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About Guelph Wellington Local Food

Guelph Wellington Local Food is an initiative of the Guelph Community Health Centre

Guelph Community Health Centre (CHC) recognizes that a regional food system that supports sustainable production and broad access to healthy food for its population is a significant determinant of health.

A regional food system is important for personal health and wellbeing, economic development for the region and contributes to a healthy community and environment. The Guelph CHC addresses many different aspects of health through community engagement, clinical care and community programs.

The Guelph-Wellington Local Food Initiative (GWLFI) mandate is to promote the procurement of local food by citizens and businesses. Guelph Wellington Local Food provides leadership through networking and promotion of our local food producers since 2005.  

The initiative and scope of our various projects continues to grow and expand to meet the needs of both local food producers and consumers in the region for enhanced capacity for local food. The initiative as a whole has evolved into a very successful and well established campaign to increase the appetite for local food as well as provide support that enables local food businesses and partnerships to grow.  

Our Vision

Citizens and Industry in Guelph and the County of Wellington actively procure local food that is readily available and accessible.

 

Our Mission

To promote the procurement of local food by consumers and industry in order to preserve and enhance sustainable agricultural diversity in Guelph and County of Wellington.

 

Staff 

       Kate Vsetula
       Project Coordinator

Kate is one of the founding members of Guelph Wellington Local Food and has helped to grow the initiative from a small project that produced the first ever Wellington County Buy Local! Buy Fresh! Map for the community in 2005 to what it is today.  A graduate from the University of Guelph with her roots in southern Ontario farming country and a resident of Guelph for the last 25 years, she brings to her position a wealth of experience and knowledge.

 She is a networker and collaborator and is well known in the community for her work in bringing local food to the forefront. She brings passion to rebuilding the local food system and enjoys working with the many different partners and stakeholders to make more connections from field to plate in Guelph and Wellington County.  Kate has always enjoyed growing and eating good food. 

These days she grows food on her urban plot that is filled with fruits, vegetables and backyard chickens with her husband and two kids.  Kate's also known as the banjo picking mama of The Funky Mamas. 

Guelph Wellington Local Food's Advisory Committee

 

       The advisory committee   represents a broad range of stakeholders from the local food system including producers, food service industry, retailers, distributors and community members.  Guelph Wellington Local Food appreciate the energy and committment that the advisory committee brings to the initiative.  

 

Stacey Dunnigan

Stacey Dunnigan is the Program & Partnership Coordinator for the City of Guelph, Economic Development & Tourism division. With her focused education and work experience in Ecotourism and Community Development, Stacey loves to be a tourist in her own backyard and make new discoveries. 

With a knack for marketing, project development and implementation, Stacey likes to seek opportunities for partnerships that strengthen the local business community and provide rich, authentic experiences for visitors to Guelph and Wellington County. She believes that the strong local food movement in the region is a natural pairing to traditional tourism offerings that people experience when they visit.

Stacey and her husband call Guelph home, and are enjoying life as first-time parents.

 

Janet Harrop

Janet Harrop is a Director with the Wellington Federation of Agriculture and the co-owner of a Dairy Farm between Fergus and Arthur. Marrying her career as a Registered Nurse with her agriculture business, Janet has a passion for safe, local food and the policies and infrastructure to support access and supply of local food.

Janet has been involved in many organizations and currently is the agricultural representative with the Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce and the Centre Wellington Environmental Committee. As an owner/operator certified in Nutrient Management and the Chief Financial Officer Janet has a good understanding how fragile margins are in agriculture are and the cost of business.

Janet lives with her husband and 2 children, and spends her spare time at her off farm job allowing her husband to continue to farm full-time.

 

Allison Mitchell

Allison Mitchell trained and worked as a Chef under Jamie Kennedy in Toronto in the 90’s. It was during this time that her interest in local and sustainable food was ignited. Since then, her passion around food issues has grown steadily.

Despite growing up in Scarborough and having no exposure to farming, she was drawn to learn more about farming and decided to spend two summers interning on Biodynamic farms near Wellington County. This was how she discovered Guelph’s many charms, including it’s proximity to numerous farms.

In 2004, she moved to Guelph and in 2007, purchased the Bookshelf Café with her partner, and transformed it into Artisanale, a French Bistro featuring sustainable products sourced from local farms.

She no longer manages or co-owns the restaurant and is currently planning her next food venture in Guelph, where she still lives with her daughter. She is delighted to sit on the Guelph-Wellington Local Food Advisory Committee as part of her food activism volunteer work.

 

Caroline Pilon

Caroline has worked in the food service industry since adolescence. Her experience is varied and includes working in hotels, fine dining establishments, and serving tables in the busy Old Port in Montreal.

She has completed an honours B.A. in Anthropology at McGill University and has long been fascinated by communities and people's relationship to food. She met her husband and partner in Taiwan, and since then has started up Meals that Heal with Joshua in 2005, the year her first child was born. Before the birth of her second child, she assisted in opening and managing a busy hand crafted foods store in downtown Guelph that focuses mainly on Canadian artisanale cheeses.

She is currently on maternity leave yet remains actively involved in Meals that Heal and sits on the Guelph-Wellington Local Food Advisory Committee. Through Meals that Heal, Caroline has been able to commit herself to the things she is most passionate about: people and food.

 

Deborah Simmonds

Deborah and her husband Don started ostrich farming 14 years ago and have never looked back. Deborah previously owned a trucking brokerage company and has a Marketing Consultant company now.

Her passion is in Agri-tourism and the White Rock Ostrich Farm is all about promoting locally grown healthy meats. Her farm sells ostrich, bison, wild boar, partridge and elk- all from local farmers.

Deborah resides in Rockwood, at the farm, with her husband Don and Katie Doodles, her beautiful Newfoundland who greets all visitors with a friendly tail wag.

 

Laurie Malleau 
Sarah Megens
Pearl Milne
Glenn Valliere
Joy Walker