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RECENT MEDIA COVERAGE
Funding for school nutrition programs welcomed
News this week: The Ontario government will be spending more in school nutrition programs couldn't have come at a better time, Lori Nikkel says.
The chairperson of the Ontario Student Nutrition Network said breakfast, lunch and snack programs in Toronto schools have spread so rapidly there was no money for more.
Metroland Media Group Ltd., March 20, 2008
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ONE BIG BITE –
CRUNCH IS THE SOUND OF 200 CORTLANDS AT CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL
CRUNCH!
With a countdown similar to a space shuttle liftoff, Cambridge students made one big noise chomping into fresh Valley Cortland apples March 6.
Taking part in the nationwide “Big Crunch,” the kids did indeed make a significant noise as they gathered in the school gym after a day of stories and questions about apples.
Kings County Register, March 13, 2008
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Fallout from the Great Big Crunch
Cost of an apple - 50 cents
Cost for the tooth fairy - $2 (or whatever it is these days)
Cost of loosing your tooth during the first annual Great Big Crunch - PRICELESS!
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INSATIABLE: TORONTO BEES RAISED ON THE ROOF:
Buzzing on city honey
Much ink has been spilled over the worldwide disappearance of honeybees over the past couple of years. There are many threats to this sensitive species, from parasitic varroa mites to industrial agriculture to the mysterious colony collapse disorder that seems to be plaguing hives south of the border. But the biggest threat to our city's bees may be the Ontario Beekeeping Act, which makes it illegal to put a hive within 30 metres of an urban dwelling. Which is a shame, because Toronto honey tastes so good.
SASHA CHAPMAN, The Globe and Mail, February 23, 2008
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No more fries with that for Quebec students
Young Quebecers won't be able to enjoy a side of fries and Coke for lunch anymore as the first phase of a strict junk food policy for schools came into effect Monday.
Deep fryers and soft drinks are now banned from high school cafeterias, and lunches must contain at least one vegetable under Quebec's new school food regulations the government hopes will encourage healthier eating habits.
CBC News, Monday, January 7, 2008
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FoodShare receives Ontario Trillium Foundation Award
FoodShare's Community Garden Network was awarded a 'Great Grant Award' by the Ontario Trillium Foundation during its 25th anniversary celebration Monday evening.
The awards recognize "the vision, commitment and energy of Ontario's volunteers and community organizations," said Alex Waugh, grant review team chair for Toronto.
LISA RAINFORD, insidetoronto.com, December 6, 2007
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Feeding Hungry Minds
The Breakfast for Learning program is more than a worthy
charity; it can be a child’s meal ticket to a great future.
by Kathryn Dorell, Canadian Living Magazine, November 2007
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'Do-good' programs 1st to lose
Need land transfer tax: Miller
Groups like Foodshare which help thousands of Toronto residents would be the first to lose city funding if the mayor's proposed land transfer tax isn't passed by council tomorrow, Mayor David Miller said yesterday.
"These kind of programs are the first on the chopping block to go," Miller said at the opening of a Foodshare training and education centre on Croatia St.
"The tax will allow us to invest in communities and create new opportunities," he said.
By TOM GODFREY, SUN MEDIA, October 21, 2007
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Good food for all
Visiting community projects reveals how important fresh food is to everybody
Give thanks for your friends, family and health, of course. But give thanks to the farmers (hopefully they're from Ontario) who raised your turkeys and "grew" your side dishes and desserts (potatoes, brussels sprouts, corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and the like).
And, whether your meal is sparse or over-abundant, give thanks to the food security activists who strive to help everyone get fed.
by Jennifer Bain, October 2, 2007 , Toronto Star
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“These kids hate veggies”
Anti-Giambrone residents’ group bulldozes FoodShare garden
City Councillor Adam Giambrone pulled the plug on a FoodShare community garden at Erwin Krickhahn Park last week. You'd think the neighbourhood would be fuming at the removal of a program that could have offered locals in the hard-hit area space to grow their own food.
But it was residents, or some of them, who fought it the same foes of Giambrone who fought traffic calming measures, bike lanes and tree planting along Lansdowne.
ByPaul Terefenk, NOW Magazine, September 27, 2007
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There's sex education, why not food education?
There's a good reason why environmentalists should be interested in what children and teenagers eat. It has everything to do with their understanding and respect – for themselves, and ultimately for nature.
by Cameron Smith Sept. 22, 2007 Toronto Star
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Campaign cuisine: from farm-fresh eggs to congealed takeout
NDP camp: A lame airport burger and fries temporarily breaks the tyranny of all that local, organic, fair-trade fare
JEFF GRAY: The Globe and Mail, September 19, 2007
If you forget which party's media bus you're on, the food on Howard Hampton's NDP campaign trail is a dead giveaway: The first morning, we had granola. (For the record, I often eat granola, as do some of my best friends.)
