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Supporting local organic growers, processors and producers has always been part of the mantra for the original green movement. As we celebrate our 30th Guelph Organic Conference (GOC), we are throwing a Local Organic HomeComing for Ontario organics, shining a spotlight on the folks that grow, process and serve organic food in this region.

Chefs and restaurateurs in and around Guelph kicked off Organic Conference Week on Friday, January 21 with feature dishes made from organic ingredients produced on nearby farms. Their restaurants, listed on the GOC’s website, are on a downloadable, keepsake passport that could get you more of their local fare on the house.

“We copied the Organic Dining Passport from a similar project delivered at the 2002 World IFOAM Conference in Victoria, BC,” says conference manager Tomas Nimmo.  He knew the manager of that event, and still had one of her passports in his files.  “We also reaped the  knowledge of Allison Mitchell, a chef and foodservice consultant who knows all the Guelph restaurant owners on a first-name basis. She consulted with many local chefs, and explained the contest as our way to drive traffic to them during Organic Conference Week.”

Mitchell lined up seven different venues, each of which is offering an organic dish or set meal, and donating a prize for a draw that will see lucky ballot holders win up to $150 in restaurant gift certificates. “The goal is to educate chefs, farmers and consumers on the benefits of getting involved in local organic food,” Nimmo points out. “We think this promotion is a win-win-win and we’ll try to repeat it next year.”

Our colouring contest will get kids thinking about local organic food.

For the history behind our local organic food, check out the Friday night Public Forum. Pioneers from the province’s longest-running organic farms will take the stage with enthusiastic new growers in an old-fashioned  kitchen table meeting –the preferred network of veteran organic farmers.

The Saturday morning Keynote will also touch on the historical. Three generations of the Manley family, whose Ontario-based Homestead Organics is the largest organic feed mill in Eastern Canada, will reflect on the past thirty years of the organic sector, and share their predictions on where it will go in the next generation.

Following that weekend kickoff, head to the Local Organic Pavilion to sample more tasty tidbits.
Pour yourself a hot apple cider, nosh your way through sweets and savories from the region’s organic farms, then check out to the rest of the expo. Follow the banners pointing you to Ontario businesses, and watch for the Ontario organic product showcase. Visit the Greenbelt Farmers’ Markets Networking Room to learn what people have to say about the future of farmers’ markets in this province, and share ideas to help them grow.

For the youngest neophytes in the crowd, a colouring contest ripe with urban chickens, heirloom tomatoes, and a local farmers’ market will plant the seed that good food can be grown as close as your own backyard. With prize money for best colouring, best mascot name, and one very important question to answer, children can start planning their own urban farm. Bring them to our Local Organic Homecoming and they will learn to grow it organically, right here in Ontario.

For more information on our Local Organic Homecoming, or to download the Organic Dining Passport and Local Organic Colouring Project, visit the Guelph Organic Conference this weekend!