FoodShare News & Events Bulletin

·       Youth Food Justice Summit – May 8
·       FoodShare Annual General Meeting and Plant Sale – May 15
·       Field to Table Festival - June 18
·       Gardens of Diversity:  Growing Across Cultures - ACGA conference - October 1-3
·       Staff/Volunteers:  Part-time Gardener;  Field to Table Festival Volunteer Meetings - May 15, May 26; Summer Internships in Food Security
·       Resources:  Tales from the Meatrix; Community Kitchens Resources Online

EVENTS

Youth Food Justice Summit
Saturday, May 8, 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. - Field to Table Centre, 200 Eastern Ave.
Corporate food and drink contracts in schools. Lack of healthy food choices in school cafeterias. GMOs.  Food waste.  High school student activists concerned about these and other issues of food security, food access and distribution are invited to come and meet likeminded others and develop strategies to mobilize youth in their schools and communities.  Workshops will focus on solutions and hands-on learning, and will include topics such as:  “Don’t Truck it In or Out”;  Feeding the Revolution;  Seeds of Resistance;  Art and Activism.   Free, with food provided.  Contact youthfoodjusticesummit@hotmail.com or call 416-392-6653 to register.

FoodShare Annual General Meeting and Plant Sale
Saturday, May 15 - Field to Table Centre, 200 Eastern Ave., 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Our now annual “More than an AGM AGM”. Seedlings and garden amendments produced at the Field to Table Centre and by local small businesses for sale all day, starting at 10:00 a.m., plus workshops, food, music and more.  Workshops on container gardening and using Persian herbs run from 11-12 (please register in advance).  Business meeting to do the usual AGM stuff (adopt the audited financial statements, elect the board of directors, hear reports on the year past and future) runs from 12 - 1. Lunch from 1-2.  Come for all or part of the day. For more information, contact info@foodshare.net.

Field to Table Festival
Friday, June 18 - Nathan Philips Square, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Our huge hit Field to Table Festival fundraiser returns - this year with the World's Biggest Salad Bar, featuring an array of delectable dishes prepared by top Toronto chefs and restaurants, including FoodShare's own Field to Table kitchen.  All for only $10!  Learn about sustainable living in Toronto at a market fair that features leaders of the natural and food sector, ecological businesses and healthy community development initiatives.  There will be something for everyone, from delicious food to live music and children's activities.  Call 416-392-1669 for more info (see below for volunteer plea).

American Community Gardening Association Conference
Toronto, October 1-3
Toronto will be hosting the ACGA conference (extravaganza - 50 workshops, 500 participants, gala dinner, tours by foot, bicycle and canoe) October 1-3.  This year the theme will be "Gardens of Diversity:  Growing Across Cultures.  For updates and to find out about upcoming volunteer orientations, check in regularly at www.communitygarden.org.

STAFF/VOLUNTEER POSITIONS

Part-time Gardener for the Sunshine Garden
FoodShare is looking for someone to work part-time with our urban agriculture team to lead the gardening activities in our 6, 000 square foot market garden at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).  The position involves ensuring a successful growing season at the Sunshine Garden, providing training and education about how to grow food in the city, and working with a diverse team, including youth-at-risk and people with mental health issues.This is a part-time position, $15 per hour for approximately 20 hours per week.  The schedule would be Monday and Wednesday mornings and all day Thursdays.  The position would be from mid-May till the end of October 2004.

Responsibilities:  Oversee organic vegetable production in the CAMH garden;  Work with and teach growing techniques to participants from the CAMH gardening program as well as with the participants of our youth program; Plan harvest and sales for the vegetable stand open to the community twice a week; Participate in public outreach, education and fundraising functions of the program.  Work as a member of FoodShare’s Green Team

Skills and Abilities Required:  Organic gardening and/or farming experience for a full growing season;  Public education and workshop delivery experience; Proven ability to work with diverse teams;  Experience in working with people with mental health issues would be a definite asset; Excellent time management skills; Previous project implementation experience; Construction skills would be an asset;  Knowledge of Toronto’s diverse communities and language skills in addition to English would be an asset;  All employees are expected to exhibit the following qualities: flexibility, respect, accountability and ability to work as part of the whole team.FoodShare welcomes applications from persons of all cultural and racial backgrounds.

