The 2024 Authorities of Ontario’s annual Excellence in Agriculture Awards acknowledged Farm & Meals Care Ontario, a Guelph not-for-profit
When you realize the place your meals comes from, it is simpler to make the connection from ‘farm to desk’.
On Nov. 2, the 2024 Authorities of Ontario’s annual Excellence in Agriculture Awards acknowledged farmers, processors, business organizations, and companies whose contributions strengthen progress throughout the province’s $50.7 billion agri-food sector.
This 12 months’s recipient of the centrepiece Minister’s Award is Farm & Meals Care Ontario, a not-for-profit group in Guelph that, for over 30 years, builds partnerships to boost consciousness about meals and farming in Ontario.
“The board and staff of Farm & Food Care Ontario are delighted to be receiving this award from the province,” mentioned Crispin Colvin, chair of Farm & Meals Care Ontario.
“Our work with farmers and meals companions helps to bolster belief and confidence in native farming and meals manufacturing. This advantages us all. It’s so rewarding to see the vital work we do supported by our authorities companions.”
The non-for revenue group helps to foster significant connections by advertising campaigns and sources together with ‘The Actual Dust on Farming’, whereas additionally internet hosting farm excursions and occasions corresponding to ‘Breakfast on the Farm’.
Farm & Meals Care Ontario additionally gives coaching to develop robust agricultural ambassadors to teach the general public on the place their meals originates.
“As an agricultural outreach group, we’re funded by farmers, farm companies and commodity teams with the mandate to attempt to join individuals with their meals, recognizing that we’re lower than two per cent of the inhabitants that now reside on farms,” mentioned Farm & Meals Care Ontario’s govt director, Kelly Daynard.
“And lots of people do not have a spot to go for correct details about the place their meals comes from.”
13 winners and 16 honourable mentions in agriculture excellence throughout 11 classes had been honoured this 12 months.
The aim of the Excellence in Agriculture Awards is to acknowledge and encourage excellent efforts that drive the agriculture and meals sector ahead and to boost consciousness of Ontario’s agriculture and meals sector and its influence on the provincial financial system.
With over 871,000 individuals working within the Ontario agri-food business, the awards occasion gives a chance to acknowledge agricultural employers and leaders.
Together with the Minister’s Award, Farm & Meals Care Ontario additionally gained the Award for Promotional Excellence.
Farm & Meals Care Ontario is a whole-sector coalition made up of representatives from all farming varieties and related companies, and positions itself because the useful professional on Ontario agriculture and is energetic in promotion, schooling, program improvement and shopper analysis.
“The great thing about Farm & Meals Care is that at some point we is perhaps engaged on a dairy mission. The following day we is perhaps within the discipline, filming a greenhouse vegetable or ginseng mission, after which the subsequent day, it is perhaps an egg mission,” Daynard mentioned.
Workers stays present on points associated to farming, together with animal welfare, environmental and meals questions of safety, actions by particular curiosity teams, public attitudes, and authorities laws.
“We proceed to develop. I usually say, we’re tiny however mighty. We’ve a employees of 9 in Ontario. We even have sister teams in Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island,” Daynard mentioned.
“The sky is the restrict.”
Daynard says the group is perhaps small, but it surely does some actually huge issues yearly.
“We do a collection of digital actuality excursions so that folks can tour farms with out leaving their laptop. And most of these are filmed in Ontario. We do a collection of occasions throughout the province referred to as ‘Breakfast on the Farm’. We feed as much as 2,500 individuals breakfast on an Ontario farm, they an have a tour, and meet some superb farming volunteers,” Daynard mentioned.
“And we do a booklet referred to as The Actual Dust on Farming, which is form of a one cease strategy to answering probably the most generally requested questions on meals and farming in Canada.”
Raised on a farm simply exterior Guelph, Daynard says she feels fortunate to have had the expertise of rising up in such an atmosphere alongside family members within the enterprise.
“After I went to college, I shortly realized that none of my city classmates had any thought the place their meals got here from,” she mentioned.
“So now, with the ability to work in a profession the place we’re capable of assist make these connections, it’s extremely rewarding.”
The aim for Farm & Meals Care Ontario is to proceed to construct public belief in meals and farming in Ontario and throughout the nation.
“Consciousness continues to develop and persons are genuinely considering the place their meals comes from,” Daynard mentioned.
“So, if we will help reply any questions, we’re thrilled to do it.”
