Rural Routes Food Day Celebration Photos

Katrina Simmons, Hamilton Spectator "Eat Local" Columnist was the guest speaker.



Everyone was given a chance to buy some local food en route at the Plan B Organic Farm.



Free range chickens were running everywhere.



Litter-less lunch made by Bread and Roses Cafe, in compostable packaging was eaten at the Plan B Farm.

Three-month internships with Hamilton Eat Local are back!!!

Hamilton Eat Local is hiring two Three-month Interns, November 15 to February 15

YMCA YOUTH ECO INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
This position is being funded through the Youth Eco Internship Program (YEIP). This program places unemployed people aged 15 to 30 from diverse backgrounds into paid internship opportunities within the non-profit and community services sector in Canada with a focus on the environment. These positions, offered in a wide range of organizations, will help young Canadians learn the skills required to gain and sustain future employment within the sector.

This project is a collaboration between the YMCA and YWCA Canada, with funding provided by the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. The YEIP encourages applicants from visible minority, Aboriginal, immigrant, refugee and traditionally marginalized communities to apply, and is committed to providing employment supports wherever possible.

Applicants must be 15 to 30 years of age to qualify. Applicants must also be accepted by the YEIP once the hiring decision has been made. Only those selected for an interview by the project manager will be contacted regarding their application, with interviews taking place at the office of Environment Hamilton.

The two 3-month interns would visit selected breakfast, early morning meal and snack programs that are part of Hamilton Partners In Nutrition (HPIN’s) group of 120 child and youth nutrition programs. After a period of orientation and training, the two interns will be demonstrate easy smoothie-making techniques and serve samples to the predominantly elementary school-aged youths who participate in these programs.

Interns will also:

• Act as support staff to take part in Hamilton Eat Local’s public events
• Help with presentations, such as film screenings of food related films across the city
• Offer presentations to interested stakeholders, supporting our work with HPIN and other initiatives
• Collaborate on writing a smoothie handbook for city-wide distribution
• Other tasks in support of Hamilton Eat Local’s new “Operation Smoothie”
• Interns will report to the Project Manager and will also need to submit progress reports to the YEIP on a regular basis

For more information about Hamilton Eat Local please visit:

http://environmenthamilton.org/view/page/eat_local

Applicants are asked to submit resumes only (2 pages maximum) to the Project Manager:

kburson.eatlocal@environmenthamilton.org

Resumes must be received by Friday November 5, 2010 to be eligible. Queries should be sent only to the above e-mail address. Please do not call the Project Manager or the Environment Hamilton office about this job posting.

IMPORTANT NOTE: the availability of these internships is entirely contingent on the successful raising of funds for the operating costs of Operation Smoothie. Successful candidates would be notified on or before Friday November 12, 2010.

Rural Routes World Food Day Celebration

This Saturday, October 16, Rural Routes has planned a day of exciting local food activities to mark the World Food Organization’s annual World Food Day (this year’s annual theme is “United Against Hunger”). The event starts at the Bread & Roses Cafe/Sky Dragon Centre with an Organic Fair Trade Coffee Roasting Demonstration at 10 am, before being taken away on a bus at 11 am, from outside Sky Dragon Center (location here). The first stop on the bus will be the Plan B Organic Farm, where “Eat Local” columnist for the Hamilton Spectator Katrina Simmons will give a presentation. This will be followed by a couple activities around the farm. After Plan B, the route will continue to Lindley’s Farm and Market. Here you will get and opportunity to visit the corn maze for free, or just walk around participating in other activities (some might have additional costs) and do some shopping at the store. The bus will return to the Bread & Roses Cafe around 4pm. The trip will include a light lunch.

Tickets can be purchased at the Bread & Roses Café for $10 each, or $8 for seniors and $5 for children (Cash Only). The bus will be going in rain or shine, so dress appropriately and remember to bring your own shopping bag (s).

100-mile Thanksgiving Dinner

There does not seem to be anything that is more in the thanksgiving spirit than having a locally sourced feast. For the second year in a row, McMaster’s Outdoor Club held the 100 Mile Thanksgiving Dinner at the Red Door Church. Hannah Webb and other members of the Outdoor Club put together a massive meal that consisted of: five locally raised turkeys, home made gravy and stuffing, potatoes, beets, carrots, green beans, cranberry sauce all finished with some delicious apple crumble. While Plan B Organic Farms helped source some delicious vegetables, the seasonings were surprisingly subdued. However, even with no pepper, citrus or vinegar, the dinner was delicious and creative.



Based so close to the university campus, most of the hungry participants were McMaster students and faculty, which led to some new friendships and interesting discussion about all areas around food. Before the dinner started a short guest presentation helped set the mood while everyone sat around with rumbling stomachs. Once the food came out, there was a horde surrounding the table trying to quickly grab as much food as possible. As the time progressed, people would continue to return for seconds, thirds and even fourths. There was so much food that everyone was waddling home, looking fully satisfied and a little sleepy.

The "100 mile" concept describes a lifestyle of eating and purchasing food that has only been raised, grown and processed within 100 miles. The term "100-Mile Diet" started with a couple, who were journalists in Vancouver. They decided to spend a year eating only food that was grown, harvested and processed within 100 miles of where they live. They were fed up with the idea that most food travels between 1500-2500 miles, and as such the book, The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating was created. During the year they wrote about the experience, interactions with friends and their own state of mind. It has become a cult novel in Canada and among international foodies, with a big following and people hosting events like this 100 Mile Thanksgiving Dinner.