Six years after challenging the community to form ideas for developing and maintaining a sustainable food system in the Highlands non-profit group, Harvest Haliburton, is preparing to provide some answers and possible solutions this week.
The volunteer organization is hosting a food forum at Pinestone Resort Nov. 7, gathering a collection of County-based growers, experts from the food industry, service agencies and tourism operators together to talk about methods that have worked within our borders and beyond.
Barrie Martin, Harvest Haliburton’s co-chair, said this is a follow-up to a 2019 event and provides “an opportunity to bring everyone up to speed on food issues and to learn from contrasting viewpoints.”
Dr. Sara Epp, a professor at the University of Guelph, will serve as the keynote speaker. Jean Tyler, a longtime County farmer and coordinator of the forum, said Epp’s talk will unpack all aspects of agricultural sustainability in rural communities like Haliburton County.
Following Epp will be an hour-long talk on growing and homesteading, featuring Haliburton Farmers’ Association president Minna Schleifenbaum, Katie Metauro of Waverly Brook Farm and Godfrey Tyler from Rising Sun Gardens.
The afternoon will feature a discussion with local sellers, with vendors from the Haliburton County Farmers Market joining Abbey Gardens executive director Angela Kruger, Haliburton Foodland owner Brad Park and Terri Mathews-Carl, owner of Rhubarb and Juna restaurants, on a locallythemed forum.
Attendees will also hear from those who help people suffering with food insecurity daily – Gena Robertson from SIRCH Community Services, Tina Jackson from Central Food Network, Brian Nash from the Rotary Harvest Program and Nell Thomas from the Food Alliance for Haliburton County.
Tyler said she hopes the event will help to spark fresh conversations about food sustainability.
“The intent of the first one we did was to keep going, but COVID really knocked the wind out of our sails. We do need to regroup, to be the organization that gives answers and offers hope to people,” Tyler said. “We need to rethink what we’re doing as a community. How can we support one another to improve food security and local food production.”
Tyler said she and her husband have been growing food for 31 years and boast forestry, maple syrup, vegetable and beef operations at their farm in Haliburton. She said being a farmer is a lifestyle choice – and one she’s eager to imprint on the next generation.
“Succession planning is very important – it’s not easy to farm, there’s a lot of techniques that we know that, if young people are willing to come out and be on the farm with us, they can learn about,” she said.
While there was a surge in people establishing homesteads throughout the County during the pandemic and the years that followed, Tyler said those operations are usually single-minded – growing enough to sustain their own household, rather than growing food for the wider community.
Years ago, the Tylers were big believers in community-supported agriculture (CSA). They ran a shared vegetable garden on their farm from 1994 to 2015, offering up to 70 different crops to subscribers, who paid for what they took away. “The model is possible, but it’s difficult work,” she said.
They still offer plots on their land to people who want to grow their own food, though numbers have been fleeting. She believes the path to success for those looking to start out, no matter the size or scope of the operation, is talking to those already in the industry.
The forum is free to attend, with people being asked to register online at harvesthaliburton.com.
