Winnipeg Folk Festival to sign Manitoba Food Charter

Winnipeg Folk Festival to sign Manitoba Food Charter

Signing Ceremony at Festival Launch,
12 noon on Thursday in Old Market Square

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is pleased to announce that it will become a signatory to the Manitoba Food Charter during a signing ceremony at the Festival Launch at 12 noon on Thursday, July 10, at Old Market Square.

The Manitoba Food Charter is both a document and an organization. The Charter itself is a publicly owned, one page statement about what Manitobans think our food system should look like. It emerged from input elicited in over 70 community consultations with stakeholder groups and concerned citizens. The document brings together a diversity of voices in a common focus for food security in our province.

The Manitoba Food Charter Inc. organizational goal is to increase food security and sustainability of the food systems in Manitoba by providing a common focus for action for food system stakeholders - through Public Education and Awareness; Developing Networks and Partnerships; and through building Organizational Capacity. MFC funding is provided by PHAC, Rural Secretariat, and Heifer International.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is focusing on food this year by formally committing to the Charter. At the Festival this year, at least 20% of the food served by the Festival in the backstage kitchen (for volunteers, performers and guests) will be produced in Manitoba. The Festival has also offered front-of-house food vendors the chance to identify menu items with local (as well as organic and fair trade) ingredients. The Festival is promoting these menu items by visually identifying them in the program book.

This is part of a number of new sustainability initiatives at the Festival this year which include newly planted trees, compostable beer cups and ice cream cups, and fair trade coffee only served backstage.

For more information, please contact the Folk Festival at 231-0096 or the Manitoba Food Charter at 943-0822 in Winnipeg or 1-800-731-2638 toll free.