Party operatives handed out a glossy sheet to the media explaining that the campaign tour's food comes from the catering wing of the organization FoodShare, and features local and organic foods in order to "reduce the ecological footprint of each meal eaten on the NDP tour." Even the cutlery was biodegradeable.
While one morning's "Indian breakfast burrito" - which featured eggs from the Quinte Organic Farmers' Co-operative, we were told - was excellent, the "aged Toscano cheese made from sheep's milk produced by Ontario Mennonite shepherds" promised in the bumph didn't materialize in the first week.
Mr. Hampton, who zipped ahead to campaign events in a hybrid sport utility vehicle, didn't eat with reporters.
Highlight: Tie between the zucchini frittata, the secret stash of fair-trade chocolate bars in a drawer by the fridge and copious cans of Creemore, Sleeman and Molson Canadian.
Lowlight: Rubbery French fries and lukewarm burgers at the Thunder Bay airport, which was actually a nice escape from the healthy virtuousness of the tour bus food.
FoodShare’s Good Food Box
FoodShare’s Good Food Box is a box of produce available by special order to the general public. The boxes come in a variety of sizes with options ranging from a small box for $12 to a large box of organically grown produce for $32. These are very affordable prices for delicious fruits and vegetables, which may include a box of Clementines or a bag of freshly harvested tomatoes.
www.tasteto.com August 17, 2007
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FoodShare needs cash to 'replant':
'Royal Conservatory of Food' committed to cultivating new future
The Royal Conservatory of Music has a new neighbour that has playfully nicknamed itself the People's Conservatory of Food.
Its real name is FoodShare Toronto and it has been tackling food and hunger issues for 22 years.
But unless you've signed up for delivery of low-cost, fresh-food boxes, created a community garden, started a school salad bar, or rented an industrial kitchen to launch a food business, FoodShare has probably flown under your radar.
by Jennifer Bain, Food Editor, July 04, 2007 Toronto Star
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Healthy eating program offers breast cancer
survivors food tips and social contact
For many women, a breast cancer diagnosis can throw the often delicate balance of work and family off kilter. The result is often personal neglect, especially when it comes to eating right.
FoodShare Toronto’s Good Food for Life program aims to teach pre-menopausal women, who have or have had breast cancer
within the last three years, how to stay on course by eating well and staying healthy. Once a week for eight weeks, groups of 10
to 12 women get together to learn, cook and socialize.
by Pierre Lachaîne, May 15, 2007 The Medical Post
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Eat with Earth's health in mind
Our food system, the very thing that sustains us, has turned into an environmental hazard, spewing out vast amounts of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, researchers say.
"The continued use of massive quantities of petroleum, both in the production of synthetic fertilizers and machinery used in food production and in transporting our food across the globe, is clearly unsustainable," according to a 2005 study called Fighting Global Warming at the Farmer's Market.
Elvira Cordileone April 21, 2007, Toronto Star
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Recovery on the menu
Breast cancer survivors bond over healthy meals and shared experience
We all know that breaking bread together builds relationships and nurtures the soul. So when Toronto's Susan Porrit heard about Good Food For Life, a free nutritional support program for survivors of breast cancer, she was intrigued.
MARILYN LINTON, Apr. 15, 2007 Toronto Sun
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Nutritious fare is tough sell in schools
Lucrative fast-food contracts, plus students' taste for sugar and grease, thwart efforts to promote healthy eating
ANNAPOLIS VALLEY, N.S., AND TORONTO — Colin Sneyd sits at a crowded lunch table eating his sliced chicken breast, cheese, carrot sticks and apple. As he sips a small box of milk, a friend across the cafeteria table inhales a mound of gravy-soaked poutine. Another snacks on a bag of chips, washed down with a can of pop.
Behind the counter, a worker at Toronto's Northern Secondary School slits open bags of frozen fries, plunging them into boiling oil.
"People just have fries for lunch," says Colin, a slight 15-year-old who brings his own packed lunch to school. "I think it's kind of ridiculous. I don't think they need to serve fries. If you're trying to get kids to eat healthier, you should serve them only nutritious food."
CAROLINE ALPHONSO Jan.20, 2007 Globe and Mail
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MP seeks to reduce hunger in schools
New Democrat lobbies for national program to provide nutritious meals, cut child obesity
Canada needs a national food program to reduce hunger pangs, as well as obesity, suffered by schoolchildren, New Democrat MP Olivia Chow says.
Bruce Campion-Smith Toronto Star, January 17, 2007
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Sexy farmers and the end of organic?
