Feeding Ourselves – event date April 6th – hosted by the Rideau Lakes Horticultural Society at Portland Community Hall (in person & zoom)

How do we grow, gather and prepare food in Rideau Lakes? Where do we buy our food, and where does our food come from? What barriers do we face in accessing healthy food, and how do we connect food with wellness? These questions are at the heart of an event called Feeding Ourselves being hosted by the Rideau Lakes Horticultural Society on April 6th.

Most of the crops produced in this area do not feed our local population, and we rely almost entirely on food transported here from elsewhere – a situation that is common in our global marketplace. With the compounding threats of climate change, supply chain issues,
inflation, and Covid-19, what can we do to increase food resilience in Rideau Lakes? Feeding Ourselves is intended to open a conversation among growers, sellers, and eaters to understand and share knowledge and take steps to meet food and farming needs in the community.

The event will feature a panel discussion amongst three well-known local foodies. Wendy Banks is a 6th generation farmer and the owner of Wendy’s Country Market in Lyndhurst. Her mission is to connect local farmers and producers with consumers to ensure a secure food system and sustain our local communities.

Ramsey Hart is the Executive Director of The Table Community Food Centre in Perth. The Table works to improve access to healthy food; improve food skills and food literacy; advocate for individual wellbeing; and educate, engage, and advocate for social policies to address food insecurity and poverty.

Neil Kudrinko is the owner of Kudrinko’s, a family-owned independent grocer in Westport serving the community since 1990. Neil is committed to bringing customers the finest, freshest quality food in a way that reduces his enterprise’s carbon footprint.

As a bonus, the event will kick off with a seed exchange, where you can bring your extra seeds to trade with others or to donate to the new seed exchange boxes located at all branches of the Rideau Lakes Public Library.

The event takes place on Wednesday, April 6th. The seed exchange starts at 6:00 p.m. and the discussion will go from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. This will be a hybrid event where you can attend in person at the Portland Community Hall at 24 Water Street, or by Zoom. Contact rideaulhs@gmail.com to RSVP for the Zoom session. This is a free event, and all are welcome to attend.

Blog Post provided by Rideau Lakes Horticultural Society.