Celebrating farmers during Local Food Week

Jun 04, 2018

Industry members will discuss ag and share stories on social media

By Kaitlynn Anderson
Staff Writer
Farms.com

This week, Ontarians will celebrate farmers and locally grown food for the fifth annual Local Food Week.

The event, which was established under the Local Food Act, 2013, encourages producers, consumers, businesses and government partners to promote and discuss Ontario-grown food, the AgScape website states.

From today until June 10, members of the agri-food industry can participate in the event in many ways.

“Farmers can share what they’re doing through social media and websites,” Catherine Reining, program and resource manager with AgScape, told Farms.com today. “They can also reach out to their local ag societies and schools to start the conversations about local food.”

Some farmers and organizations have already started the discussions on these platforms with the hashtag #loveONTfood.

Twitter photo

This week is important for the province’s agricultural industry.

“It allows us to showcase Ontario (agriculture) and the food that we produce,” Reining said. “A lot of times, consumers don’t always know a lot about where their food comes from or understand that they can source it locally.”

This event can provide people with a better understanding of local food and its seasonality, she added.

For more information on how you can become involved in Local Food Week, visit the Ag Scape website.

Elementary and secondary school teachers can access resources to educate their students about Ontario agriculture as well.

FatCamera/Getty Images/E+ photo

Video: How women saved agricultural economics and other ideas for why diversity matters | Jill J. McCluskey

Dr. Jill J. McCluskey, Regents Professor at Washington State University and Director of the School of Economic Science

Dr. McCluskey documents that women entered agricultural economics in significant numbers starting in the 1980s, and their ranks have increased over time. She argues that women have increased the relevance in the field of agricultural economics through their diverse interests, perspectives, and experiences. In their research, women have expanded the field's treatment of non-traditional topics such as food safety and nutrition and environmental and natural resource economics. In this sense, women saved the Agricultural Economics profession from a future as a specialty narrowly focused on agricultural production and markets. McCluskey will go on to discuss some of her own story and how it has shaped some of her thinking and research. She will present her research on dual-career couples in academia, promotional achievement of women in both Economics and Agricultural Economics, and work-life support programs.

The Daryl F. Kraft Lecture is arranged by the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, with the support of the Solomon Sinclair Farm Management Institute, and in cooperation with the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.