An organic food conference in Guelph explores the push to eat locally and the need to make farming sexy. It'll still rot your teeth, but at least it's organic.
Eating organic isn't good enough. It's becoming better to buy locally, know where your food comes from and befriend farmers
JEN GERSON Toronto Star, Jan. 31, 2007
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A lesson from the lunch box
You've survived the first week of school. Morning routines are still not perfect — they never will be — but things are starting to click, a little.
So maybe it's time to take things up a notch and seize the learning opportunity that exists in your children's lunches. Lunch can be a chance for kids to learn about nutrition, health, balanced diets and the importance of eating right.
STUART LAIDLAW, Toronto Star
Sep. 11, 2006.
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The Seed in the Stone: Growing food in the concrete jungle
City backyards are good for more than swimming pools and lawn chairs.
I hate to say it, but the warm months of summer are coming to a close. The Ontario tomatoes, corn and peaches, which are currently replacing tasteless international imports, are helping me get over my end-of-season nostalgia. And despite the fact that I’m living in downtown Toronto, I’m finding that the fall harvest is happening closer to my kitchen than I expected.
Kristen Howe, The Dominion, Sept 11, 2006
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This is the real meal
With Richard Linklater's film version of Eric Schlosser's blockbuster Fast Food Nation scheduled to hit theatres this fall, the subject of where our food comes from is poised to become one of the hot-button issues of the year.
by Christopher Frey
Special to The Globe and Mail, August 11, 2006
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Is Food Supply as Safe as Canadians Believe?
Most would not think of investigating food policies, production options, distribution systems and food security in their region or in a new location they're considering. Yet, food vulnerability is an increasing reality in this century, whether it takes the form of bird flu, drought, soaring fuel prices, vanishing agricultural land or a host of unpredictable events.
by PJ Wade, REALTYTIMES, July 25, 2006
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Thinking locally wins food group $1-million
Non-profit greenbelt organization awards cash injection to promote ethical farming
Lori Stahlbrand's dream of establishing a strong network for locally grown food in Ontario is moving one giant step closer to reality today as the ethical-food guru receives a $1-million cash injection for her efforts.
Her non-profit organization, Local Flavour Plus, is being awarded $1-million by the Friends of the Greenbelt to promote ethical farming, loosely defined as farming that promotes environmental, social and financial benefits in local economies.
by Scott Deveau, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, July 11, 2006
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An apple a day CAN keep the doctor away
If three apples cost $1.87 while three boxes of macaroni and cheese cost $1.65 at your grocery store, which would you buy to feed your family if money was tight? Sadly, this is not a math problem in a grade school textbook. People living in poverty in Toronto face this kind of decision every day.
by Milvi Tiislar, TORONTO STAR, Monday Jul. 3, 2006
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Canadian kids fail health report card
Educating your children about food makes sense
With the end to the school year comes the annual report card. And things are not looking good for Canadian kids - at least when it comes to the Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. For the second year in a row, youngsters continue to maintain a failing grade. Simply put, our kids are headed for trouble as they continue on the road to overweight and obesity as a result of sedentary living and fat-laden food styles.
by Rosie Schwartz, NATIONAL POST, Wednesday May 30, 2006
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Celebs Tackle Childhood Obesity
We are a society obsessed with celebrities. Witness the media coverage of the state of Paul Mccartney's marriage. While some figures may use this celebrity to step up to the podium to advance their causes, not all may achieve their goals.
by Rosie Schwartz, NATIONAL POST, Wednesday May 24, 2006
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Adventures in Urban Bee Keeping
A unique partnership with a few hundred thousand honeybees is creating numerous educational and micro-enterprise opportunities in Toronto.
by Jennifer Skelton - photos by Laura Berman
BRIARPATCH MAGAZINE June/July 2006
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Feeding youth jobs and life skills
When Shem Mwagni arrived in Canada from Kenya nearly five years ago, he was eager to gain work experience so he could land a job. He never imagined that gaining that experience would lead him to university.
By Linda White, TORONTO SUN, Tuesday January 11, 2006click here to read the full article
Dreaming of a green Christmas
Have yourself a Kyoto-friendly Christmas. Make your yuletide green. Environmentally green.
by Stuart Laidlaw, TORONTO STAR, Dec. 18, 2005
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Making schoolchildren food-literate is charity's goal
Having successfully introduced one idea to Toronto schools — that given a choice, most students will eat healthy, fresh food — the charity FoodShare Toronto is putting the finishing touches to its next idea: that students are ready to learn a lot more about food.
by Cameron Smith, TORONTO STAR, October 29, 2005
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A fresh approach
Seventeen Toronto elementary schools now offer salad bar programs at lunch ...
by Jennifer Bain, TORONTO STAR, October 5, 2005
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