Black Creek Pioneer Village - a green venue?

Black Creek Pioneer Village

It's worthwhile asking a "Green" venue what concrete (sic) factors make them an ecological choice.
For instance, here's a checklist from Black Creek Pioneer Village: 'Toronto's Original Green Event Venue'

At Black Creek Pioneer Village, being "green" means going back to our past. In 1860's Toronto, being green wasn't a movement; it was a way of life. Almost everything consumed was locally made or produced. Taking our cue from this bygone era and using some common day ingenuity, we have taken the following steps to help reduce our footprint.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
* The goal is to have ZERO landfill refuse at the end of the event.
* Any left over food is composted.
* We only purchase compostable napkins, plates, cutlery and cups.
* All glass, cans, plastic containers and cardboard products are recycled.

Local Food, Wine and Beer
* We support local farms by purchasing vegetables and meats. Our goal to locally source 60% of all of the food used
* We operate an historic brewery on-site and sell locally produced craft beer and promote local craft brewers.
* We host a events that highlight and promote local food and beverage producers, including Brews Fest
* We promote seasonal menus that feature Ontario produce.

Products
* Only tap water is used at events.
* All paper products are chlorine-free, made from 100% recycled material; we use hand cloth towels throughout our kitchen.
* All coffee is fair trade.
* All dishwashing and cleaning products are toxic and chemical-free

Brickworks Culinary Wedding

An urban country wedding - thestar.com
[WE had been wondering  about  weddings at the Brickworks, as it's just down the hill from our house.. and lo, it's beginning.....]

".... Streiman, 30, and Epstein, 31, love food. There really is no overstating that. And so, their wedding is about fresh, local food, country living, family, and the Jewish faith, perfectly packaged together in an old industrial building at the Evergreen Brick Works, along the Don Valley.

Birds chirp and bees buzz at the old brickyard, which has been turned into a community environment centre but still has faded bricks and shattered windows. Fruits trees and tomato plants are tagged for sale nearby...(Guests) mingle over bread, cured beef and duck, sheep’s milk cheeses and fruit laid out on tables covered in burlap sacks. They sip beer and water out of mason jars that will later be used for canning... Last December, the couple bought a 40-hectare farm in Maple Valley, not far from renowned chef Michael Stadtlander’s Eigensinn Farm and the town of Creemore. They plan to open a bed and breakfast called Mad Maple Farm, with comfortable suites, farm-to-table brunches, cooking classes and foraging expeditions. Their urban wedding is the beginning of their foray into the country. Roughly 20 chefs are preparing an incredible meal at five stations set up in plain view of the guests.

These are rising stars in Toronto’s restaurant industry, and close friends of Streiman’s, who knows where every ingredient in this feast has come from. The fish was caught the day before the wedding, by Akiwenzie’s Fish & More, a small First Nations fishing company in Georgian Bay. The rainbow carrots, beets, salad greens, fennel, eggs and duck came from a co-op of 20 farms called the Kawartha Ecological Growers, as did the 128 chickens, raised just for today.

The fruit is from Niagara and the water, the Niagara escarpment. The artisanal breads were made at St. John’s bakery, part of St. John’s mission in Toronto. The cheese is from Monforte Dairy in Stratford. The beer from the Steam Whistle brewery. The list could go on. Luis Valenzuela, chef at Torito in Kensington market, admits he pulled an all-nighter because the fresh lamb and baby chickens arrived just before the wedding.

Conscious Food Festival Toronto

Conscious Food Festival Toronto's Blog |
This celebration of local food and sustainability will be held Saturday August 14th and Sunday August 15th, 2010, at Fort York National Historic Site, Toronto.

The Conscious Food Festival is the first ever Canadian collaborative event to help promote the growing sustainable food movement while introducing thousands of people to food that is local, natural, healthy and delicious. The Conscious Food Festival brings city dwellers, rural neighbours and visitors to Fort York National Historic Site to experience a range of activities such as tastings, exhibits, seminars, debates and an urban farm, that will connect local restaurants, local farms and local food suppliers to your table.
One speaker is Jeff Crump, Author of “Earth to Table: Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm” as well as the Executive Chef at Ancaster Old Mill, Jeff is a Canadian Slow Food pioneer and an advocate of local, sustainable gastronomy. Jeff has developed his talents at a number of the world’s top restaurants: Lumeire in Vancouver, Chez Panisse in Berkeley California, and The Fat Duck in the UK.