Please send a resume and cover letter to the address below by May 10^th.  Only interview candidates will be contacted. Phone calls will not be accepted.
Karine Jaouich
FoodShare Toronto - Field to Table Centre
200 Eastern Avenue
Toronto, ON
M5A 1J1
email: karine@foodshare.net

Field to Table Festival Volunteers
We still need volunteers galore for everything from logistics people, to media managers and people to help out on the day of the event.  Find us food, find us money, find us people!  And we promise you you'll have a great time in the process!  Next volunteer meetings taking place on May 15 after lunch at FoodShare Annual General Meeting (see above for details), and May 26, 5 p.m. at FoodShare offices, 238 Queen St. W., lower level.  Please contact Sarah at 416-392-1669 or volunteers@foodshare.net.

Summer Internship in Food Security
FoodShare is currently developing a new internship  program that will run from May 10th to the end of August. The internship is designed to both meet some of our needs as well as to give the interns a well-rounded experience in a leading, dynamic, community based food security organization.   At Foodshare we work with communities to promote access to affordable and healthy food -- from field to table.  As an intern you will be exposed to current food access issues facing communities in Toronto.  The internship will involve work on either our FoodLink Hotline or our Main line/Good Food Box referral line, and hands-on work in one area of specialization. Interns are expected to volunteer half a day per week on one of our phone lines and an additional day in their chosen area of specialization. The areas of specialization are as follows:Good Food Box Preparation; Festival Organizing; Urban Agriculture; Community Gardening/ACGA Conference Organizing; Research, Education and Action.

Internships are unpaid, though interns will receive an honorarium of a small organic good food box each week, plus travel tokens.
Please send a resume and a short explanation of why you are interested in interning at FoodShare, along with your preferred areas of specialization (ranked from first to third), and your available times to:
Stephen Bentley, Festival and Intern Coordinator
Email: stephen@foodshare.net  (416) 392-1669
Fax: (416) 392-6650

NEWS

Tales from the Meatrix
www.themeatrix.com is a cartoon parody of "The Matrix" that has been making the rounds in food circles.  It features "Moopheus" defender of family farms and exposer of bad factory farms .  Other resources relating to family farming are www.factoryfarm.org, a website operated by the US-based GRACE (Global Resource Action Center for the Environment) Factory Farm Project (GFFP).   In Canada, more info can be located at the Council of Canadians' Beyond Factory Farming project site, www.beyondfactory farming.org.

Community Kitchens Resources Online
www.communitykitchens.ca is an excellent starting point for people interested in starting community kitchens.  A Vancouver-based group of organizations sponsors the site, which offers a start-up guide, recipes and a sample of the lovely cookbook by and for community kitchens, Many Hands.

FOODSHARE WEB-BASED RESOURCES

Our website at http://www.foodshare.net is regularly updated with all kinds of resources, including the latest in events and workshop updates, food policy news, program how-tos, media coverage, etc.

Good Food News: Bi-weekly newsletter that comes with the Good Food Box. Contains food news, recipes and nutrition information for featured vegetables. Archive now available online at www.foodshare.net/gfbnews.htm

Toronto Community Gardening Network E-news. A monthly newsletter of horticultural tips, Toronto garden news and events. Sign up by emailing cgnetwork@foodshare.net.

Chutney Reader. A bi-monthly e-bulletin that’s a spicy mix of food news, analysis and tips for all you underpaid, overworked staff and volunteers in community-based food programs-- as well as all of you unaffiliated folks who are just interested in food isues from soup to nuts. The current issue is online at www.foodshare.net/Chutney/main.htm To sign up send an email to chutney@foodshare.net

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