Guelph Wellington Local Food InitiativeOur MissionTo promote the procurement of local food by consumers and industry in order to preserve and enhance sustainable agricultural diversity in Guelph and County of Wellington. The Guelph Wellington Local Food Map is our region's most sought after guide to source local food, agricultural and culinary experience by residents, visitors and businesses. There are 40,000 copies distributed throughout Guelph and Wellington. Deadline for Registration and Booking Ad space for this year's map is April 2, 2010. To find out more about registering your business for a listing or advertising on the 2010 Guelph Wellington Local Food Map contact:
Kate Vsetula
519-821-6638 ex 335
info@guelphwellingtonlocalfood.ca Latest Event SOURCE IT HERE!
2nd Annual Guelph Wellington Local Food
Networking Event Monday February 22, 2010
1:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Presented by Guelph Wellington Local Food and Savour Ontario On a snowy afternoon, Loyola Conference Centre at Ignatius Farm just north of Guelph was transformed into a very busy Local Food networking event. With over 100 people in attendance, it was a day full of exploring strategies, opportunities and next steps for our local food system. There were many contacts made between producers, processors and buyers. Guelph Wellington Local Food is thrilled to have so many stakeholders coming together to make local food a reality for more citizens of the region. For more information about the event, including agenda and tradeshow details, click here. A big thanks to the sponsors that made this event possible: Savour Ontario
Ontario Natural Food Co-Op
Gordon Food Service
Meals that Heal
Borealis Grille and Bar
Woolwich Arms
University of Guelph 
Funding has been received to build a full website to accommodate this project. The new Local Food online map is the first step in the creation of the new site. It can be viewed by clicking the image above. Programs and ServicesThere are lots of ways for you to buy local food in Guelph and Wellington To view the annual newsletter for Guelph Wellington Local Food click here.
 For Email Marketing you can trust
- The Guelph Wellington Local Food Map
The 2009 Guelph Wellington Local Food Map is your guide on where and how to find food in our region. The year round guide can be picked up at Guelph and Wellington libraries, tourism outlets and select retail and business locations. You can also order a free map to be mailed to you by calling Guelph Wellington Tourism at 1-800-334-4519. To view the online map, click here.
Past Events The Royal Winter Fair - Friday November 6th to Sunday November 15th In partnership with the City of Guelph, Guelph Wellington Local Food was featured at The Royal Winter Fair from November 6th to 15th. The "Grow Guelph" booth invited many culinary and farm partners to be part of the booth. Visitors had a chance to taste and see what our region has to offer. Thanks to those farmers, business owners and volunteers who embraced the Royal and made our presence at the Royal shine. For more information about the Royal click here. Urban Agriculture Symposium - Friday November 20th 8:30am-5:00pm A tremendous day of networking, inspiration, collaboration, and knowledge sharing about Urban Agriculture. The Symposium was successful in inspiring action and addressing key issues and providing connections that enable the Urban Agriculture movement to advance. The morning started with a keynote presentation from Dr. Karen Landman who inspired us with stories of her summer tour of urban agriculture projects across North America. A panel discussion followed that brought together experience and ideas from those near and far working in the field of urban agriculture. During the afternoon participants took part in an interactive facilitation process to identify common barriers, seek feasible solutions and set achievable actions. The finding from the symposium will be shared during the Guelph Organic Conference. - Wellington Rural Romp - Saturday September 26th
Over twenty Wellington farms and markets opened their doors to the public. Over 500 people experienced a day in the countryside, meeting local farmers, enjoying taste testing, entertainment, agricultural education, guided tours and children's activities. It was a fabulous opportunity for the young and old to meet local farmers and learn first hand about how local food is grown and raised. Thanks to our sponsors, many prizes were given out, including an overnight stay at Norfolk Inn and numerous gift certificates to restaurants, farms and attractions. A description of farm locations and self guided routes, is featured is in the 2009 Guelph Wellington Local Food Map or here.
- Guelph Wellington Local Food Tent at the Guelph Jazz Festival - Saturday September 12
The Guelph Jazz Festival and Guelph Wellington Local Food paired up again this year to bring patrons the best of the region's food experiences. Over 3000 people enjoyed beautiful weather, amazing music and fantastic food. Five vendors showcased food from over 16 local farms and all sold out! A great day to enjoy fine music and great food - the perfect pairing. Thanks to all the volunteers who assisted with the day and hats off to the chefs and farmers who worked together to showcase the bounty of (our local farms) County of Wellington.
- 4th Annual Guelph Wellington Local Food Fest - Sunday June 7, 2009
It was a very successful event with over 1400 people in attendance. Information about the day can be found on the event summary page.
There Are So Many Reasons to Buy Local Food- Eat the freshest food you can get
The foods on your plate do not have to travel thousands of miles! Buy from Wellington and TASTE the freshness.
Fewer food miles mean less pollution.
- Experience agriculture up close
Explore, experience and enjoy the magic of the countryside with your friends and family.
- Support local farm families
By supporting local agriculture today, you are helping to preserve local farmland and sustain food options for tomorrow.
- Expand the local food market
Buying local foods will help create more shopping options for you and your family.
- Build relationships with farmers based on understanding and trust
Ask the grower questions about your food. Get the whole story on the food you eat.
When you buy local food, you VOTE with your food dollar. Objectives of Guelph Wellington Local Food InitiativeWe are working hard to create more ways for people to put local food on local tables. Here are our key objectives: - 1. Develop and deploy an integrated marketing communications campaign that will enable and empower individual consumers, processors, retailers, restaurateurs and chefs, food distributors, institutional buyers and others to increase consumption of locally grown food.
- 2. Develop and deploy a communications program that will facilitate improved communications and networking opportunities between producers and other local food stakeholders.
- 3. Expand the Garden Fresh Box program to serve more members of Guelph and County of Wellington.
- 4. Explore new opportunities for local food sales and facilitate the expansion of local food sales in the City of Guelph and County of Wellington including focusing on enhanced distribution channels.
This initiative is Sponsored by the Province of Ontario, County of Wellington, The Grand River Agricultural Society and Wellington Waterloo Community Futures Development Corporation. There are many other partners that have assisted us including Guelph Wellington Tourism, Elora Fergus Tourism and Foodlink Waterloo region. If you would like more information about this project or how to find local food, or if you would like to become involved with this project, please contact Kate Vsetula, project coordinator, at (519) 821-6638 ext.335 or kvsetula@guelphchc.ca Do you want to learn more about why Local Food is Best? Hellmann's has created a great video that shares valuable information in a easy to digest format for adults and kids alike. To view it, click here.
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