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.  

Project Staff and Coordinating Committee

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. 

Sarah Megens
Broad Public Sector Local Food Coordinator

Sarah completed her Master’s degree in rural planning and development and holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in international development and political science, both from the University of Guelph, and a post-graduate diploma in public relations from Mohawk College.  In addition to her expertise in public relations and communications, Sarah has an extensive background in agriculture and local food issues, having been born and raised on a medium sized diversified farm in Perth County, in addition to spending two years managing a local food project in Hamilton, Ontario before returning to Guelph for her Master’s degree. 

Sarah has over eight years of experience working with not-for-profit and non-governmental organizations with positions ranging from executive committee member, project manager, fund development officer and communications officer, as well as a host of voluntary positions in Guelph and Hamilton.  In 2010, Sarah was awarded the Nuffield Canada Farming Scholarship to study the relationship between local food systems and farmland preservation regimes around the world.  Sarah has enjoyed success in her public relations and communications career, and is an accomplished grant writer and fundraiser.  She has also earned appointments on two official sub-committees for Hamilton City Council—the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Advisory Committee and the Hamilton Community Food Security Committee, and was a co-founding member of Slow Food Hamilton.

Christina Mann
Event and Communications Assistant

Christina joined Guelph Wellington Local Food in early 2010 and has been part of the Organizing Committee for all Local Food events since.

Growing up in rural Southern Germany provided Christina with a strong appreciation for good, locally produced food grown in a sustainable manner. She shares her family's passion for growing food, cooking and preserving the seasonal bounty.

After graduating from Hotel and Hospitality Management, Christina lived and worked in Germany, Spain and the UK. She brings with her extensive experience working in the Food Industry and Event Management.

Christina lives in Guelph with her husband and two kids and is passionate about making Local Food available for everyone.

Allison Mitchell
Public Sector Project Assistant

Allison Mitchell is delighted to be part of Guelph-Wellington’s Broader Public Sector project.  In addition to her passion for good food, taste education, sustainability and food accessibility, she brings with her 19 years of experience working in various capacities within the food industry.

Allison’s food career began at cooking school in Toronto at George Brown College and as an apprentice under Chef Jamie Kennedy.  After several successful years working as a chef in Toronto, Allison wanted to explore other aspects of the food industry, and decided to spend two seasons interning on organic farms – at the Saugeen River CSA in Durham, and then at Greenfield’s Farm in Campbellville. 

In 2004, she moved to Guelph with her young family and in 2007, as co-owner/operator, Allison established Artisanale Cafe & Bistro, a restaurant in downtown Guelph, which is founded on a shared philosophy that ingredients should be locally and sustainably sourced.  Since leaving Artisanale, Allison has devoted innumerable hours volunteering her time and expertise with Guelph-Wellington Local Food, the Guelph-Wellington Food Round Table and organizing a new, mid-week, authentic farmers’ market, the Victory Farmers’ Market at Victory Public School, in downtown Guelph. www.victoryfarmersmarket.ca

Allison is also currently the Garden Fresh Box Coordinator at the Guelph Community Health Centre, she teaches occasional cooking classes for Continuing Education at Conestoga College and she is the very proud mother of her daughter, Grace.

Kathryn O'Brien
Public Sector Project Assistant

Kathryn vividly remembers being dragged around the local farmers market in Toronto every week growing up.  Well something must have stuck because now she happily drags her family around the Guelph Farmers Market every Saturday morning!

Kathryn’s passion for local seasonal food was planted at home but grown during her time living in Seattle WA where she completed her Masters of Science in Nutrition at Bastyr University.  The program was passionate about food from its whole foods seasonal cafeteria to the many cooking classes offered as part of the masters level curriculum. 

One of the many hats Kathryn has worn over the years is that of the Executive Assistant at Guelph CHC.  The skills honed in this role including branding,  promotion and all things techy combined with the excitement to be back working in the food world result in one happy project assistant!In her spare time she is starting a community kitchen in the South End of Guelph and reacquainting herself with another passion sports nutrition.

The Guelph Wellington Local Food - taste • real Coordinating Committee

Bob Desautels, Neighbourhood Group  
Katie Normet, Rivers Edge Goat Dairy  
Arwa De Groot, Mapleton’s Organic Dairy  
Amy Strom, Stroms Farm  
Steph Toohill, Sante  
Terri Manolis, Enver's of Morriston  
Brendan Johnson, Everdale Organic Farm & Learning Centre  
Ingrid von Cube, Appetizingly Yours Events & Catering  
Alan Boivin, Delta Hotel Guelph 
Mark Kenny, University of Guelph, Hospitality Services 
Chris White, Chair, Econ. Dev. Committee, Guelph Eramosa  
Sue Trerise, Tourism, Economic Development, City of Guelph  
Dave Rushton, Economic Development, Centre Wellington  
Dale Small, Economic Development, Wellington North  
Belinda Wick-Graham, Business & Economic Manager, Minto 
Jana Riechert, Wellington Waterloo Community Futures 
Gerry Horst, OMAFRA