The Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative is a networking project for local food producers and consumers, whereby local consumers can connect with and buy from local food producers.

If you live in the Upper Ottawa Valley and would like to buy and/or sell locally produced food through our monthly online ordering and distribution system, please sign up by clicking on 'Join' at the top of the page.

For more info on the co-op, download the OVFC Brochure.

Also, check out our listing of Upper Ottawa Valley Farmers' Markets for more local food buying opportunities in a town near you.

A Home Cheese Making Workshop

Sue Solf of Foymount Farm will demonstrate and instruct on the making of cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and butter-making from raw cow's milk.

• To register contact: Cheryl Keetch 613-756-3884 or ckeetch@webhart.net
• Workshop Fee: $10. Please bring a bagged lunch
• Location: Foymount Farm, 3837 Foymount Road (Hwy 512), Cormac ON
• Dates: Sat. June 6 or Sat. June 13
  (Please choose one Saturday - the same workshop will be given on both Saturdays)
• Time: 9am to 2pm

Note: on the direction of The Renfrew County Health Unit and The Ministry of Agriculture And Food, we are unable to permit tasting of products.

Free Farm Food Safety workshop

The Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative is holding a FREE workshop on Saturday March 21st, entitled Farm Food Safety. This workshop will be conducted by Kelley Knight of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), and will be held at the United Church in Cobden from 10 am to 5 pm. A free lunch is included!

The topics that will be covered during the workshop include:

• Manure and composts
• Food safety on Multi Commodity Farms
• Post-harvest water for washing produce
• Traceability
• Risk Assessment
• Permitted substances for farm use under organic standards

Please pass this along information along to anyone you think may be interested in attending!

To register, please contact Cheryl Keetch at ckeetch@webhart.net or 613-756-3884.

Please Note: For those producer members who are delivering to our Pembroke sorting depot on that day, the starting time of 10 am will allow for you to deliver your products and still attend the workshop!

2nd Annual Seedy Sunday in the Ottawa Valley
Calling All Gardeners and Locavores!

The 2nd Annual Seedy Sunday in the Ottawa Valley will be held on Sunday, March 8, 2009 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm in the Cafeteria Auditorium at Fellowes High School (420 Bell St.) in Pembroke. Admission is free. All new and experienced gardeners, locavores and the curious will want to attend!

Seedy Sunday is a remarkable phenomenon. It is not one event, but a series of separate events, which have sprung up across the country since the first time in Vancouver in 1989. Gardeners, seed vendors, local food producers, growers of heritage seeds and native plants, organic practitioners and environmental groups come together in a venue where they can learn from one another, exchange ideas and seeds, and purchase seeds and plants in an enjoyable social setting. It is a day to educate, learn and promote more sustainable methods of growing and the preservation and use of heirloom, organic and open-pollinated seeds. Bring your own seeds, plants or gardening things for exchange at the Swap Zone.

Presentations during the day will be: Extending the Beauty of the Perennial Garden into the Fall, Growing Up Organic, Saving Your Own Seeds, and Worms making Black Gold.

Food and refreshments are available. A "100-Mile Lunch" will be sold by the Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative. Enjoy the local foods of the Valley. Learn more about the co-op and meet some of the producers. There will be plenty of door prizes and a silent auction. The buskers' corner will feature some wonderful local musicians who will share their music throughout the day.

Seedy Sunday is a non-profit event, operated by volunteers, and sponsored by the Ottawa River Institute (www.ottawariverinstitute.ca). Net proceeds will be donated to Seeds of Diversity (www.seeds.ca), a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of heritage seeds. For more information, contact Claire Lepine at 613-628-1836 or Pat Tamosetis at 613-625-2277.

Download Flyer (244 KB JPG)

Annual General Meeting - February 14, 2009

The Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative will be holding its second Annual General Meeting on Saturday, February 14th at Wesley United Church, 275 Pembroke St East, Pembroke ON.

Potluck Lunch: 12 noon

Annual General Meeting: 2 pm

Come hear about our first successful year of operation, and about our upcoming events. Consider nominating or running as a board member (there are three available spaces on the board). Vote in the election if you are a member of the co-op. Join the co-op if you haven't already.

See a 10-minute documentary 'Rooftop Gardens' by local filmmaker Adam Thompson, and/or a presentation about Cuba's co-operative organic farming systems by Bob Dobson, after the meeting.

All Welcome!

For more information, please contact: Christina Anderman, Food Co-op Coordinator
613-757-3044 - christina@ottawavalleyfood.org

Download press release (80 KB PDF)

The OVFC is pleased to present a two-day workshop for farmers: 'Introduction to Ecological Agriculture' Workshop

Saturday January 31 & Saturday February 7, 2009

Barr Line Community Centre, 1766 Barr Line, Douglas, ON
(aka the Admaston Bromley Community Centre)

Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturdays
Cost: $60 per person*
*Delicious Local Foods Lunches included

Pre-registration and $30 deposit is required

To Register Contact:
Cheryl Keetch
613-756-3884 or
ckeetch@webhart.net

For more details about the workshop click here (96 KB PDF)

New Boost for the Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative Thanks to $89,700 OTF Grant

Download press release (PDF, 87 KB)

Press Release, Feb 6, 2008 Download PDF

Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative – Focusing on Local Food!

The newly formed Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative Inc. (OVFC) will be having its first annual general meeting on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 2:00 pm in the auditorium at the Marguerite Centre (700 Mackay St.) in Pembroke. All interested parties and new and potential members are most welcome to attend!

Volunteers have been working for a year now to set up the OVFC’s Internet-based order/delivery system for locally grown and produced food. Bob Waldrop, the man behind the Oklahoma Food Co-operative, introduced the Internet-based ordering concept to local people in a February 2007 workshop at the Marguerite Centre. The volunteers involved in OVFC are keen on promoting healthy rural communities, environmental stewardship, social justice, vibrant local economies – and the availability of good local food!

“Food that has a story” is a key Bob Waldrop phrase. Many of us would like to know more about the food we eat: where it’s grown, how it’s grown, and how many miles it’s had to travel to reach our plates. “Localizing” the food system – by linking up local producers with local consumers – will have a number of positive impacts, from economic to environmental.

Anyone who wants to eat, buy or sell more locally produced food is encouraged to attend the OVFC AGM on February 17. Directors will be elected, new members invited to sign up, and the Web ordering system will be demonstrated.

You can contact the OVFC by calling Reuben Stone at (613) 281-2734, Janet McNeill at (613) 584-2101 or sending an email message to <info@ottawavalleyfood.org>. You can also visit <http://www.ottawavalleyfood.org>

For more information, call:
Janet McNeill at (613) 584-2101
Reuben Stone at (613) 281-2734.

Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative Steering Committee on Sunday April 1st 2007 at Bob Dobson’s Farm.