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EXCLUSIVE: Feast of Fields chooses Loblaws and loses The Piggy Market

Dave Neil, co-owner of The Piggy Market announced today that he won’t be bringing The Piggy and its locally-sourced artisan food to the Feast of Fields this year. The event, organized by the Ottawa chapter of the Canadian Organic Growers confused some of its supporters last month when it announced that Loblaws would be its key sponsor.

“Feast of Fields celebrates what is grown locally in a City of Ottawa fashion,” says Neil, “Loblaws takes the local part out of it.” The national supermarket conglomerate Loblaws happens to be Canada’s largest food distributor. “We’re trying to be part of a food culture that fights that kind of food hegemony,” he says.

On Monday City Bites reported that The Red Apron withdrew participation from the event on similar grounds. “This event is supposed to celebrate the other side of the food chain,” said co-owner Jennifer Heagle.

Like the owners of The Red Apron, Neil says he has nothing against the Feast of Fields and will certainly consider getting back on-board next year. But as long as Loblaws is the sponsor, The Piggy Market and The Red Apron, won’t be a part of it.

Shawna Wagman  |  August 25, 2010  |  5:13 pm

Post Categories: City Bites  |  Post Tags: , , , , ,

Neither the author nor Ottawa Magazine necessarily agrees with the comments posted below. Editors will not correct spelling or grammar. Ottawa Magazine reserves the right to edit or delete comments entirely.

  • Colleen

    Way to go Jennifer (Red Apron) and Dave (Piggy) for taking a stand. Too many of us simply say “oh well, corporate sponsorship is a reality that we have to live with.” It is a compromise for sure.
    As a farmer that detests seeing all that imported produce on the shelves in grocery stores such as Loblaw’s I have to wonder why COG thought that this partnership was a good idea.
    Feast of Fields is a great event- more so for the chefs than for the farmers.
    I would like to know what Loblaw’s is going to do to help local organic farmers stay financially viable while they continue to import produce from California and even further afield. How does Galen Weston define “local” and what do farmers such as myself have to do to meet their riduculous criteria to get on his store shelves? What support is he going to offer? How is he going to help build sustainable local food systems now that we are past peak oil and can’t keep flying food around the world just because it was cheaper somewhere else- what exploitation took place to make that food so cheap.
    It’s a wonder how these decisions are made that’s for sure!!!

  • Laura Telford

    As the national director of Canadian Organic Growers, I know that the Ottawa COG chapter did a lot of thinking before soliciting sponsorship money from Loblows or any other company. Canadian Organic Growers has an ethical fundraising policy and we only accept money from corporations that share our commitment to the environment, to social justice and to farmers.

    I can tell you a little story about Loblaw’s which will hopefully underline why I think this company meets COG’s standards. I’ve been touring farms across the country for a book I am writing about Canada’s most successful organic farmers. Yesterday, I went to a fruit packing plant in British Columbia. This plant, in a tiny remote part of the province is supporting a vibrant community of organic fruit growers, many of whom have less than 8 acres in production. Without the packer, there would be no industry. Loblaw’s buys 30% of the fruit from this company. Just a few miles away in Washington, DC, organic apples roll off the conveyor belts and into British Columbia making it difficult for small scale growers to compete. Loblaw’s, because of its buy Canada first policy, pays a premium to get BC organic apples and in doing so it supports the Canadian organic community.

    Sorry guys, there isn’t much of an organic apple industry in Ontario because of the humid climate.

    Laura Telford
    National Director
    Canadian Organic Growers

  • Tom Manley

    I agree with Laura.

    Our objective is simply: nearly 100% organic agriculture in Canada and nearly 100% local food. When gasoline reaches $3 a liter, then those goals will be driven by economics as well as concern for health and environment. Will there be a place for Lablaws in that situation? Yes, you bet. Why? Because gasoline will reach $3 per liter. All the organic farmers cannot afford to drive into the city with their food. And all the consumers will not be able to afford to crive to the country to buy direct from the farmer. We will need highly efficient local food distrbution systems. Lablaws and the other large distributors will adapt and play a significant role in the efficient organic local food system.

    Objecting to a Loblaws sponsorship is all about ideology and not about eco-freindly food production and distribution.

    Tom Manley
    Homestead Organics.

  • steve

    A quick search on google brings up at least 6 organic apple producers in Ontario…

    A look on COG website farm directory also brings up at least 6 organic apple producers in Ontario…

    Going in to Loblaws and seeing a grown close to home bin full of watermelons that all have product of USA stickers very blatantly placed gives you pause…

    Maybe not about idealogy or eco-friendly at all, but more about ethics?

