Local Flavours Annual Meeting
February 12, 2011
The Local Flavours Steering Committee is volunteer based and meets regularly, mostly in the off season.
Decisions for season 2011
The fee structure is now $50 for both new and renewing outlets and producers, signs are still $25, at-cost.
Many buy local groups have some form of verification ensuring that their outlets do indeed purchase from local producers. Local Flavours feels it has established itself and is at a stage where we should also be implementing some sort of attestation for outlets to sign. After researching criteria other buy local groups operate under, we have decided to replicate the model on that used by Intervale, Vermont. Starting in 2011, Local Flavours outlets are required to purchase products from a minimum of three producers, either directly or through a distributor; or a variety of products from 1 large producer.
In 2010 we created a category for citizens- Friends of Local Flavours. In six months, we recruited about 35 Friends and are hoping to increase that number in 2011. The annual fee to be a Friend is $20. This year Friends will receive perks for signing up. Coupons will be available in the newsletters for discounts at participating outlets and producers. It is each outlets and producers choice to offer a discount and they decide how their discount will work- they can be open ended (e.g. 10% off orders over $35) or a one-off offer (e.g. $1 off a bag of potatoes).
Local Flavours intern, Ashley Weese, attended a provincial wide meeting of buy local groups in Barrie and came back with lots of ideas. One of Local Flavours issues is funding. From the Barrie meeting, Ashley learned that many other groups are selling ads on their brochures. Local Flavours has decided to enlarge the size of the brochure and to have boxed advertising around the peripheral.
The Local Flavours Steering Committee is looking for people to volunteer as either a Steering Committee member, or to help an event(s). Please contact us if you are interested. The summer is when we are busiest, and as most of the committee is busy on their farm, citizen volunteers would be very welcome.
Feedback
The audience was asked: Is there anything you’d like to see us doing? How has it been going for you as a Local Flavours producer/outlet/Friend? What has been good and/or bad?
Mary: How can we improve on advertising and get more people out to these things? We need to reach out to the greater community, we’re often preaching to the choir.
LF: In 2010 we started a newsletter which was sent to Local Flavours producers, outlets and Friends. This year the newsletter will be sent to the broader Frontenac Arch Biosphere email distribution list, and anyone else who is interested in receiving it.
Lori Strahlbrand, Local Food Plus: “Buy to Vote” ask consumers to purchase $10 worth of local produce per week. Have taste testing sessions where people are asked if they can identify which is the local product and which is the imported. Have people sign a pledge by email to purchase more local produce.
The Transition Kingston group had members bring the names of groups that they were involved with to pull the different groups together and feed information.
Have activities with school kids; educate the kids, who then educate their parents. Examples of organizations doing this are: Canadian Organic Growers- Growing up Organic, Grow a Row and Food Share in Toronto.
Nigel: create a collective marketing initiative where businesses pool money to pay for marketing and advertising such as a website.
Bruce:
LF: our priority is the brochure and the website, everything beyond that involves a lot more time and money. Identifying and promote the farmers from which food comes from is good marketing for both restaurants and farmers. LF needs a paid staff member to be able to coordinator and implement all these great ideas.
Waddle Apples: use social media
Gary: Each municipality’s economic development office should be asked to support this economic developing project.
Pierre: Provide recipes that educate consumers on how to use local product.
Nigel and Tim are willing to volunteer.
Workshop 2: Local Food Strategies
In this region, local food and farms are integral to both the economy and community. While by no means the largest segment of the local economy, food producers are significant contributors, as well, local food here, as nationally, contributes to the region’s identity by the nature of the products and produce. Local food figures in tourism, where restaurants develop menus to position themselves as unique experiences in the region.
By the nature of land ownership in this region, farmers hold the largest parcels of land. By the physical nature of this landscape, farms are mosaics of food producing land, and almost always of forested and wetland lands as well.
Farmers and the farm economy, in the context of the above, play a role in community economy, the tourism industry, community well-being, and in the health of the region’s natural environment. Financially healthy farms, well managed, have the resources to contribute to the health and stewardship of the farm’s ecological resources, and thereby to the health of the biodiversity of this region, including the national park and national historic site.
The FAB Local Flavours program has completed a sixth year. From an initial 36 participants, the program now networks over 115 farm producers, outlets and farm markets, in a catchment area of nearly 4,000 sq. km. Sustainable community development is an underpinning of this program. As such, Local Flavours is building towards the quality and health of the environment, culture, and society of the region. FAB views this program through lenses that include sustainable tourism, conservation of biodiversity, wellness and sustainable communities. Parks Canada is in several ways dependent on the success of local foods programs, in that it too is part of this community and economy, and that the greater park ecosystem lies in largest part across this rural landscape.
