HomeGrown campaign notes local food available all through the year

Even during the cold winter months when most Ontario farms are dormant for the season, there are local food options to be found in local supermarkets and farmers’ markets.

Enter HomeGrown, an initiative of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) that, in addition to stressing the importance of buying local, focuses on preserving Ontario farmland.

The province loses an average of 319 acres of farmland every day. To put that in perspective, that area could fit 797 hockey rinks or 49,766 cars.

“Ontario and the fact that we grow a wonderful array of fruits and vegetables, grains, flowers, food, fibre, all kinds of things,” said Mark Reusser, an OFA vice president who farms in Waterloo Region.

“They’re available for citizens of our great province, also emphasizing the fact that everything we grow is dependent upon the land to grow it on and that we’re losing 319 acres of farmland every day, and that’s not sustainable.”

Southwestern Ontario is one of the best places in North America for agriculture, Reusser noted. Despite this bountiful farmland, Ontario still  imports more food than it exports.

“I think we have this wonderful opportunity for people here in Ontario to eat more of the things that we produce,”said Reusser.

In Ontario, people view agriculture as just fruits, vegetables and livestock, but in actuality, it is so much more, he said. We also grow fibre, grains and fuel, which are important to the economy.

“Fresh, local food is a fundamental part of a healthy diet and, as farmers, we are proud to grow and raise more than 200 different commodities that provide food for Ontarians,” said OFA president Drew Spoelstra in a release. “By eating local, you are supporting farms, jobs and rural communities across our province, as well as lowering the carbon footprint of our food and helping to preserve our valuable farmland.”