[Garden] Fwd: Snaps to Candace Wormsbecker (CGC) She promotes CG and is quoted by Waterloo Chronicle

[clstryke at fes.uwaterloo.ca]

Update on Local Food Roundtable!  My plug for community gardens:)

If any of you are interested in getting more involved in advocacy for  
community gardens in the region let me know as the Garden Council is  
growing and looking for eager board members!

Candace

----- Forwarded message from plcarol at region.waterloo.on.ca -----
     Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:14:53 -0500
     From: plcarol at region.waterloo.on.ca
Reply-To: plcarol at region.waterloo.on.ca
  Subject: Snaps to Candace Wormsbecker (CGC) She promotes CG and is  
quoted by Waterloo Chronicle

Waterloo Chronicle
Food group urges people to eat locally
By Greg MacDonald
News
Dec 05, 2007

A new roundtable to discuss issues of local food production and
consumption in the region was launched last week, and the association's
members are promising innovative techniques to encourage consumers to eat
locally.
The Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable, established in partnership
with Waterloo region's department of public health, is made up of a
diverse selection from the food community in the region.
Members included farmers, manufacturers, restaurant owners and staff,
academics, distributors and public health staff, said Steffanie Scott, the
roundtable's co-chair and an assistant professor of geography at the
University of Waterloo.
"A lot of thought was put into what sectors should have a say on this
roundtable," she said. "We just wanted everyone involved to have a say in
promoting a healthy food system in the region."
The association is made up of 18 members, half of which are permanent and
half of which will be reappointed every year. The latter measure was put
in place so that the roundtable could address any unforeseen issues which
pop up in the region, Scott said.
"We would like the roundtable to be a strong voice ... that acts for the
entirety of our food system and knows the trends, finds opportunities and
advocates for policy change," she said.
The basic role of the roundtable will be to discuss and debate issues and
measures relating to food consumption and distribution in the community.
The roundtable presented four practices that lead to a healthy food system
at a launch party at Conestoga College's Waterloo campus last Thursday.
The first was food security, which is a situation where all community
members have easy access to food, said Elizabeth Faulkner from Waterloo
Region Shares, which works with local food banks.
"Access to food is a fundamental right for people living in the
community," she said.
The roundtable will fight to ensure continued promotion and use of food
banks, she said.
But food banks can't just rely on donations, and low-income consumers
can't just rely on food banks, said Candace Wormsbecker of the Community
Garden Council, one of the organizations the roundtable plans to support.
That's where the concept of community gardens comes in. Small growing
areas within the city can provide areas for poorer families to grow their
own food and also supplement what is coming out of the local farms, she
said.
"Primarily as urban areas are growing, we're losing farmland and have to
be able to look into the city for places to grow," Wormsbecker said.
Urban gardens allow more local food production, as well as more
participation in the food system, she added.
The theme of all these initiatives is local access to food, said Peter
Katona, a member of Foodlink Waterloo Region, which encourages local
consumption of local products.
In order for a food system to thrive, consumers must seek out locally
grown food, he said. "To eat locally, we might have to pay more for food,
but we must never forget that farmers need our support," said Katona.
The citizens of the region will likely be receptive to an initiative like
this, said Regional Chair Ken Seiling.
"People I know are buying and searching out local food," he said. "We have
an opportunity to grow the food industry in the region and support it."


Carol Popovic R.N., B.Sc.N.,
Region of Waterloo Public Health
99 Regina St. S., Wloo., ON N2J 4V3
Tele: 519 883 2004 ext. 5336
Fax: 519 883 2241
E-mail: plcarol at region.waterloo.on.ca

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch,  a smile, a kind word
... the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around"  (Leo Bascaglia)

Confidentiality Notice:  This email correspondence (including any
attachments) may contain information which is confidential and /or exempt
from disclosure under applicable law, and is intended only for the use of
the designated recipients listed above.  Any unauthorized use or
disclosure is strictly prohibited.  If you are not the intended recipient,
or have otherwise received this message by mistake, please notify the
sender by replying via e-mail, and destroy all copies of this original
correspondence (including any attachments).  Thank-you for your
cooperation.

