Local food infrastructure a focus at Sustainability breakfast

Apr 14, 2016

In order to highlight the importance of developing local food infrastructure in the county, organizers of Frontenac County’s Integrated Community Sustainability Planning (ICSP) invited Dan Borowec to speak at their annual breakfast at the Verona Lions Hall on April 7. Borowec is the director of economic development in Northumberland County.

He spoke about Northumberland’s recent forays into supporting local food infrastructure by creating the Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre (OAFVC), a multi-purpose, not-for-profit, small batch food-processing facility located in Colborne.

The OAFVC was designed with local farmers and foodie entrepreneurs in mind. The facility supports fresh fruit and value-adding opportunities to farmers to increase their farm revenue.

The facility also assists food-processing start-up companies with recipe development, test batching and other forms of research, and also facilitates small batch co-packing. Guests at the breakfast were shown how Northumberland is a prime example of a county that is building local infrastructure in order to provide food producers with the tools to succeed and become economically sustainable.

Also on the agenda was a description of the County of Frontenac's Guide to Sustainability, which outlines the four pillars of sustainability as social, cultural, economic, and environmental.

County CAO Kelly Pender spoke about the County's “Economic Development Charter for the Frontenacs” which aims to focus on activities, like trips and trails, local food and beverage, and recreation/lifestyle. The charter will also consider the demographics and needs of the county’s seniors, families and youth.

County staff will utilize a number of implementation tools to achieve the charter's goals. They will look at infrastructure, grants, business loans, counseling and regional marketing, and measure the county’s progress, with a promise to report back to local communities annually.

The breakfast also included updates by county staff members. Anne Marie Young spoke about the soon-to-be completed K & P Trail. County Planner, Joe Gallivan, spoke about the county's official plan. Janette Amini brought guests up-to-date regarding the county's current focus on accessibility.

After the updates, two Community Partnership Agreement Awards were given out by Betty Hunter, vice chair of the county's Community Development Advisory Committee, and Ron Vandewal, deputy warden/mayor of South Frontenac.

The first was presented to Ross Sutherland and Stephanie Sciberras of South Frontenac Rides, an organization that aims to establish a more bicycle-friendly township.

The second plaque was presented to North Frontenac mayor, Ron Higgins, in recognition of the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve. The Township of North Frontenac was the first in all of Canada to achieve Dark Sky Preserve status from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

For more information about the county's sustainability breakfast, visit www.frontenaccounty.ca