Upcoming Events and More!

We're Hiring! 

Immediate Opening: Local Food Program Assistant

Are you a student who will be returning to school on a full-time basis in the next academic year? Do you have an understanding of, and enthusiasm for, food and agriculture in east central Ontario? Are you looking for work this summer that will compliment your studies in sustainability issues, food and farming, economic development, or food localism?

Then consider applying for this exciting 8 week summer opportunity with Farms at Work, where you will:

  • assist in the development and organization of local food and farming events, like the annual Purple Onion Festival;
  • develop working relationships with some of our amazing community partners and farmers; 
  • flex your creativity as you help to prepare engaging content that showcases local farm businesses;
  • participate in the planning and coordination of some of FAWs other programs and services, as needed

If you think you might be a good fit for this position, then have a look at the full job description and submit your resume and cover letter to pat@farmsatwork.ca before 5pm on Friday May 8, 2015. Please make sure to include "Local Food Program Assistant" in the subject line.

Ontario Agri Food Venture Centre Tour

Attention Farmers and Food Producers! 

If you've ever considered expanding your business to include value-added production, then join us for this free, guided tour of the brand new Ontario Agri Food Venture Centre (OAFVC), where you'll learn about the services and tools available to help extend the seasonality of your products.  

With features ranging from bulk washing, cutting, quick chilling, flash freezing, labeling, cold, frozen and dry storage (and more!), producers of all sizes interested in adding value to their products are sure to benefit from a tour of this brand new Northumberland County facility. 

Date: Tuesday May 26, 2015

Time: 10:30am (the tour will only take about 30 minutes, with some time for questions at the end)

Location:  116 Industrial Park Rd North Colborne, ON

To register, please visit www.oafvc.eventbrite.ca. Space is limited to 11 participants, so make sure to sign up early!

For more information, please contact: info@farmsatwork.ca  |  (705) 743-7671

OSCIA Food Safety Workshops and Webinars

Wondering about the ins and outs of safe food handling practices on the farm? About to start training seasonal staff? Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) is piloting FREE Food Safety workshops! The workshops will examine the food safety risks common to most farms and identify the good practices you can put in place to reduce or eliminate these risks. Growing Forward 2 funding opportunities will also be discussed.

You have two free options for completing the Food Safety educational material: 

  1. In-person: 2-day, interactive learning environment. Upcoming workshops:
  • Sharon, ON (May 5th and 12th) *Just west of hwy 404*
  • Lindsay, ON (next November)
  1. Six-part webinar series from the comfort of your home/office.

Click Here for more information and to register for the Food Safety Workshops & Webinars!

Heads Up! GF2 Program Updates Announced

Farmers! Have you heard about the recent changes to GF2, or seen the new program guidelines that were announced earlier this week? The new policy guide can be found on the OSCIA website (scroll down to Resources).

Here is a list of some of the major changes to the program: 

  • One of the main changes to the guidelines is that an applicant must now have an approval dated before the date on any invoices for expenses.
  • Another important piece to remember is that depending on the project, eligibility requirements may include completion of the Environmental Farm Plan Workshop (within the last 5 years), the Grow Your Farm Profits Workshop, or the Biosecurity Workshop.
    • The schedule of upcoming EFP workshops includes courses in York Region (May 8 & May 15) and Prince Edward County (May 13 & May 20).
    • Additionally, a program information session for the new GF2 guidelines is coming up next Thursday, May 7th, 2015 at 7:30pm at the Manvers Community Centre in Bethany. Please contact Paul.Reeds@ontariosoilcrop.org for more info.
  • Also note that the first round of intakes starts today! Applications can be submitted during these windows in 2015:
    • May 1 to May 21, 2015
    • August 10 to August 27, 2015
    • November 16 to December 3, 2015
  • All GF2 funding opportunities will be assessed on merit-based Application Evaluation Criteria
  • Cost-share caps per project have been introduced for each eligible Project Category

KFSC Reminder

And remember to be in touch with us at the Kawartha Farm Stewardship Collaborative to learn about your funding options for on-farm stewardship projects! You can find a project intake form on our website, or be in touch by phone or email and we'll be happy to help.