Locally grown potatoes on display at the Country Pumpkin Market in Maugerville, New Brunswick.
We are what we eat. My mother was fond of telling me that. I am trying to be Holland Marsh vegetables, Niagara peaches and Leamington tomatoes. However, given my schedule, I am a little too often Timbits, coffee and Pizza Pizza. But I am changing — and so are Canadians.
Rob with Food Share Toronto
Today I joined FoodShare Toronto as they released the results of a national survey on food, nutrition, and the willingness of Canadians to promote nutritious food in our families and our schools. The support is overwhelming: Canadians know that our health, our wellness and our social and economic well-being are dependent upon what we eat. The survey reveals that a majority of Canadians believe that we face a serious problem related to what we are eating, where our food comes from and how it is prepared.
The survey was released at the Flemingdon Park Fresh Food Market, in an area of high-rise apartments filled with new Canadians. Right beside a community garden, while children from a summer camp were splashing in a nearby wading pool, FoodShare reminded us that eating local foods is good for our bodies, for our environment, and for our economy.
The Liberal National Food Policy dovetails seamlessly with these outcomes — and the poll only fuels our desire to make fresh food availability, farm sustainability, and food safety priorities for the next Liberal government. Canadians need to know where our food comes from. Farmers need to know that they can make a decent living providing cities with the food we want. Rural matters.
This Saturday, I will tour Evergreen Brick Works with its highly successful Farmers’ Market and over fifty local farmers selling their best product. I look forward to buying produce from the Quinte Organic Co-op and some fresh apples from Innisfil’s Avalon Orchard. The Liberal National Food Policy will become a reality at my dinner table on Saturday night! Take an hour this Saturday to visit your local Farmers’ Market and discover a new local farmer while shopping for your family supper.
—Rob Oliphant
Rob Oliphant is the Member of Parliament for Don Valley West