  • Michael Ilgert

    The Piggy Market and the Red Apron can blame me for bringing Loblaws to COG Ottawa’s Feast of Fields as I was Chairman of COG Ottawa when this was planned and suggested we contact Loblaws. After two years of losing money, the event was about to be cancelled without a major sponsor like Loblaws. The Ottawa Citizen has been great but they are not enough.
    Everyone loves the concept of a local organic farmer paired with a local chef and everyone raves about the food at Feast of Fields. Unfortunately, few know about the countless hours of planning and preparation and the lack of local organic businesses coming forward with sponsorship cash to make this event happen.
    A few local people have boasted that they could come up with thousands of dollars of local sponsorship but it never came to fruition. COG Ottawa cannot continue this event on kind words and false promises. It needs local organic businesses to step up and contribute financially.

    Michael Ilgert
    Past Chairman
    COG – Ottawa Chapter
    COG Ottawa can’t continue this event

  • farmer

    After reading these posts I am pretty offended that organizers and others think that Dave and others have withdrawn their participation due to “ideology”. Corporate concentration, globalization and the industrialization of our food system has burned farmers and small businesses- this is not based on ideology, rather on the simple fact that enough is enough!!
    Isn’t appropriate ideology a good thing? Progressive civil society is based on ideology that focuses on what is fair, just and transparent. It is time to push back and say no more. COG is naive to think that for Loblaw’s the bottomline rules. Cooperative packing plants are a great idea- I have visited a couple in BC as well. We need more of those. Distribution can be the issue- but we need to ensure that more of the $$ goes back to the farmer.
    I agree that sooner than we think it is going to be way to costly for farmers to transport food from the farm into cities- this is why we need to rebuild our communities where there are food co-ops and food centres. I wonder how Gelan Weston is going to solve that problem- farmers would still have to bring the food to his distribution centre. Is Galen going to build a distribution centre in my rural community?
    Stop the greenwashing! If Loblaw’s really cared about the environment and Canadian farmers why did I see US watermelon, peaches, tomatoes, nectarines etc. at Loblaws this week?
    Oh, and I live in Ontario and grow Organic apples quite nicely.

  • Robin Duetta

    I am one of the people that Michael Ilgert refers to as promising “thousands of dollars” to help Feast of Fields deal with their dillema this year. The financial support that I had secured came from local businesses offering COG Ottawa an alternative. Five local businesses offered matching money, but COG had already cashed the cheque from Loblaws and signed their contract.

    When Michael suggests that these were false promises, he’s wrong. Some people in this community are committed to both walking the walk and talking the talk.

    Michael helped make this decision and for him to now point fingers in every other direction just makes me more angry for what they have done.

    Loblaws is not the problem here. I believe they were interested in the event and that they were trying to help.
    There are many examples of where Loblaws would be a great partner. COGS gardening projects is one of them. Other Food based events like Bon Apetit would have been a perfect for them and wouldn’t have seen a hint of this negativity.

    The whole pairing is wrong. Wrong for COG, wrong for their member farmers, wrong for their participating Chefs and wrong for Loblaws. Nothing can be done now. The event will go on and a good lessons learned session should immediately follow it. For anyone who cares about the future of Feast of Fields – buy a ticket and then seek out someone in charge and tell them you won’t buy one next year if this same sort of thing happens.

    But people on the inside should stop trying to rationalize the decision and show the community that you’ve heard our dissapointment and convince us that you are willing to find solutions to prevent this in the future. The arguments to try and justify this nonsense is just adding fuel to the fire.

  • Billy Potash

    I am the president and part owner of Cawston Cold Storage Ltd. We are the packing house that Laura mentions in her comments. A little history… I have growing and selling organic tree fruits for 32 years – a lifetime. I have been involved in all levels of certification. I can assure you there are no arguments that I have not heard before because the same arguments have been made for the last 32 years, that I know of. There are no wrong ideas expressed in this article. This is a win – win situation. We need both large and small growers and distribution systems to create a viable industry. Organic growers must be economically sustainable or there will be no organic growers – a simple fact of life. The buy Canadian first policy of Loblaws has helped enormously in the success of this facility and the growers it supports. Could they purchase in the US cheaper? Yes. Do they? Not if they can source it in Canada and it meets their requirements like any other buyer. Do not judge Loblaws by what you think they do. Judge them by what they actually do.

