When it comes to protecting prime, productive agricultural land from urban development, Ontario's Greenbelt is the solution.  Packing an economic punch of more than $9 billion dollars annually for the province's economy, the Greenbelt is home to more than 5,500 farms, producing healthy local food from peaches and pears to beef, pork and poultry. 

This week at the InterVin International Wine Awards, Southbrook Vineyards took home the 2012 Winery of the Year. In addition, they were awarded “Best in Show” for their Framboise, and placed handsomely for a variety of their decadent wines; bringing home medals for 13 of 17 creations entered.

Congratulations, Southbrook! You have always been a Friend of the Greenbelt and prove once more that possibility truly does grow in Ontario's Greenbelt. 

These days it’s not only farmers, food activists and chefs that are advocating for local food production. Everyday consumers are asking for local produce on their plates. For Ontario’s growing number of newcomers, this could mean okra, bitter melon, and yard long beans alongside the now ubiquitous crops of previous immigrant communities like potatoes, tomatoes, and lettuce. While backyard and community gardeners have long been representative of Ontario’s changing demographics, commercial farms are starting to catch on too. Through funding to Vineland Research and Innovation Centre and the World Crops Project, The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation has been supporting Greenbelt farmers in their transition to some of these new, diverse crops.  

Recently, as part of a tour coordinated through the Diasporic Foodways Conference held at U of T, I helped facilitate a tour to both a farm and garden in hopes of exploring the evolving intersection of local food and the newcomer communities that have settled in and around Ontario’s Greenbelt.

Looking for some Halloween family fun? There are plenty of activities to look out for all over the Greenbelt this year for kids of all ages.

I am writing this with lot of excitement as it is my first blog article about food and I want everyone in the Greenbelt to know about this great dish for the the fall and winter season.

This Tibetan dish is called thenthuk which means pull noodle. In Tibetan “then” means pull and “thuk” means noodle. It is my family’s favorite dish and it was a staple food for nomads in Tibet to keep warm.

A few weeks ago I travelled through the countryside to Harriston, Ontario to visit my friend Jenny Cooke’s organic farm, which really, is a farm within a farm. Knuckle Down Organics has about an acre on her friend Caitlin Hall’s 70 acre farm, Reroot Organic. This is Jenny’s first year with a CSA and so far, so good. Jenny told me that it has been a lot of work but, very rewarding and her CSA has been quite successful.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 16, 2012

Statement from Burkhard Mausberg on the resignation of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty

Today, Burkhard Mausberg, CEO of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation released the following statement on the resignation of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty:

I am fortunate to work with a great team of people at the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation. On Wednesday, October 10^th we held a World Crops potluck lunch which turned out to be a great success!

Trees. Vegetables. Hockey Players. These are just three of the many things that grow in Ontario’s Greenbelt.

On Friday October 12^th, the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation is hosting Greenbelt Day at the GM Centre as hometown favourites, the Oshawa Generals take on the Barrie Colts.

This harvest season there’s even more to celebrate with new products available at farmers’ markets in and around Ontario’s Greenbelt. 

With support from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, more than $44,000 in small-scale or ‘microgrants’ are being provided to 68 farmers, helping them meet customers’ demands to bring more local food to their plates.