by Josh Neubauer and Seodhna Keown of Toronto Food Strategy
In September, we had the good fortune to be tour facilitators in the City to Country event. Our tour was called “Planning for the future of food and farming” and we had an amazing group that included students and recent graduates, public health professionals, retired farmers, planners, community activists and program managers. We were a diverse group, and we were all excited to hit the road and learn how planning and food intersect. Read more »
In September 2011 the way I looked at the landscape changed. Being a part of the Environmental Goods and Services tour during the City to Country Mobile Conference was an education in ecological accounting. The world provides us with goods and services at no cost. When we fail to take the value of the services nature provides into account, we often fail to protect them.
By Kendal Donahue, Sustain Ontario
Once we had loaded onto our bus, my group “Supply Management,” did a quick round of introductions. Everyone on our tour was from pretty diverse backgrounds. Our roster included a Ph.D student from the U of T, a journalist, the executive director of FoodForward, a professor with the U of T, an employee of St. James Food Basket, Barbara Emmanual of the Toronto Food Strategy among many others……
by Emily Martyn, Toronto Green Community
Okra at the Collins Farm
World Crops, staples in cuisines around the world, are not often grown here in Ontario. On September 22, through Sustain Ontario’s ‘city to country’ tour, I had the opportunity to see firsthand how plants like okra, bitter melon and yard long beans are beginning to appear in local agriculture and markets. This one-day event took city folk out to visit a variety of food projects within and beyond the GTA. Read more »
City to Country was a day-long mobile conference that brought people together around good food ideas hosted in partnership by Sustain Ontario, the Toronto Food Policy Council, the Greater Toronto Area Agricultural Action Committee, FoodShare Toronto, the Foodshed Project and World Crop Research Project and was generously funded by the Metcalf Foundation’s 50th anniversary grants. The day began with bus tours and ended with a celebratory feast and sharing session. City to Country explored good food solutions, challenges, and opportunities in the Greater Toronto Area through a series of tours which we have now turned into “virtual tours” by posting blogs, photos and videos to share the lessons learned on the Sustain Ontario website. Please stay tuned for our on-going postings reflecting on that important day or check out what’s already been posted at Growing Good Food Ideas Tours.
