An evening celebrating the women behind local food production is coming to Caledon next week.
Women in Food and Agriculture, presented by the Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance, takes place Tuesday, Aug. 25, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at GoodLot Farm, the Caledon property that is also home to GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co.
The event features a panel of five women farmers from across the Headwaters region, two of whom farm in Caledon: Karen Hutchinson of Albion Hills Community Farm and Gail Winters of GoodLot Farm and GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co.
They will be joined by Jeannette French of Lennox Farm in Melancthon, Amy Ouchterlony of Fiddle Foot Farm in Mulmur, and Val Steinman of Heartwood Farm in Erin. Tralee Pearce, publisher of In The Hills magazine, will moderate the discussion, which will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.
Marci Lipman told the Orangeville Citizen the event coincides with the International Year of the Woman Farmer and is meant to recognize the often-overlooked contributions of women to agriculture, food production and rural communities.
'Women are celebrated in all fields'
Women are celebrated in all fields… but we seldom hear of women in agriculture. Since this is my idea, I thought that it was important for us to recognize women farmers, to recognize the women who put food on our plates in our region.
According to Lipman, the panellists bring decades of farming experience spanning a broad range of operations, including vegetable production, community gardening, agricultural education and regenerative farming.
We have five women farmers on a panel who will be discussing the questions that people have about why women farm and what it entails. Today, there are a lot of women who are the primary farmers on the farm. They are growing the food, taking it to market, educating people about how they grow the food, and they are big community builders.
The goal, Lipman said, is not only to celebrate women farmers but to start a broader conversation about their role in an industry where the traditional image of a farmer remains predominantly male. Women on farms, she noted, can be food producers, educators, community builders, mothers and stewards of the land — often at the same time.
Fundraiser for Farm to School
The evening will also serve as a fundraiser for the Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance's Farm to School program, which brings farmers into schools to teach children where their food comes from through hands-on learning.
Organizers say the event will also highlight the importance of knowing where food comes from and supporting local producers, pointing to farmers' markets and direct farm purchases as ways residents can connect with the people growing their food.
These farmers are caring for our soil. They are stewards of the land, and… many of them are not using pesticides. They're just doing regenerative agriculture, sustaining the land and making it healthy for the next generation.
The event is open to everyone, not only women. Tickets include light bites prepared by Crowded Table and Carney Country Catering, along with one complimentary drink. Information and tickets are available through the Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance's events page.
