Food and Agriculture Charter begins to take root in Simcoe County
News release from Simcoe County July 13, 2011
Midhurst – The Simcoe County Food and Agriculture Charter is starting to grow.
On April 18, 2011 at the Food Matters — Growing our Strengths conference Mark Aitken, CAO
for the County of Simcoe, was pleased to announce that County Council approved both staff
and monetary support for the creation of a made-in-Simcoe County Food and Agriculture
Charter.
That announcement set in motion the creation of a partnership between the County of Simcoe
and organizations such as the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, the Barrie Community
Health Centre, the Simcoe County Federation of Agriculture, Simcoe County Farm Fresh, and
the Food Partnership Alliance to form a steering committee to launch this exciting community
initiative.
On July 13, 2011 the steering committee met for the first time and adopted a work plan and
sub-committees to move this initiative forward. Members of the committee were pleased to
welcome Warden Cal Patterson (Mayor of Wasaga Beach) and Councillor Basil Clarke (DeputyMayor of Ramara Township) as co-chairs of the steering committee.
“Our goal is to create a truly made-in-Simcoe County Food and Agriculture Charter. It will be a
Charter developed in all areas of our great County with input from as many stakeholders as
possible,” said Warden Patterson.
Over the next 18 months, the Food and Agriculture Charter steering committee will engage in an
extensive community and stakeholder consultation process.
“As a farmer born and raised in Ramara Township, and as Deputy-Mayor and County
Councillor, I’m thrilled to co-chair this initiative. With the creation of a made-in-Simcoe County
Food and Agriculture Charter we are embarking on an exciting community process. The goal in
the end is to create a Charter that reflects all aspects of food in Simcoe County — from the
producer to the consumer,” said Coun. Clarke.
Over the upcoming months, the Food and Agriculture Charter steering committee will endeavor
to continually communicate and update the community as to what is happening and when
regional stakeholder sessions will be taking place.We encourage everyone to visit our website www.fpa.simcoe.ca for updates. If you would like to
be added to the email list for upcoming newsletters, please contact Erica Lowry at 705-726-
9300 ext. 1162.
We look forward to meeting and speaking with many of you throughout this important process.
Food and Agriculture Steering Commmittee members
Warden Cal Patterson, Mayor of Wasaga Beach, Coun. Basil Clarke, Deputy-Mayor of Ramara
Township, Gary Machan, Barrie Community Health Centre, Robert Lamb, County of Simcoe
Economic Development, Terry Talon, County of Simcoe Social Services, John Hemsted, Food
Partners Alliance, Lynda Van Casteren, Simcoe County Farm Fresh, Kristin Ego-MacPhail,
Simcoe County Federation of Agriculture, and Dr. Charles Gardner, Simcoe Muskoka District
Health Unit
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