Greenbeltfresh.ca; Eating Local in Ontario
Ontario’s Greenbelt is 1.8 million acres of protected countryside that wraps around lake Ontario from Niagara to Cobourg and as far North as Tobermory. The designation of this land was created in 2005 to protect the countryside, environmentally sensitive land and farmlands from urban development and sprawl.
The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation began in June 2005 as an independent, charitable foundation with a mandate to promote and sustain Ontario’s Greenbelt. In these days of eating seasonally and local, they are devoted to assisting farmers’ markets and have committed almost $1 million to promoting the cause. The latest venture was launched yesterday at Nathan Phillips Square with a “greenbelt” lunch being served to Toronto city councillors while greenbelt apples and other brown bag goodies were handed out to onlookers. The celebration was for the launch of Greenbeltfresh.ca, a website that makes finding your nearest farmers’ market easy by simply entering your postal code. The site also offers information on the greenbelt, seasonal growing charts, event calendars and lots of other interesting info. It is a great resource for those of us who look to buy locally but don’t always find the produce accessible.
I live close to Dufferin Grove park and love going to the farmers market there because they have built a wood burning mud oven where they make slices of pizza and bake bread for sale. Do you have a favourite market in the greenbelt or elsewhere?
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