Laundry Farms generously opened up their fields recently to some enthusiastic young helpers who shared in the picking of 50 dozen ears of corn for the Picton food bank. – Payton, Felicia, and Nicholas Mikrogianakis.
“Together, we can end
hunger in our community.”
Regionally, they support more than 170 agencies, including food banks, soup kitchens, lunch programs, and seniors organizations, to name a few. To date, 279,000 kilograms of food have been distributed to these agencies. That’s an increase of 50 per cent over last year. “Our numbers have increased substantially, especially the first 6 months of 2010. In 2009 our purchased food totaled $5,200. In the first six months of this year we are already at $19,300.” commented Suzanne Quinlin. When donations are down, food needs to be purchased to meet the demands. The quality of the food is also an important consideration when sourcing. Gleaners Food Bank has formed great regional partnerships with organizations such as Harvest Hastings which enables them to purchase quality local meat directly from the farmers. A number of local produce farmers in the County are also becoming involved. For instance, Laundry Farms generously opened up their fields recently to some enthusiastic young helpers on vacation in the County – Payton, Felicia, and Nicholas Mikrogianakis. We picked about 50 dozen corn one hot August morning for the Picton Food Bank. As part of their school assignment this summer, they were asked to do an act of charity and present it to their class. Children, more than ever, are connecting with food – where it comes from, how it’s grown – and participating in food programs in a variety of ways. In fact, a number of urban schools across 20
COUNTY & QUINTE LIVING AUTUMN 2010
the province are creating and maintaining urban gardens for their school lunch programs and to donate to community efforts. Another innovative program that links fresh produce to food banks is the “Buy Local, Share Local” initiative, sponsored by RBC, Turkey Farmers of Ontario, and Ontario Federation of Agriculture. Now in its third year, this program encourages people to buy local produce at their farmers markets and roadside stands and to donate part of their purchase to their local food bank. This year, Belleville held their “Buy Local, share Local” event in the Market Square on August 28th. As well at our TASTE event, a celebration of regional cuisine on September 25th, we will be encouraging people to think about food banks. A number of local farmers, including Honey Wagon Farms, Vicki’s Veggies, Stone House Farm, and Thyme Again Gardens will be donating vegetables for the Harvestin’ the County Farm Stand on location at the event. People will be able to purchase fresh produce with proceeds going directly to the Picton Food Bank. Cynthia Peters is an advocate for Food Security issues in the province. She is a board member of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, Chair of the Advisory Committee of FoodShare, and a member of the Food Security Network of Hastings & Prince Edward Counties.