Food with a face

Heather Ogilvie
Staff writer

Although Jarrod Gunn-McQuillan and Eric Busch were not born and raised in the Rainy River District, they see strong agricultural opportunities here, especially in creating sustainable food systems.
Gunn-McQuillan, a dietitian with the Northwestern Health Unit, and Busch, an agricultural intern, were the guest speakers at the annual Rainy River Federation of Agriculture (RRFA) Spring Dinner at the Emo Legion on Saturday–and are both sincerely interested in this idea.
“There are really beautiful lakes here. It’s a pristine environment,” noted Busch. “It’s very different than anywhere else and I see great opportunities here.”
Gunn-McQuillan indicated the district is distinguished and unique and has a sense of connectiveness with many organizations and industries.
“What a vibrant rural community,” he stressed. “The numerous organizations play a key role in the future.”
They noted ‘food localism’ is one way the district can work toward a sustainable food system.
“Food localism aims at creating direct links between farmers and consumers,” Gunn-McQuillan explained, citing there are three ways to institute this: marketing food to local/regional markets, creating a brand, and increasing accessibility.
Busch added it is important to think about questions concerning the consumer, such as: What affects their buying decisions? Do attitudes and preferences change toward food? Where are the attitudes headed?
“I think they are changing right now,” he noted. “And these questions are difficult to answer, but they are important.”
He feels a lot of consumers are uneducated about where their food comes from.
“There is a lack of communication and they don’t know whether the food is safe,” Busch indicated. “This is ‘not-knowing’ and maybe they’re scared.”
Gunn-McQuillan explained it is the packers and retailers who control the flow of information.
“It comes down to the basic way–direct marketing,” he stressed. “Eliminate the middle men.”
This can be done through farmers markets, farm gate sales, and agri-tourism.
“It’s food with a face–a comforting feeling you don’t get at the grocery store,” he added.
Busch and Gunn-McQuillan noted there is a food council, strategic planning, research, and projects in the works to get food localism off the ground.
“We want to close the gap between urban and rural communities,” Busch said and encouraged everyone to get involved.
“Take time to step back and look at the Rainy River District, join the municipal council and other organizations, develop relationships and partnerships and ask questions–questions spur debate, which spurs learning.”
Abattoir update
Also at the dinner, Bill Darby, secretary of the Rainy River Regional Abattoir, gave an update on the progress of the project.
“[The board has] been meeting every two weeks,” he explained, adding they may have to bump it up to every week. “There’s a lot of work ahead of us.”
To date they have 95 pledges, with $48,000 in membership fees and $20,000 in loans (not yet collected).
“Our goal is to raise $600,000 so we still have a long way to go,” he noted.
Darby indicated the board has started the process of incorporating and has established a bank account.
“We’re planning to tour two abattoirs in Manitoba on May 9th,” he said. “And we’ve started to develop our goals and objectives.”
He mentioned those who have not paid their $500 membership should do so soon because as of May 15 there will be a change in voting eligibility–only those who have paid will be able to vote.
“We are working well together,” Darby stressed. “More people should come on board. This is the last chance. We need it to sustain farms and the agriculture community.”
Bill Gibson Award
The Bill Gibson award was also presented at the annual dinner.
Kim Jo Bliss announced Ken Fisher as the winner, referring to him as “very unique” and as someone who “shows his true colours and feelings.”