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Farmers
and consumers connect through FoodLink Buy local, buy fresh is a concept that is gaining wider acceptance in the Region of Waterloo, thanks to an innovative program that is forging a strong link between local farmers and consumers of food. FoodLink is a non-profit organization linking farmers and citizens to create a more sustainable food system in Waterloo. “There have been a lot of bad things hitting the agricultural industry lately but FoodLink has been a good news story,” says Dennis Baer, an organic farmer on FoodLink’s board of directors. “It don’t know if it’s got anything to do with the recent mad cow scare but I’ve been getting a lot of calls from people lately looking for quality food,” Dennis says. “And people are more than willing to pay for quality food if they know where to get it.” Thanks to FoodLink, people can find out exactly where to buy that quality food. FoodLink’s Buy Local working group has distributed 40,000 maps of the Waterloo Region, with the location, names and telephone numbers of 37 farmers who will sell their locally grown food at the farm gate. Dennis has had visitors from as far away as Toronto, he says. “This initiative has been very successful,” says Elba Martell, health promotion officer for the Region of Waterloo Public Health Unit, a major FoodLink promoter. There are 37 farmers in the group and they report increases in sales at the farm gate and in visits to the farm because of the maps, she says. “This program has lots of room to grow and I am confident it will,” Dennis says. “We have grown from last year but we are still only touching a small percentage of consumers and farmers.” FoodLink, established in the summer of 2000, is an umbrella organization that sponsors a number of local initiatives, along with the buy local project, Elba explains. There is an urban agricultural working group that promotes activities such as community gardening, agricultural workshops and raising awareness of agricultural issues. Help is provided to access land, tools and support for the 36 community gardens in the Waterloo area. FoodLink is also involved in promoting the Good Food Box program under which people can save money by purchasing a box of nutritious food. “The whole idea is to link farmers and citizens, create new markets for local farmers and enhance food security in the Region of Waterloo,” Elba says. __________________________ Learn more about FoodLink Contact: Foodlink Waterloo Region c/o Elba Martell Phone: (519) 883-2004 ext. 5350 Email: melba@region.waterloo.on.ca Visit FoodLink Waterloo Region online
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