Local Foods Strategy Workshop – November 30, Glenburnie
The FAB assisted the County of Frontenac in the first of two planned local foods strategy workshops. Together with Kingston foods programs, regional farmers markets and the National Farmers Union, a workshop was held in the Frontenac County offices on November 30th. The purpose of the meeting was to look for better collaboration among local foods organizations; and to discuss issues that both augmented and hindered local foods capacity. The following are summary notes of that meeting:
Frontenac County and Surrounding Area Local Food Summit
Frontenac County Auditorium
INTRODUCTIONS
Groups/individuals present
Local Flavours – Frontenac Arch Biosphere: 7th year running, 115 members
Hands on Harvest: This initiative grew from an inclusive community initiative; they produce a guide of local foods/products from the Verona, Sharbot Lake, Kaladar area and have organized guest speakers in communities which have been great successes.
OMAFRA: Economic development of the municipalities.
Kingston Rural Affairs: Has input into official plan. Farm Trusts Protect development around hamlets.
Local Food Local Chefs: Objectives are to increase the sales of local food at market, build regional market activities, increase the number of outlets with local food products, and develop and promote culinary tourism in Kingston. Websites: Kingstonfoods.com, Kingstonpublicmarket.ca.
Currently working on guidelines for qualification for local restaurants.
Taste of Wolf Island: This one year old project networks producers. Their mission is to support local foods, and develop culinary tourism, projects include farm tours, the market and Feast of Fields.
Wintergreen Studios: In second year of operations and is an off grid education centre. Workshops range from how to manage woodlots to arts, local foods are used. Located on Canoe Lake Rd. by Westport.
New Farm Project: An NFU project in its 4th year running. The project is to encourage more sustainable farms and provides micro financing and workshops to support emerging and new farmers.
Wendy’s Mobil Market: Wendy is a distributor who links producers with retail and citizens. She received from 60 producers, and distributes to 50 restaurants, 15 retail outlets and 150 homes.
Gibbons Maple Sugar: Family business with 5500 taps and looking to expand in spring 2011. The majority of sales are retail, internet, as well as the two markets they vend at. Retail and value added products, museum market and wholesale.
Brockville Thousand Islands Wine and Food Festival: This past spring was the first year the festival ran, showcasing local and regional wines and breweries. Thirty-three venders were present, next year jazz music will be included.
Queen’s Hospitality Services: The farmers market on campus is in its 4th year, and provides an opportunity to educate and promote local foods while promoting town to gown relationships and culinary chef events. There is some interest in building a local fine dining restaurant in the next three years. They are very keen to implement more local food into structure; because of quantity needed they require aggregation and need to meet multinational standards.
Tara Natural Foods: Primarily retail outlet with some wholesale. The problems Tara experiences are with supply and packaging and seasonality issues.
National Farmers Union: Projects include the New Farms Project, NFU Open Farms tour, the spring speaker series, weekend summit about local food, Feast of Fields (2004-2006) and this fall will be the 3rd edition of the Farm Harvest newspaper (which includes a directory of local producers). They have organized events around issues like seed patenting, and GMOs and represent small and medium sized farms across Canada. Selling to local markets promotes better opportunities for local farms.
Local Family Farms: Everything in this store (located on Main St. in Verona) is within 100 km and includes honey, cheese, beef, artwork, books, and CDs. It is a more convenient way for producers to sell products.
Desert Lake Gardens and Mill St. Café: Grows food to provide to Kingston families, and have expanded from a mixed operation of vegetables to collecting food from other local producers to be deliver weekly to Kingstown. The Mill St. Café serves mostly locally produced food.
Clark Day: Local buyer and is starting a farm. Clark’s current project is artisanal cheeses, but he is having troubles with government regulations.
Mike: Produces fermented salamis and is developing a processing facility to make local meats into fermented meats.
Cathy: Part of the Organic Meadow Farmer Cooperative and produces organic dairy.
Kim Sytsma 8th Line Farm: Have 200 cows and received the RBC environmental stewardship award this year. Will be opening a new restaurant in downtown Kingstown.
David Hahn: Mixed maple syrup and garlic
Dale: Pork producer. Sells at a lot of markets and has noticed demand is growing.
Bruce: Abattoir- demand is growing, Bruce currently does 60-80 cattle per week.
Ann Pritchard, Community Development Project: Can help with business plans, interest free loans, and seed capital for developing projects. Send letter to your MP, wanting support for continued funding.
Joy Straun, Stoneboat Farm, Lansdowne Farmers Market: Started the Lansdowne Farmer’s Market four years ago with 10 vendors which has increased. Has helped to bring awareness of local food in the community and educate.
BREAK OUT SESSION CONCLUSSIONS
Groups discussed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and barriers
SPEAKER: Katie Nolan, OMAFRA
Observations on breakout discussions; summary of findings from other Ontario local foods groups; provincial priorities and opportunities.
Trends and developments in Ontario
Next steps