DRFH annual celebration a great start to 2017
Despite the rain and icy roads on Tuesday night over 40 people came out to Deep Roots Food Hub’s first year-end celebration and AGM at the Constance Bay Legion.
The highlight of the evening was Councillor Eli El-Chantiry’s site update for the community root cellar. A suitable site on City property in the heart of West Carleton has been identified. Deep Roots Food Hub is working closely with Councillor El-Chantiry to meet the conditions to secure the property so that the root cellar is ready this fall when farmers are pulling their harvests from the fields.
As DRFH co-chair Judi Varga-toth expressed with excitement, “the search for a home for our root cellar has been long and challenging, and we would not have been able to do it without the support and guidance of our City Councillor Eli El-Chantiry, and our many partners and supporters.”
The root cellar update was not the only excitement. The night kicked-off with an expert panel consisting of Bruce Enloe from neighbouring Two Rivers Food Hub in Smith Falls, Coral Sproule, farmer and Garden Coordinator at The Table in Perth, and Katie Ward, 9th generation South March farmer and DRFH board member. The message was clear: Food hubs are helping to breakdown barriers for small-scale farmers by providing storage, distribution and marketing solutions. With more time to focus on farming, farmers are producing more food. This is good for the health of the local economy and environment.
Katie Ward is thrilled that the new root cellar will be just down the road from her farm. “With additional storage provided by the root cellar I’ll be able to extend my CSA into the winter and eventually year-round!”
The Root Cellar is the final piece of the 2016 New Leaf Community Challenge grant awarded to DRFH, EnviroCentre and the Ottawa Good Food Box by the Community Foundation of Ottawa. While working towards the realization of the root cellar, DRFH has been running a highly successful food literacy workshop series, and working on a number of projects to expand access to healthy, local food in West Carleton.
In partnership with EnviroCentre’s Sustain your Community Initiative and the Ottawa Good Food Box, DRFH has expanded the number of monthly good food box pick-up sites in West Carleton to three, and is actively working to adapt the program to a rural setting and introduce more local produce.
A corner store pilot project is also being developed to provide year-round local access to local food stored in the root cellar. The project is being developed in collaboration with store owners and Ottawa Public Health.
Needless to say, 2017 will be a big year for DRFH. Three new members joined the Board of Directors at the AGM, promising new energy and ideas to help DRFH continue to grow for many years to come.
If you’re ever out by the Legion, it’s worth stopping in to take a look around the beautiful new community garden and forest walk developed with support from the Community Foundation of Ottawa, Carp Ridge Learning Centre, and EnviroCentre’s Sustain West Carleton Initiative. Completely built by volunteers at the Legion, the garden is planning to expand in its second year to accommodate the growing waiting list.
The highlight of the evening was Councillor Eli El-Chantiry’s site update for the community root cellar. A suitable site on City property in the heart of West Carleton has been identified. Deep Roots Food Hub is working closely with Councillor El-Chantiry to meet the conditions to secure the property so that the root cellar is ready this fall when farmers are pulling their harvests from the fields.
As DRFH co-chair Judi Varga-toth expressed with excitement, “the search for a home for our root cellar has been long and challenging, and we would not have been able to do it without the support and guidance of our City Councillor Eli El-Chantiry, and our many partners and supporters.”
The root cellar update was not the only excitement. The night kicked-off with an expert panel consisting of Bruce Enloe from neighbouring Two Rivers Food Hub in Smith Falls, Coral Sproule, farmer and Garden Coordinator at The Table in Perth, and Katie Ward, 9th generation South March farmer and DRFH board member. The message was clear: Food hubs are helping to breakdown barriers for small-scale farmers by providing storage, distribution and marketing solutions. With more time to focus on farming, farmers are producing more food. This is good for the health of the local economy and environment.
Katie Ward is thrilled that the new root cellar will be just down the road from her farm. “With additional storage provided by the root cellar I’ll be able to extend my CSA into the winter and eventually year-round!”
The Root Cellar is the final piece of the 2016 New Leaf Community Challenge grant awarded to DRFH, EnviroCentre and the Ottawa Good Food Box by the Community Foundation of Ottawa. While working towards the realization of the root cellar, DRFH has been running a highly successful food literacy workshop series, and working on a number of projects to expand access to healthy, local food in West Carleton.
In partnership with EnviroCentre’s Sustain your Community Initiative and the Ottawa Good Food Box, DRFH has expanded the number of monthly good food box pick-up sites in West Carleton to three, and is actively working to adapt the program to a rural setting and introduce more local produce.
A corner store pilot project is also being developed to provide year-round local access to local food stored in the root cellar. The project is being developed in collaboration with store owners and Ottawa Public Health.
Needless to say, 2017 will be a big year for DRFH. Three new members joined the Board of Directors at the AGM, promising new energy and ideas to help DRFH continue to grow for many years to come.
If you’re ever out by the Legion, it’s worth stopping in to take a look around the beautiful new community garden and forest walk developed with support from the Community Foundation of Ottawa, Carp Ridge Learning Centre, and EnviroCentre’s Sustain West Carleton Initiative. Completely built by volunteers at the Legion, the garden is planning to expand in its second year to accommodate the growing waiting list.
In the News
- http://www.cfo-fco.ca/new-leaf-community-challenge-2015/
- http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/news-story/6194971-west-carleton-food-program-awarded-major-grant/
- http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/news-story/6697587-deep-roots-food-hub-on-the-hunt-for-root-cellar-location/
- http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/west-carleton-food-desert-project-1.3797806
- http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/news-story/7088914-deep-roots-food-hub-workshop-in-galetta/
