Hi, I’m Heather Kelly, Marketing coordinator for UW Food Services. So..you’re thinking of coming to our campus to get the best education in Canada and for many other reasons as well..well I’m here to give you the number one reason! ….it’s because University of Waterloo gets Fresh
That’s right…during growing season, we bring local, fresh fruits and veggies to campus for our students staff and faculty to enjoy.
The university of waterloo is located close to some of the richest agricultural farmland in south western Ontario and a large part of our farming history has been shaped by the local Mennonite community. Lovely people who value simplicity, working hard and living off the land.
Let’s face it…eating sustainable locally produced food is the best choice.. It helps to keep money in our farmers pockets, it reduces our carbon footprint …and did I mention the taste! There's nothing to compare to the taste of fresh
Rich moist browniesCinnamon scented sticky rolls, luscious fruit pies…mmmmmm are you getting hungry? Are you wondering how you can get a piece of that pie?
Come to the university of waterloo where we have a farm market right on campus…! We've been running this market for the last 4 years. Food Services teamed up with student volunteers to make this farm to school initiative a reality…Food services does the buying and short distance hauling and the student volunteers do the rest.but you might wonder, Why is buying local a big deal anyway? Well, these statistics speak for themselves…
between 2001 to 2006, vegetable production on farms across canada dropped by 6.5%
And it fell a whopping 8.6% in Ontario…but
But here , in the region of Waterloo, it grew a staggering 129%
…this is a healthy trend that we are proud to support ….and because we are leaders in education, we hope to set the bar for the rest of our country! that’s why we buy vegetables from our neighbours….but where exactly do we get this local food?
From the Elmira Produce Auction Cooperative located just north of our campus . During the growing season, farmers from a 75km radius bring freshly picked fruits veggies and flowers to this warehouse to be auctioned off to the highest bidder…this way, most of the money goes directly into the farmers hands
We've also connected with local food producers to purchase jams, jellies and preserves. Nancy Gingrich a local miennonite woman started canning food from her bountiful garden several years ago and this small kitchen business has grown tremendously. she now employs several local mennonitee women and produces hundreds of jars of preserves
then there’s dougs honey…Doug is a local botanist and beekeeper who is passionate about the environment and he also makes some of the best tasting honey around. He is happy to partner with the universtiy of waterloo to supply us with honey.
And what would a market be without a bake table? We’re lucky to have one of the few remaining bakeries left at any canadian university and it supplies our market…our bakers whip us tons of whole grain breads and those famous brownies too…you can’t get any more local than a bakery right on campus!
So that’s the story of where we get our food…the next step is to set up our market! As Farm market coordinator, i’m always looking for committed, dedicated, student volunteers who value food localism..without these amazing volunteers', we couldn’t run our market..they provide most of the labour and help with all the decisions and because…they wanted the market to be accessible to as many students as possible we set up in the student life centre, which is the hub of our campus
and this not for profit initiative sells at prices that are very affordable – so not only is it good for our local economy, it’s good for our student’s budgets as well
– it lessens our carbon footprint by reducing the number of trucks on campus and the number of miles that food travels to get into your grocery bag..or bike carrier. Keeping it local makes everyone feel good…
Just like it feels good to be connected to our larger community – buying local food connects us to our farmers and gives the university of waterloo a presence within our region..it feels good to connect through food.
And on campus, our students are connecting through food as well..by coming to the market and through volunteering. I’ve heard many stories from students who have developed friendships here that have lasted long past our seasonal harvest…
And have I mentioned how good everything tastes? And smells? And looks? It’s hard to believe that our little campus market can be so good to our local economy, our students pocketbooks, our environment, our sense of community and be so yummy at the same time! This is truly a feel good initiative…and it should help you to rank uwaterloo #1
So come to the university of waterloo…not only for the best education in Canada or to be among the worlds best and brightest learners..come because we go local, we connect with our community and The university of waterloo gets fresh! Thank you.
