Peterborough funding for Putting Local Food on the Table
Posted: December 7, 2009
Categories: Events / News from Sustain Ontario
Funding aims to put healthy food on table
By ANDREA HOUSTON, EXAMINER STAFF WRITER houston@peterboroughexaminer.com
For families struggling to get by on low income, eating healthy, locally produced fruits and vegetables often takes a back seat to food that is fast, inexpensive and often unhealthy. That’s why the Peterborough County-City Health Unit has teamed up with Ontario growers and other community partners for a new project called Putting Local Food on the Table.
“The cost of a nutritious diet is proving very expensive and unaffordable for low-income families and individuals in our community,” said medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Pellizzari. “These high costs put many people at risk when they are forced to choose between food and other basic necessities like rent.” At the health unit’s office on Hospital Dr. yesterday, Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal announced the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is spending $100,000 in funding over two years to increase the amount of local produce used by the health unit and YWCA programs. “Food security is an issue I feel very passionate about,” Leal said. “Food security means children, who represent 10% of our population, but 100% of our future. “Children who start their day with a good breakfast do better in school.” while supporting existing producers.” The food will be purchased for use in the YWCA’s JustFood box program, which packages and distributes nourishing food together with a newsletter full of healthy recipes and storage tips. The funding will also help enable the health unit’s Come Cook With Us program to incorporate more local foods into its classes that teach healthy cooking and food safety skills.
Peter McCarthy, the health unit’s staff chef, who teaches the Come Cook With Us classes, said the program will better the environment because food isn’t being shipped in from places far away. “This is going to be great,” he said. “This provides people with fresh, healthy and nutritious foods. We’re always trying to get away from convenience foods and teach people how to prepare a meal from scratch.” usan Hubay, a public health nutritionist with the health unit, said about 350 people each year participate in the Come Cook With Us classes. Hubay said 460 JustFood boxes were sold last month. That fed 828 adults and 595 children, she said. Each box costs about $20, but the health unit offers a subsidized price of $10. About 95% of the boxes are subsidized, she said. “Local food is beneficial to our local economy,” she said. “We also know that it’s fresher. This allows us to start talking to our local producers to develop a relationship with our farmers.”