  • farmer

    They source it in Canada if it meets their requirements and buy it- then they buy the same type of product in the US at the same time, put it on the shelves alongside the Canadian version and sell it for less- people don’t read the signs- they chose the cheaper version. They should stop purchasing imported produce during our growing season.
    We do need all sizes of distribution systems I agree- but small farmers can’t access Loblaws due to the requirements of Loblaws and ridiculous unnecessary regulations. Yeah I know, farmers should form co-ops and spend money on packing facilities- farmers are already mostly over their heads in debt. Give us a freakin break!
    I have been farming for over 30 years, and for over thirty years I have seen farmers all across this country get squeezed by conglomerates such as Loblaws. I am glad that they are buying BC organic apples and paying farmers a decent price- at least I assume they are.

  • billy potash

    The organic industry in Canada is not about Loblaws.People are using Loblaws in this specific situation to vent legitamate frustrations about dealings they have experienced with large chains.Fact ? 90% or so of peoples produce shopping is done at the major chains. fact-the produce industry in North America is intensely competitive with the retail end being the most competetive.If you do not believe me do your own reserch.This creates a system of what is probably the cheapest food anywhere in the world and it is not by accident.Buying locally grown or Canadian grown is a choice not an obligation. To think otherwise is naive at best.It is up to the producers to market their product how ever best they can and dealing with large chains requires large investments in post harvest infrastructure.Maybe not for everyone.BC has a very organized system of farmers markets which are wonderfull for smaller growers to sell their produce at high rates of return. This was accomplished by a lot of hard work by organic growers as well as conv growers.Take control of your own situation.

  • Prettytastyreviews blogspot

    One problem with Loblaws stocking Canadian and local produce is that the grocery store stocks imported produce right beside it and always at a cheaper price.
    If there was just local or Canadian berries when in season I’m sure more consumers would buy them-no matter the price.
    I always chose the Canadian produce when it is available.

    One grocery store in Ottawa that seems to be making a very big effort to carry local and Canadian produce is Cedars and Co. on Bank st in the location where The Fresh Fruit co was before.
    It is nice to see the store trying to support local farmers,
    They even sell Becking’s eggs there…something I doubt Loblaws would sell.

  • Riverglen Farm

    I am sad to say that Riverglen Biodynamic Farm has also pulled out of Feast of Fields for similar reasons. I am happy that Loblaws is supporting Canadian Organic Growers. I would like to see more collaboration between the two organizations at a national level. However, Feast of Fields is a local event, and Loblaws has no place there whatsoever.

    I hope the organizers recognize their very large mistake and re-think their sponsorship strategy for next year. I for one, will not attend Feast of Fields as long as it is made a scam publicity stunt for Loblaws.

    Sincerely,

    David Burnford

  • Riverglen Farm

    PS I offered the Feast of Fields team to hold Feast of Fields on my farm for free. All I asked was that COG Ottawa re-reimburse the cost to keep the event field mowed short. Riverglen is an Ottawa Greenbelt Farm, situated between Nepean and Kanata, 15 minutes drive from downtown. Promoting sustainable agriculture in Ottawa’s Greenbelt would have been a fantastic opportunity for both COG and the NCC.

    However, my offer was declined because there aren’t enough bus routes to the farm. Instead of promoting better use of the Greenbelt, a local farm, and keeping costs down, COG decided on Lebreton Flats and Loblaws. I’m very disappointed.

    Once again, I applaud for Loblaw’s exceptional commitment to providing a certified organic line of products. But they are not local, Ottawa products. Feast of Field (organized by COG-Ottawa, not COG-national) is an event celebrating food production in Ottawa. Not BC, not even Ontario. Ottawa. Period.

    If Feast of Fields is to be an event about the global food industry, organics all over the nation and all over the world then sure, bring on Loblaws, Metro, Pro-Organics and the other wholesalers, bring on the trucking companies, the Chilean nitrite miners, the plastic container manufacturers, the certifiers… Lets bring them all in and make it a big organic trade show!

    But Feast of Fields is going to be about people in Ottawa doing the best they can to produce and serve good food that is from Ottawa, then please leave the whole global/national organic drama out of it… please… just this one time…

  • Ash

    I see a bunch of comments about how Loblaws is stocking Canadian and local produce right beside imported produce at a cheaper price and how bad this is.
    Perhaps you should stop for a second and this about the poor single mom (for example) who can’t afford the local organic produce for her kids and has to buy the cheaper fruit because she is on a budget. Should she suffer for your self-righteousness, or should we force the local farmers to drop their prices significantly so that less fortunate people can still afford healthy food. You people want to live in an ideal world, but it is not reality. Local farmers would be devistated if we forced them to dorp their prices. but large segments of our city just can not afford their food.
    I applaud your effort, your fight and your goal. It is toward a better future. Just don’t forget to include everyone in your plans.

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