Building a Sustainable Food Community

Lanark Local Flavour works to link local farmers to local eaters, expand capacity and access to sustainably produced food, inform the public about food issues, and to celebrate the people who grow our food.
This site will help you find growers and buyers of local food, including Farmers' Markets, Farm Gate sales, CSAs, as well as restaurants, bakeries, and retailers who make the effort to source local food. So browse and enjoy!
If your are a grower wanting to connect with potential customers, a business interested in purchasing local food, or a Lanark Local Flavour fan interested in hearing about seasonal food and upcoming events click here to become a member.

EcoPerth/Lanark Local Flavour and the Perth and District Food Bank

In response to questions from members of our community, EcoPerth would like to offer some clarification about its relationship with the Community Food Centre project of the Perth and District Food Bank.
In the Spring of 2010 EcoPerth approached the Perth Food Bank with a suggestion to collaborate on bringing together the local food community and the activities of the Food Bank. Out of this was born the idea to create a food centre in Perth that would among other things, engage with local farmers and producers, create gardens and a root cellar, establish a farmers market gift certificate/coupon system, and have a commercial kitchen open to growers to create value added products. In pursuing this idea, EcoPerth brought to the Food Bank leverage and start-up funds totaling over $25K, an interested network of local growers, and eventually an invitation from the STOP in Toronto to consider Perth as a demonstration community food centre. EcoPerth and the Food Bank collaborated on preparing the proposals, lobbying the decision makers and securing the project. After the demonstration grant was received, the Food Bank decided against a partnership with EcoPerth, and with the STOP funds developed what is now known as the Table Community Food Centre.
While we applaud the Table's efforts to develop a community garden, hold community meals, and teach kitchen skills, we feel that this narrower focus misses the opportunity to develop a true food hub that would benefit both the rural and urban members of our community. For the past fourteen years EcoPerth has been a leader in developing our local food community network. Lately it has been assisting the Table Community Food Centre with their community garden and with local food procurement. It is our hope that over time the Food Bank, in conjunction with ecoPerth and the local food community, can become true partners in helping to create a just and sustainable food system for our area.