Congrats to the TYFPC on Another Successful Year

How time flies these days! We're near the end of the Toronto Youth Food Policy Council's second year, and it's time to celebrate the hits and laugh at the misses at the last community meeting of the 2010-2011 term. From the website...

The Toronto Youth Food Policy Council (TYFPC) has had quite the year as North America’s first YOUTH Food Policy Council… We held two exciting events – the “So You Think You(th) Can Cook” competition and the “Youth Food Fair”, started a Youth Food Journal, secured two permanent seats on the Toronto Food Policy Council and inspired Youth Food Policy Councils across the continent. And most importantly, we held four Community Meetings which highlighted sustainable food-related topics that are important to YOU – Toronto’s Food Passionate Youth Community!

Throughout the 2010-2011 year, we discussed issues of Food Literacy, Hunger and Underserved Populations, Urban Agriculture and Farmland Preservation.  Please join us for our last Community Meeting of the Council Term on July 11th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Metro Hall, room 308 where we will revisit each of the four topics.  We’ll be joined by exceptional food movement leaders who will answer your questions including Don Mills of Local Food Plus and the National Farmers Union, Brooke Ziebell of FoodShare, James Kuhns of CRC Toronto and Barbara Emanuel of the Toronto Food Strategy within Toronto Public Health.  Join us at 6:00 for a mingling social and delicious hors d’oeurves!

Also, if you're interested in applying to become a council member during the 2011-2012 council term – stop by! We'll be on-hand to answer all your questions.

Become part of the Youth-led food movement – Don’t miss this exciting meeting!

Although I'm less of a Youth and more of a Youth-at-Heart, I've always found the TYFPC community meetings to be inclusive of everyone, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be to exchange ideas about ways to improve the food system. If you're in town on Monday, I hope you'll join me at the party!

April Showers Bring May Flowers... and Food!

May is upon us, and everywhere I looked today I saw Daffodils, Forsythias, and Magnolias in bloom. All of that rain in April is paying off. Now it's time for spring veggies! While we wait for the edibles (and if you're reading this on Monday night, election results), let's check out two great foodie events.

This week Food Forward is hosting its monthly networking and social event around the good food movement: Foodie Drinks. As usual, the guests will include one business and one non-profit working to better the food system. This month, we will be hearing from Ayal Dinner, coordinator of the Sorauren Farmers' Market, which is run by the West End Food Co-op. Also speaking will be Erica Lemieux, founder of City Seed Farms, a backyard farming business that has started growing veggies in the High Park neighbourhood and sells this produce at the Sorauren Market! Read up on Ayal and Erica in this recent newspaper article.

Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2011

Time: 7:00 - 10:00 pm

Location: Stella - 1261 Bloor St W at Lansdowne. This cafe/bar will have light snacks from neighbourhood stores for purchase along with Steamwhistle on tap and other local brews by the bottle.

Cover: This month we're asking for a $5 donation cover; we also have memberships available for $10. As always, snazzy Food Forward buttons will be available.

For more information, visit Food Forward's website, and you can RSVP on the Facebook event page.

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Not to be missed next Monday is the Toronto Youth Food Policy Council's community meeting. This month's theme is farmland preservation. Did you know that the cities and towns of Southern Ontario have been developed on top of some of Canada's best soil? That's right, we're losing Class 1 Farmland that can grow anything the climate will allow, and more of it is disappearing every year. The meeting will include a panel discussion featuring youth experts on agricultural zoning policies, the Markham Food Belt, and creating careers in sustainable agriculture. Stick around for brainstorming opportunities, the outcomes of which will help the TYFPC develop its position to be presented to the Toronto Food Policy Council in June.

Date: Monday, May 9th, 2011

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Location: Metro Hall, Room 308 - 55 John Street.

For more information, visit the TYFPC website, and you can RSVP on the Facebook event page.

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You know what's funny about elections? I have no issue going to bed early and hearing/reading about the results in the morning. I'm also not one to tent out in front of a store to be the first to get my hands on a new tech gadget... if you couldn't already guess that about me! Both the election results and the piece of electronics will be there in the morning!


Photo credit.

Connecting Youth with Jobs in the Good Food Movement

I'm delighted to announce two exciting events that will help young people who advocate for a better food system find with meaningful work!

Youth Food Fair

The Toronto Youth Food Policy Council (TYFPC) will be hosting its second annual Youth Food Fair to help "the food leaders of tomorrow meet the food leaders of today". At last year's event, nearly 300 youth and 30 food organizations came together to network the evening away. I'm betting the event will be even bigger this year! Just take a look at some of the participating organizations:

• Food Share Toronto
• Local Food Plus
• Real Food for Real Kids
• Green Thumbs Growing Kids
• Young Urban Farmers and Young Urban Farmers CSA
• Food Forward
• Everdale Organic Farm and Environmental Learning Center
• Slow Food Toronto
• Afri-Can Food Basket
• Meal Exchange
• Toronto Food Policy Council
• Sustain Ontario
• Second Harvest
• Not Far From the Tree

I've heard that this year, the structure will be similar to a speed-dating session where youth participants will have a chance to pitch their ideas (and themselves as job candidates!) to the organizations they're interested in. The pessimist in me is expecting chaos while the optimist in me is really excited! The foodie in me is looking forward to the light snacks provided by the Hot Yam!

Date: Thursday, April 7th, 2011

Time: 6:00 - 9:00 pm

Location: Wilson Lounge, New College, University of Toronto

Cost: free.

Registration: none required, just show up!

Pushing Further

Right on the heels of the Youth Food Fair, Food Forward will be hosting a mini-conference for those interested in starting a career in the food sector while making a difference in society - hey, that sounds like me! Similar to last year's Pushing Forward event, this session will feature both educational and interactive sessions to help participants discover new opportunities, learn about social entrepreneurship, get advice from business owners, and share strategies for new initiatives. Take a look at the line-up of speakers:

• Harriet Friedmann: leading food policy researcher, Geography Professor, and Fellow of the Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto
• Nogah Kornberg, Executive Director of Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada
• Kathleen Mackintosh, Founder and Owner of Culinarium, Toronto's all-local food store
• Noelle Munaretto, Operations Manager of the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance and Event Coordinator with Young Urban Farmers CSA

At the last event, I found the networking opportunities to be the most useful, though I learned a lot from the speakers, too. You never know what kinds of conversations you're going to have in a room full of good food movement supporters!

Date: Saturday, April 9th, 2011

Time: 11:30 am - 5:00 pm

Location: Room 5260, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Cost: $45 for Food Forward members, $50 for non-members, $5 for Food Forward supporting members

Registration: head over to the Get Involved page; e-mail questions to darcy (at) pushfoodforward.com


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Wow, April is shaping up to be an exciting month!


Photo credits: carrots; tomatoes.