Unique Campaign Brings Together Consumers and Retailers of Locally-Grown Ethnic Food

October 1st, 2007 

Toronto: Today, the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) launched Toronto's first-ever "Greenbelt Food from Home” campaign to help Torontonians find ethnic foods grown in the Greenbelt- the green space surrounding the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

“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."

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