Unique Campaign Brings Together Consumers and Retailers of Locally-Grown Ethnic Food
October 1st, 2007
“Everyone deserves access to fresh food and the freshest comes from local farms. Many Chinese vegetables can be grown by local farmers,” said Karen
Sun, Executive Director of Chinese Canadian National Council. “This is
an opportunity to work with local retailers and local farmers to
connect them to new foods and new markets. This means a fresher,
tastier and larger variety of food can be available to all of us”.
“We are launching our campaign by asking Torontonians from the Chinese
and South Asian communities to contact us with the names of retailers who sell
locally-grown ‘food from home.’” said Asumani Serugendo, project coordinator
for TEA. “This information will be compiled in a new guide that will help
consumers, in particular newcomers, find fresh, locally-grown produce that is
part of their cultural diet.”
“People in the South Asian communities would love to have the
chance to buy locally grown fresh food that tastes like food from back
home,” said Andalee Adamali, Program Manager at the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians. “We
know there are farmers and retailers who sell this locally-grown fresh
food. This initiative will give them the opportunity to let everyone
know.”
The guides, the first of their kind to be released in a few
months, will help farmers and retailers advertise their fresh local
produce to Toronto's Chinese and South Asian communities. They will
list the addresses of markets and retailers selling Greenbelt-grown
produce that meet the needs of Chinese and South Asian community
members.
“Buying locally-grown food is healthier, better for the environment, and
helps our farming neighbours,” said Serugendo. “Our goal is to help consumers
get access to this tastier food, grown by local farmers in one of the
best agricultural regions in the world, instead of having to buy food
brought in from far-away."
at: [email protected]torontoenvironment.org.
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