Activity

Worry not UeaTers, the Farmer’s Market is not moving far. Just step into the warm hallways of University College and behold! There are the farmers and all the fresh produce you can eat. This is a great opportunity to meet the farmers and ask them any questions you may have about local farms.

For those wondering, the Farmer’s Market is held every Wednesday, from 2:30pm to 5:30pm.

Hope to see you there!

Dear UeaTers,

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a week long celebration of…FOOD?

That’s exactly what Hart House is planning from October 16 to October 23, 2009: World Food Week on campus!

The wonderful people at Hart House explain that “food is an integral part of our society.  It not only provides nourishment, but gives us an opportunity to share with our community; it allows us to preserve tradition and culture; it connects us to the land.  Food should be about simple principles, yet in our society we’ve allowed it to become a commodity. We demand year-round access to the cheapest food possible, gorging ourselves to malnourishment, while millions go hungry and suffer famine on a daily basis. In order to ensure access to safe and healthy food, and for the future of our society, we need to understand our food systems and reconnect and support the individuals that create them”.

So, Hart House has arranged workshops, lectures, food tastings and discussions on food and community. For a list of the events and schedules click here.

FROM FIELD TO ART: Discussing the Link Between Food, Art and Social Justice
*A multi-disciplinary panel discussion on food issues*

Please join the Hart House Art, Farm and Social Justice Committees for a
multi-disciplinary discussion on the links between food, art and social
justice.

Artist Ron Benner, Geography Professor Sarah Wakefield, Slow Food
co-chair Arlene Stein and student food activist and The Hot Yam! member
Dulcie Vousden will discuss the various perspectives on today’s important
food issues and the valuable contribution of art to social justice.

*Date*: Tuesday, March 9, 2010

*Time:* 3:00 – 5:00 pm

*Location*: Debates Room, Hart House, University of Toronto

*Cost:*  Free

*Speakers:*

RON BENNER – A Canadian artist, whose work encompasses a wide-range of food
and social justice issues. Benner will be exhibiting his work and discussing
the role that art plays in social justice.

ARLENE STEIN – Co-chair of Slow Food Toronto and Director of Catering and Events at Hart House. Stein is an active member of the local food community,
who is dedicated to food security and sustainability issues.

SARAH WAKEFIELD – Associate Professor, Department of Geography at the
University of Toronto. Wakefield’s research interests include urban food
security and the effect of municipal environmental regulation on
environmental and social justice.

DULCIE VOUSDEN – Hot Yam! member and student food activist. The Hot Yam! is
an all-volunteer vegan collective. Each week, the collective cook up a
delicious, mostly local, mostly organic and entirely vegan lunch for the
University of Toronto community.

For additional information contact:

Kelly Robertson-Reinhart

Kel.e.robertson@gmail.com
647-883-9606

Hellow UeaTers!

Congratulations on having survived your first month of classes. Now that things have settled down, your schedule has become routine, and you have made a few friends on campus, it’s time to start thinking about your health. After all, a healthy diet nurtures your brain cells!

At UeaT, October brings Halloween Nutrilicious: an entire week dedicated to Food and Nutrition. From October 19^th to October 23^rd, you will be able to purchase affordable, healthy meals and participate in classes (no, not that kind of classes! These classes are fun!). Stay tuned for more information on these events.

PS- Don’t worry, we are not taking away Halloween!

Tomorrow (Saturday), a mob of buyers will enter G’s Fine Foods with empty reusable bags in their hands and cash in their wallets. They will purchase food items like they do on any other Saturday, and they will feel good about it. Why? The wonderful people at G’s Fine Foods have promised to use 100% of the money they make on Saturday towards increasing environmental sustainability in their store. They will also connect with Local Food Plus and their environmentally-awesome list of local farmers to provide fresh food for their shoppers. In return, the Carrotmob has promised a mob of customers to their store on Saturday.

Since G’s Fine Foods is so close to campus, we recommend that you (and your friends and family) join in the festivities tomorrow. There will be music, an after-party and a mob of environmentally aware people…fun!! And the best part is that your dollars (which you were going to spend on groceries anyways) will support an LFP farmer who treats the livestock on the farm with love, uses environmental sustainable practices on the farm, and ensures that all staff are paid a fair wage.

For more information on LFP farmers, check out the LFP website.

(Interesting fact: U of T is the first University to become LFP certified!!)

Not quite sure what a Carrotmob is?

The Carrotmob Toronto blog explains: “Carrotmob is an emerging form of activism. This is not a brutal fight – this is about partnership for change. Carrotmob is community organized consumer power that partners with businesses to reward them for their socially and environmentally choices. A “buycott”, the anti-boycott, that travels in masses to help consumers see the change they want, and rewards businesses who are willing to compete and act for profits.”

How does this Carrotmob work?

“Buycotting allows consumers to vote with their dollars,” says event organizer Nico Koenig, a graduate student in the Adult Education and Community Development Program of OISE/University of Toronto. “Through Carrotmob, people are making a significant difference in the fight for environmental responsibility – and against climate change. In these hard times, Carrotmobs are economically feasible – all we ask is that people buy groceries they would already be buying. Every dollar counts!”

Why is it important for U of T??

U of T students are part of the Carrotmob organizing team as well as the “mob” that will hit up G’s Fine Foods at the corner of Bloor and Huron.

You can find videos, cartoons, discussions, and other cool stuff on their website:

http://toronto.carrotmob.org/