Ontario Grain Farmer December 2023 / January 2024

Good in Every Grain

FARM AND FOOD CARE ONTARIO CULINARY STUDENT TOURS

the right direction. Post-tour, 70.6 per cent of students felt it was moving in the right direction.

This fall, Good in Every Grain partnered with Farm and Food Care Ontario (FFCO) to bring culinary students to farms to see firsthand how Ontario farmers grow, care for, and produce healthy, high-quality food. Forty-five students and instructors from the culinary program at Centennial College in Scarborough toured three farms in late September. Tour stops included Eisses Farm Fresh Eggs, Smith Gardens, and Kell Farms. Steve Kell of Kell Farms welcomed students to his fourth-generation family farm, where they grow 7,500 acres of grains in Simcoe County. Farm and Food Care Ontario collected survey data on the students’ perceptions of farming, farming practices, and their impression of agriculture pre- and post-tour. In the post-tour survey, students overwhelmingly had positive feedback. Pre tour, 57.1 per cent of the tour participants felt the food system was moving in the right direction. Post-tour, this jumped to 97 per cent. In October, 25 students from the culinary program at Georgian College in Barrie toured three farms. Students were also able to join Steve Kell of Kell Farms for this tour, as well as stopping at Sheldon Creek Dairy and Barrie Hill Farms in Springwater, Ontario. Students from Georgian were also asked for their feedback on the tours. Similarly, in the pre-tour survey, only 47.1 per cent of students felt the food system was moving in

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? WHY IS THIS A KEY PARTNERSHIP FOR GOOD IN EVERY GRAIN? Farm and Food Care Ontario is a registered Canadian charity that brings together farmers, agricultural professionals, related businesses, government organizations, and other groups working together with a mandate to provide credible information, expertise and communications coordination. This, in turn, helps to build trust in Ontario food and farming. FFCO and our partners build an understanding of, and appreciation for, Ontario agriculture through multi-faceted resources, activations, campaigns, and events. Annually, FFCO partners with commodity groups and local farmers to highlight Ontario agriculture by bringing culinary students to farms. This year, Good in Every Grain highlighted grain farming to the students from Centennial and Georgian College in September and October, where Steve Kell of Kell Farms explained how farmers harvest grains, the equipment used during harvest, and how his elevator operates.

This allowed Good in Every Grain to connect directly with Ontario consumers and those interested in the food system.

www.GoodinEveryGrain.ca

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