----- End forwarded message -----




-------------- next part --------------
Waterloo Chronicle
Food group urges people to eat locally 
By Greg MacDonald
News
Dec 05, 2007 

A new roundtable to discuss issues of local food production and 
consumption in the region was launched last week, and the association's 
members are promising innovative techniques to encourage consumers to eat 
locally.
The Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable, established in partnership 
with Waterloo region's department of public health, is made up of a 
diverse selection from the food community in the region.
Members included farmers, manufacturers, restaurant owners and staff, 
academics, distributors and public health staff, said Steffanie Scott, the 
roundtable's co-chair and an assistant professor of geography at the 
University of Waterloo.
"A lot of thought was put into what sectors should have a say on this 
roundtable," she said. "We just wanted everyone involved to have a say in 
promoting a healthy food system in the region."
The association is made up of 18 members, half of which are permanent and 
half of which will be reappointed every year. The latter measure was put 
in place so that the roundtable could address any unforeseen issues which 
pop up in the region, Scott said.
"We would like the roundtable to be a strong voice ... that acts for the 
entirety of our food system and knows the trends, finds opportunities and 
advocates for policy change," she said. 
The basic role of the roundtable will be to discuss and debate issues and 
measures relating to food consumption and distribution in the community.
The roundtable presented four practices that lead to a healthy food system 
at a launch party at Conestoga College's Waterloo campus last Thursday.
The first was food security, which is a situation where all community 
members have easy access to food, said Elizabeth Faulkner from Waterloo 
Region Shares, which works with local food banks.
"Access to food is a fundamental right for people living in the 
community," she said.
The roundtable will fight to ensure continued promotion and use of food 
banks, she said.
But food banks can't just rely on donations, and low-income consumers 
can't just rely on food banks, said Candace Wormsbecker of the Community 
Garden Council, one of the organizations the roundtable plans to support. 
That's where the concept of community gardens comes in. Small growing 
areas within the city can provide areas for poorer families to grow their 
own food and also supplement what is coming out of the local farms, she 
said.
"Primarily as urban areas are growing, we're losing farmland and have to 
be able to look into the city for places to grow," Wormsbecker said.
Urban gardens allow more local food production, as well as more 
participation in the food system, she added.
The theme of all these initiatives is local access to food, said Peter 
Katona, a member of Foodlink Waterloo Region, which encourages local 
consumption of local products.
In order for a food system to thrive, consumers must seek out locally 
grown food, he said. "To eat locally, we might have to pay more for food, 
but we must never forget that farmers need our support," said Katona.
The citizens of the region will likely be receptive to an initiative like 
this, said Regional Chair Ken Seiling.
"People I know are buying and searching out local food," he said. "We have 
an opportunity to grow the food industry in the region and support it."


Carol Popovic R.N., B.Sc.N., 
Region of Waterloo Public Health
99 Regina St. S., Wloo., ON N2J 4V3
Tele: 519 883 2004 ext. 5336
Fax: 519 883 2241
E-mail: plcarol at region.waterloo.on.ca

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch,  a smile, a kind word 
... the smallest act of caring, 
all of which have the potential to turn a life around"  (Leo Bascaglia)

Confidentiality Notice:  This email correspondence (including any 
attachments) may contain information which is confidential and /or exempt 
from disclosure under applicable law, and is intended only for the use of 
the designated recipients listed above.  Any unauthorized use or 
disclosure is strictly prohibited.  If you are not the intended recipient, 
or have otherwise received this message by mistake, please notify the 
sender by replying via e-mail, and destroy all copies of this original 
correspondence (including any attachments).  Thank-you for your 
cooperation.
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