Foodprint Offers Food for Civic Thought - cupcakes!

Foodprint Offers Food for Civic Thought - Torontoist

Interesting panel on the possibilities of changing urban food patterns ...

"you can trace the progress of gentrification in a city by mapping the spread of its cupcake shops."

Though looking at how cities work solely through their food may seem like an odd, overly specific approach, consider this: according to work done by a Rutgers University researcher, you can trace the progress of gentrification in a city by mapping the spread of its cupcake shops.
It was just that kind of unexpected insight on the relationship between what we eat and urban environments that characterized Foodprint Toronto, the second in an international series of conversations about food and the city. Organized by Nicola Twilley and Sarah Rich and held at the always-great Wychwood Barns, the day-long event was comprised of four panels, each of which gathered a variety of people, from policy makers and academics to writers and suppliers, to discuss how food shapes and influences our city.
What quickly became clear over the course of the day was that how to sustainably and responsibly feed Toronto over the coming years in the face of climate change, shifting market conditions, our diverse population, and sprawling suburbs will—to put it mildly—be a little complicated.

As an example, Barbara Emanuel, senior policy adviser at the City's Board of Health and part of Foodprint's first panel, spoke about how she tried to get the City to allocate 10% of its twenty million dollar food budget to local produce. Heading down to the Ontario Food Terminal, however, she discovered that in the face of the $300 million contracts between suppliers and distributor, her $2 million budget could do little to change where produce was sourced from....

Nonetheless, as anyone who has watched The Wire will tell you, cities are incredibly complex places, and although some in government fail to innovate, many others—including those at City Hall—are making things happen. Some of the best examples came from Darren O'Donnell, who has organized dinners between his arty "theatah" friends and recent arrivals to Canada, breaking down the barriers between groups using food. Similarly, Laurel Atkinson of Not Far From the Tree explained how her program gathers people to pick fruit on homeowners' land that would otherwise go to waste, usefully blurring the urban distinction between public and private—not to mention saving about nine thousand pounds of fruit last year.

Locavoring in New York - Blue Hill and Greenapple

I was sad to have to turn down at wedding at Blue Hill Farms (sniff!)- as an organic farmer married to a chef, it sounds like heaven. But if you're in New York this weekend, go to the Green Apple Festival, and Blue Hill will be there, as well as on a panel at the Museum of the City of New York on Tuesday panel with the greenmarket director.

Update: So happy to hear the Obamas dined at Blue Hill!

Locavore wine in Brooklyn?

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), aka Locavore you join - runs the social gamut from fancy weddings at the Plaza Hotel to supply-chains in poor communities. It's usually yer box of kale and vegetables, but SouthsideCSA in Williamsburg is adding "New York’s first ever Wine CSA in partnership with Bridge Vineyards, bringing you great bottles from local vineyards!". Next question, is it vegan?

Locavore water?

Sparkling water, that is:
Il Fornello, an Italian restaurant down the block from my house, seems to have discovered "locavore water":

"..they are going even further down the green path with their local water. Instead of only serving San Pelligrino spring water that is bottled in Italy and shipped across the ocean to Toronto (How can this make sense?? transporting spring water around the planet?? total insanity), they are now bottling local spring water (and carbonating it) just outside of the city and serving it in their own green (literally) glass bottles. These bottles are reused by the company four times before they are recycled".

Locavore Wedding Catering

It's a trend! [If you've been out of the locavore loop - this means food produced and marketed within 100 miles of your abode.] See The 100 Miles Diet.
Some weddings are now 'locavorian', and some caterers advertise they can do this, especially in Canada. See the website Les Louises.

But you have to do some research, of course, and there are all sorts of websites and services IN PRODUCTION for local resources for organic food, but right now, it's completely dependent upon YOUR LOCALITY. Your organic food store will know the nearest suppliers of local food, of course. Try typing "Locavore" and your city in Google, and you'll find locavore clubs and contacts.

as in:
Locavore's Guide to New York City
Locavore.ca, Canadian blog.
La Vida Locatore - food and politics.
and
Organic Consumers Association - more food and politics

Here is a "local food wheel" for San Francisco, California. With debts to the Farmer's Alamanac of course.

Factoid: Hidden Meat items in Vegetarian Recipes