This week on Food For Thought a visit to a Culinary Tourism Conference yielded some interesting info on companies and individuals trying to make it easier for consumers, chefs and other food service operators to get access to local produce and value-added products.
You can listen to the 6 minute documentary by clicking here. At the end of the documentary I mentioned that now is the time of year to start contacting farmers or co-ops that offer Community Supported Agricultural programs, or CSAs. Most of these programs match you up with a farmer who will deliver a box of goods from their gardens throughout their growing season. For some general information about how CSAs work, you can visit this USDA website.
After the column aired today, I heard about one such program from a listener in Chase, BC. It’s called the Heartland Foods and Farm Tours Cooperative. There is also one at the UBC Farm. In the Kootenays, click here. For a listing of some Ontario programs click here. You can find some biodynamic CSA programs across Canada at this site.
Don’t forget farmers markets. Some run year round, others will start in the spring. Go to this Google Search page and you’ll find lots of references to farmers markets across Canada.
