When it comes to stocking the fridge, plenty of us don’t venture far beyond Aunt Jemima and Ronald McDonald. It’s not so much that we don’t want to support the local food industry – it’s more that we don’t know where to begin.
Attempting to rectify this situation, the St. Jacobs-based Foodlink is returning with the 12th annual edition of the “Buy Local, Buy Fresh” map, which offers food consumers an annotated guide to local farmers and their wares. The map will be launched today (Saturday) at the Kitchener Market (300 King St. E.), as part of Food Revolution Day.
![Foodlink manager Anna Contini displays more than a decade's worth of local food maps.[will sloan / the observer]](https://www.observerxtra.com/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/news-foodlink.jpg)
“We do time it to be ready for the first crop of the season, being asparagus and rhubarb,” explained Anna Contini, manager of Foodlink. “I guess technically you could say maple syrup is the first crop of the season, but in terms of things growing in the ground, we generally like it to be ready by early- to mid-May.”
The first “Buy Local, Buy Fresh” map was launched in 2002, and in its first two installments was a project of Region of Waterloo Public Health. In 2004, it became a joint project between Waterloo and Foodlink, and over the years has seen its listings grow from 20 farms to about 70.
Over that time, the “Buy Local, Buy Fresh” brand has gained traction, as other communities in southern Ontario have licensed it from their own local food guides.
Included in the new Foodlink guide are many independent farmers from Woolwich and Wellesley, whose means of promotion can otherwise be minimal. Said Contini, “Particularly in the Old Order Mennonite community, this will be their sole advertising that they will do. They do one piece, and this will often be it. I think they recognize the value of being a part of something bigger – it’s a way of connecting them to the consumers.”
As always, each new guide brings some newly-established farmers to light, and hints at trends in the industry (a rise in Asian greens like edamame, as it turns out). Mostly, it is used as a resource to carry around in the car. “In the technological age, you would think there wouldn’t be so much demand for a paper map, but there is,” said Contini.
“The thing I always like to emphasize about our map is, it is a year-round guide, not just a seasonal summer-and-harvest guide. We do have the meats, the cheeses, and the preserves, as well as frozen products, whether meat or produce, offered year-round.”
The Kitchener Market is open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
