Blog
We’re growing a diversity of heirloom crops in five Urban Seed Saving community garden plots across the region in order to promote the growth of unique heirloom crops in diverse spaces, provide ingredients for our cooking programs, provide an opportunity to share skills and stories, and increase the quantity & quality of locally grown seeds available in our community.
Despite the unseasonal weather, local farmers’ markets have been able to offer delicious produce for all of us. For the past few years, Nourish has been promoting greater connections to this local produce through our Nourish Market Dollars program. This Local Food Week, we are happy to announce that the Silver Bean Café, Black Honey Dessert and Coffeehouse, Tiny Greens, and the Lakefield Pantry will now be accepting our Nourish Market Dollars!
Recently at Trent Child Care, what started out as a seed of an idea; an opportunity for exploration, grew into something bigger … and delicious.
Lisa works as an RECE in the infant room and noticed that one of the youngsters kept saying the word ‘apple’ whenever he saw one. Following his lead, she decided to bring some apples into the classroom for him and the others to explore. They loved watching her peel the apples and then eating the fruit so much that Lisa decided to take this one step further and make apple crisp with them.
We rarely think about taxes as the heart of our nation, yet, that’s essentially what they are. They literally tie us to each other. On this Valentine’s day, as we are fast approaching the tax season, we thought it might be timely to share an unusual love story…
At this time of the year, everyone can see how generous our community is. Gift baskets are prepared throughout the region to make sure that kids receive presents and everyone is well fed. As we celebrate Hanukkah, Solstice or Christmas, no one wants to imagine that children and adults are not finding joy and feeling well cared for.
This past week, I had the honour of attending the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO) conference Regeneration: Seeds, Soil and Community Connections.
In late August, Nourish, in partnership with the New Canadians Centre, piloted a kitchen-based employment training with eight newcomer youth. What were the ingredients that helped these youth to shine?
We started by asking what matters to them. The youth wanted to learn about their workplace rights. They also wanted to learn ways to become more employable - they wanted to learn about their responsibilities. So, we called the training “Know Yourself, Know Your Rights, Know Your Responsibilities.”
Peterborough is in the midst of a housing crisis. Insufficient incomes, whether from wages or social assistance benefits, leave 52.5% of renter households in Peterborough in “core housing need”. That means they spend more than 30% of their total income on shelter costs. The amount of core housing need has been rising steadily with each subsequent census.
Every month in Peterborough City and County, 1 in 6 households are forced to make the impossible choice between keeping a roof over their heads and buying enough food. When there isn’t enough money in the budget, rent comes first and food comes second. Food insecurity and housing unaffordability are connected issues that share a common root: insufficient incomes.
For Erica, having a kitchen table overflowing with chairs, food and laughter is a happy normal.
“I’ve become a massive homebody. Our lives can be pretty chaotic, and I find incredible comfort in the stability of being home. But I also crave the connection of being with people. Having friends and family come share a meal with us satisfies so much of my soul.”