering committee members met a few times to keep the flame alive. Post COVID it was evident that more work than ever needed to be done to build and maintain a local sustainable food system. In 2023 the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge health unit (HKPR) reaffirmed their commitment to build and support the work of HH. In October 2023 HH invited local stakeholders to a member “re-connect” meeting. Fifteen key stakeholders attended to receive an update of HH activities, review the 2019 Action Plan, Terms of Reference, and discuss next steps. Another meeting was convened in January 2024 to share the work of local stakeholders, identify work priorities for 2024, and establish a steering committee to guide the organize and sub-committees to work on 2024 priority projects.  

Provincial Funding for Ontario’s Agritourism

With the support of the provincial government, Ontario’s leading agritourism association is taking giant steps to grow the sector across Ontario.

Agritourism Ontario (formerly Farm Fresh Ontario) is heading into 2025 with a new name

and $345,000 of funding to develop and promote farm experiences.

New from Rotary

Rotary Harvest, in the early stages of development, is a new community-driven approach to fighting food insecurity that involves mobilizing volunteers to help harvest crops from local gardens, farms and community gardens and distribute them to those in need. 

Demand for Food Banks

Tina Jackson of Central Food Network reports a significant increase in the number of people needing food assistance through our food banks in Wilberforce and Cardiff as well as the number of visits monthly.  Check out the great work of CFN - click HERE

Farmers' Market is

looking for Agricultural Vendors

The Haliburton County Farmers' Market is a great opportunity to sell your product, grow your business, try out new ideas, and meet customers face-to-face. If

you would like to become a vendor contact Lexy Feinstein.

Cultivating Local Workshop Series

Thinking about selling direct to consumer and wondering how to get started? The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is offering workshops to help kick off your local food, agritourism or value-added venture. They offer topics such as Selling at Farmers Markets, Exploring Agritourism Opportunities, Labelling and Attributes, and Selling to Restaurants and Institutions, and many more. Check it out!

Official Plans and a Sustainable Food System

In 2015 Harvest Haliburton reviewed the Official Plans for the County and the four municipalities and submitted policy recommendations to support a sustainable food system for the County. With the recent approval of the Provincial Planning Policy, local government will be reviewing their OPs soon. HH will once again be submitting recommendations as part of the OP review process. We are reaching out to stakeholders to determine what opportunities and challenges they are facing and what policies are needed to improve our food system. If you would like share your ideas and thoughts feel free to reach out to Lexy Feinstein, our consultant.

Heat Health

Heat Health is an initiative of Dr. Nell Thomas. It is a source of information about our warming climate and the health risks that come with it. It is information designed to reduce your personal danger from heat and its related environmental effects. It was created by concerned medical doctors and healthcare collaborators.

Of particular interest is the section "What We Eat and Drink"

Climate Change Health Vulnerability and Adaption Assessment 

You will find more information on the impacts of climate change on our food system in a report from the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit This report is the first step in understanding the current and future impacts of climate change on the health of people residing in the Haliburton and HKPR District Health Unit area. The report focuses on who is most vulnerable and how to build adaptive capacity.