Orillia and area residents will get a first look at the city's local food strategy next week, at a community event designed to connect the people behind it.
Harvesting Community takes place Nov. 3 and is open to residents, organizations, businesses, farmers, educators and community partners, according to a City of Orillia news release. The event will showcase the Orillia & Area Food Strategy and the local efforts feeding into a stronger food system across the city and the surrounding region.
The gathering is co-hosted by the City of Orillia Food Access and Sustainability Working Group, known as OFASWG, with support from the Simcoe County Food Council.
Attendees can take in local arts and culture, connect with neighbours and share ideas about where the region's food system should head next. The event will also feature the debut of a new community video profiling residents, businesses and organizations whose work reflects the vision of the strategy.
This event is an opportunity to showcase the people and partnerships that are already helping build a stronger food system in our region,
Lesley McMullin, Food System Director at The Sharing Place Food Centre, said in the release.
We are excited to share stories of local action, learn from one another, and invite the community to help shape how the Orillia & Area Food Strategy moves forward.
For the working group's chair, the event is about more than food. Food connects so many aspects of community life, from health and well-being to economic development and environmental sustainability, Jacob Kearey-Moreland, Chair of the City of Orillia Food Access and Sustainability Working Group, said in the release.
"Harvesting Community is an opportunity to celebrate the individuals and organizations already making a difference and to strengthen the partnerships that will help move this work forward," Kearey-Moreland said.
The Nov. 3 event comes as communities across Simcoe County continue to grapple with how local food production, access and sustainability fit together. The City of Orillia's Food Access and Sustainability Working Group has been the municipal hub for that conversation, working alongside the county-level food council.
Organizers say the evening is meant to be as much a celebration as a planning session — a chance to recognize the farmers, food centres, educators and businesses already contributing to the region's food system, while setting the stage for what the strategy tackles next.
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