Local Food Month is a party for foodies
First in a month-long series looking at local food in Peterborough city and county
On Aug.. 13 Mayor Daryl Bennett and Warden Joe Taylor publically proclaimed September to be Local Food Month in Peterborough. This is cause to celebrate! And that is precisely what Transition Town Peterborough intends to do all month long.
Local Food Month
The celebration around local food began last month with this year’s Local Food Guide. For the fourth year running this little publication serves as your invitation to get involved in the party. You can pick it up at any Farmers Market. It’s packed with all you need to know about the role local food plays in our local economy and also introduces you to some of the excellent local food producers and growers in our community. It’s an invitation to get involved with them. Get to know the people who are working hard every day all year long to provide us with the freshest, most nutritious meat, fruit and vegetables possible. They all love to talk about what they do so feel free to contact them and ask questions.
The 2018 Local Food Guide also gives you a directory of all the local farmers' markets in the area. This is a great way to join in the celebration. Make day trips, tour our beautiful countryside, stop at the farm gate stands along the way, take notice of the farming that is going on around us every day. There is such deep richness in this community that many other cities don’t get to enjoy.
The Eat Local Challenge
Transition Town Peterborough created a party game called the Eat Local Challenge. We encourage you to play along; the rules are simple. Choose to eat local. Choose locally produced food. You’ll be amazed once you start searching it out just how much our area can provide; everything you can imagine in meat, veggies and fruit but also cheese, dairy products, eggs, breads, desserts and even wine and beer. We have it all within arms reach.
Challenge yourself to search out the things you love most and see if you can find them. Then take a picture and post it on our Transition Town Peterborough Face Book page and share it. Challenge your friends to do the same! Host an all local dinner party or pot luck – ask everyone to bring something with 75 per cent local ingredients and share the recipes. Don’t forget to take a picture and post it! Let’s get this party started!
Local food ambassadors
For 2018 Local Food Month celebrations Transition Town Peterborough selected two outstanding businesses to become our Local Food Ambassadors. Both of our Ambassadors were chosen for their passion in promoting local food and for their love of producing the best quality products they possibly can. They are both outstanding examples of what our local businesses contribute to our local food economy. Meet Gary Fenton of G. Fenton Farms as our Local Food Month Ambassador and Tina Bromley from Tiny Greens as our Downtown Culinary Hub Ambassador.
Both are eager to talk with you about local food and introduce their businesses to you. Please support their excellence and service to your community. Both businesses are represented and multiple Farmers Markets. We appointed two ambassadors because we recognize that local food is not only being produced on farmland but also right in the heart of the city.
Urban farming, community gardens and micro gardens are a necessary part of a healthy, resilient community. Many downtown restaurants are making a concerted effort to bring the freshest local produce in for their customers’ culinary experience. Show them you care by appreciating the effort they go to by supporting them too!
Purple Onion Festival
The grand finale of Local Food Month is The eighth Annual Purple Onion Festival; Sept. 23, happening at Millennium Park. The event hosts over 60 vendors, farmers, wellness practitioners, artists and musicians all from within 75km of Peterborough with a minimum of 75 per cent local content in the product they sell.
Even the official exclusive currency of the festival is Peterborough’s own Kawartha Loon. The KL is a fun local experience elevating your buying power from being just a boring cash exchange and saving 10 per cent with every transaction. All visitors from near or far are invited to join in this particular concentrated unique local experience by using the KL – more information is available at the festival.
The highlight of the festival is The Taste of the Kawarthas Tent. This year the tent will feature up to eight local chefs offering samplings of exceptional food options showcasing the incredible local bounty and diversity our local food producers have to offer. Samplings are offered at a reasonable price so you can try them all!
Lastly we invite you to write your experiences with local food on our Eat Local Challenge Wall. Graffiti is welcome here! Make it bright,make it loud! Take a pic and post it! Remember, Local Food Month is the biggest local celebration of the year. Wear purple to show your local farmers you care and are proud of all they do for our community.
To find out more about Transition Town Peterborough connect with us on Facebook or visit our website www.new.transtitiontownpeterborough.ca