[All] FW: A New Food Charter for Waterloo Region

[Gregory C. Michalenko]

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NOTE:

Dear GREN Members and Supporters,

This message seeks formal, official endorsement from GREN for a proposal from the Waterloo Region Food System Round Table that will be presented to Regional Council.  Thus, if you are a current paid-up member of GREN, please let me know by Friday if you vote for or against GREN backing this proposal.  Non-member supporters (as well as GREN members) can also make  a personal, individual endorsement by following the instructions below.

The Waterloo Food System Round Table is a hard-working and effective group that has representation from the range of interests in our Region that are interested in promoting healthy food, local food production, bolstering the local food economy and equity issues to ensure that access to food and improved food quality are available to all residents of the Region.  One of its current initiatives is to get the Waterloo Region Council to adopt a "Food Charter" as a sort of constitutional document to guide municipal policies and programs that relate to food.  A number of Canadian municipalities already have food charters.

The promoters of the Charter are eager to get endorsement from as many organizations as possible.  Do you think GREN should go on record as a sponsor?  Unfortunately, it will be presented to Regional Council on April 9 and our next GREN meeting is not until April 11, so discussion and voting has to be by email.

Please take a look at the information below and let me know is you think GREN should support it.

In addition, if you know of other organizations that might be sympathetic to endorsing it, please either contact the Charter group directly, or let me know who you think I should contact.

- Greg Michalenko

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Proposed Food Charter
Please encourage your friends and contacts to help us grow the list of endorsements for this new charter!

It will be presented on our behalf to Regional Council on April 9th (at 1pm in the Council Chambers at 150 Frederick: please join us if you can!).  See the Charter and our list of endorsements at http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/blog/2013/03/01/endorse-the-waterloo-region-food-charter.  Please also plan to join us for the public launch of our Food Charter at the Taste of Woolwich<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/events/taste-of-woolwich/#event> event on Monday, April 15, at 5pm in Breslau.

Endorse the Waterloo Region Food Charter

Posted by Jason Vistoli<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=view_profile&member_id=173>

[http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/image/1418/photo.png?w=200&h=90]

The Waterloo Region Food Charter<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/files/www/Waterloo_Region_Food_Charter.pdf> is now complete!

Make this document a permanent part of Waterloo Region's food policy!

Please consider endorsing the Waterloo Region Food Charter. By signing your name or lending the support of your organization, you can aid the document's acceptance by Regional Council when we present the Food Charter on April 9th, 2013.

The final draft was crafted after consulting with our community through an online survey, reviewing all the contributions, and painstakingly re-drafting the document to incorporate the survey responses.

Endorsing the Waterloo Region Food Charter is simple:

  *   If you are already familiar with the charter process and wish to endorse this document, please review the updated Food Charter<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/files/www/Waterloo_Region_Food_Charter.pdf> and follow the steps below by April 1st, 2013. We would like the voice of all eaters, community members and organizations regardelss of your position in the food system.
  *   If you are new to the Waterloo Region Food Charter and require more information before considering endorsement, please see the Food Charter Backgrounder<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/files/www/Waterloo_Region_Food_Charter_Backgrounder.pdf> and our Food Charter Survey blog post<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/blog/2013/01/07/region-of-waterloo-food-charter-we-need-your-input> to understand how this document can work for you. Then, review the updated Food Charter<http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/files/www/Waterloo_Region_Food_Charter.pdf> and if you agree with the document please follow the steps below by April 1st, 2013.
  *   If you agree with the document as it stands, and wish to endorse the Waterloo Region Food Charter, please send an email to foodcharter at wrfoodsystem.ca<mailto:foodcharter at wrfoodsystem.ca> by April 1st, 2013 with the following information:
     *   your name and an explanation of the work you do in the food system, its okay to say eater or communty member, and whether or not you consent to making this information public
     *   if you are representing an organization/business please include the organization's name, and if possible send us the logo and indicate if you consent to making this information public

Example of personal endorsement:

My name is _______, and I endorse this Charter. My involvement with the food system is centered around alternative food production methods with the Community Garden Council. I consent to making this information public.

Example of organizational endorsement:

I am ______, and I work for a local food restaurant here in Cambridge. Our organization fully endorses this Food Charter, I have attached our logo and consent to making this information public.

We would appreciate it very much if you would seek formal endorsement of the Charter by your organization. [Food Charter word cloud] Please consider bringing the Food Charter to your Board of Directors, Executive Director, company owner or whatever process your organization uses to make important decisions. We feel that our request for Regional Council to endorse the Food Charter will carry more weight if we can demonstrate that organizations and individuals have already endorsed the Charter.

Thank you very much for your well thought responses to the survey. Please join us at the Taste of Woolwich Festival on April 15th for the Food Charter unveiling.

Drafting Team: Ellen Dejardins, Steffanie Scott, Paula Byrk, Jason Vistoli and Michelle Metzger
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