F2CC seeking Farmers for a Roundtable on School Food in Ontario
Posted: February 13, 2024
Categories: GoodFoodBites / School Food News
Join Farm to Cafeteria Canada (F2CC) for A farmer’s roundtable on school food in Ontario
When? Monday March 4th, 2024, 9:30-10:45 am (75 minutes)
Where? Online (Zoom)
Who should participate? F2CC is looking for 10-12 farmers located in Ontario with diverse representation across regions of the province, as well as a range of farm types and sizes. While all interested farmers are welcome, we’re especially interested to hear from those who grow apples and other fruits, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, sweet potatoes and brassicas and/or provide graded eggs.
Participants will receive $75 honorarium in recognition of their time and sharing.
How to register: Please register here. If more than 10-15 people express interest, organizers will consider how to engage with additional farms.
Why participate? The majority of school food programs in Ontario and across Canada do not procure and distribute locally produced food. This is a missed market opportunity that could be a win for farmers, schools and students. Students from the Arrell Food Institute’s Graduate Research program’s Community Partnerships Initiative are working with Farm to Cafeteria Canada to examine the barriers and opportunities that exist to procure and distribute a variety of local food in schools. The findings will be used to inform policy recommendations in relation to local food procurement and distribution here in Ontario and across Canada, as governments work to develop regional and national school nutritious meal policies and programs.
Please Note: this event will be graphically recorded. Results will be shared back with participants and they will have an opportunity to confirm what was captured/provide input before the visual recordings are finalized.
Questions can be sent to Sedley Benitz, sbenitz@uoguelph.ca