Latest news with #OttawaFoodBank
Calgary Herald
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
13 top restaurants join new Ottawa Citizen food event in support of food bank
As much as I've tried for more than a dozen years to document objectively the highs and lows and ups and downs of Ottawa's restaurants, by now I'm also an advocate for the city's best eateries and shops, which stand out thanks to the deliciousness and distinctiveness of their work. Article content If you email me asking for a recommendation, I'll write you back. (Although to the frequently asked query, 'What's the best restaurant in the city?' I usually fire back, 'It depends on what you like.') Article content Article content Article content For more than a few years, I've contributed my ballot to the compilers of the annual Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list, and Ottawa eateries always rank among my top 10, no matter how well I've eaten in Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver. While Michelin Guide inspectors don't visit Ottawa as they do those three Canadian metropolises, I've chimed in and written about the local restaurants that I think are Michelin-worthy. Article content Article content All that to say, celebrating eating well in Ottawa is part of my job. Given that, I'm glad that the Ottawa Citizen is putting its corporate weight behind an event this fall with the same goal: to fete some of the national capital region's top chefs and restaurants, as well as a culinary scene that I think is underestimated in the country. Article content 'For more than a decade, Peter Hum's work covering the Ottawa food scene has been unmatched,' said Ottawa Citizen editor-in-chief Nicole Feriancek. 'His reviews are conversational, unscrupulously fair and above all honest with readers about where to find a truly special meal in our city. Article content 'I'm so thrilled the Citizen is launching an event that celebrates the best Ottawa chefs — and is also guided by Peter's expert palate.' Article content The Ottawa Citizen's inaugural Best Restaurants 2025 is set to happen Oct. 6 at the Canadian Museum of Nature from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., with the Ottawa Food Bank as the event's charitable partner. More information is available here as well as early-bird tickets, priced at $135.60 including HST. After Sept. 8, the price rises to $146.90, and after Oct. 1, to $169.50.
Ottawa Citizen
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Ottawa Citizen
13 top restaurants join new Ottawa Citizen food event in support of food bank
As much as I've tried for more than a dozen years to document objectively the highs and lows and ups and downs of Ottawa's restaurants, by now I'm also an advocate for the city's best eateries and shops, which stand out thanks to the deliciousness and distinctiveness of their work. Article content If you email me asking for a recommendation, I'll write you back. (Although to the frequently asked query, 'What's the best restaurant in the city?' I usually fire back, 'It depends on what you like.') Article content Article content Article content For more than a few years, I've contributed my ballot to the compilers of the annual Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list, and Ottawa eateries always rank among my top 10, no matter how well I've eaten in Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver. While Michelin Guide inspectors don't visit Ottawa as they do those three Canadian metropolises, I've chimed in and written about the local restaurants that I think are Michelin-worthy. Article content Article content All that to say, celebrating eating well in Ottawa is part of my job. Given that, I'm glad that the Ottawa Citizen is putting its corporate weight behind an event this fall with the same goal: to fete some of the national capital region's top chefs and restaurants, as well as a culinary scene that I think is underestimated in the country. Article content 'For more than a decade, Peter Hum's work covering the Ottawa food scene has been unmatched,' said Ottawa Citizen editor-in-chief Nicole Feriancek. 'His reviews are conversational, unscrupulously fair and above all honest with readers about where to find a truly special meal in our city. Article content 'I'm so thrilled the Citizen is launching an event that celebrates the best Ottawa chefs — and is also guided by Peter's expert palate.' Article content The Ottawa Citizen's inaugural Best Restaurants 2025 is set to happen Oct. 6 at the Canadian Museum of Nature from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., with the Ottawa Food Bank as the event's charitable partner. More information is available here as well as early-bird tickets, priced at $135.60 including HST. After Sept. 8, the price rises to $146.90, and after Oct. 1, to $169.50.
Ottawa Citizen
27-06-2025
- General
- Ottawa Citizen
Hints for the home: 'Is there anything wrong with right-of-way gardening?"
Article content Has your garden been breaking the law? Until very recently, mine did. That's because I grow flowers and food in my front garden, including on that hard-to-garden 'hell strip' that borders the road. Article content You see, a big strip of my front garden, including the hell strip, doesn't belong to me. Like all homes, the front few metres belong to the city. This Right of Way (ROW) is reserved for access to utilities, and for civil engineering projects such as adding a sidewalk or widening the road. Article content Article content Article content Ottawa bylaws used to reflect federal regulations that required rights of way to be planted with turf grass. If a utility company needs to access its service lines under the ROW, turf is the easiest thing to remove and replace. Article content From an environmental perspective, grass is not a great choice. You can't eat grass. It doesn't help pollinators, doesn't store much carbon, and other soft surfaces soak up much more rainwater. New research is making gardeners increasingly aware of all we can do to help the environment. Look around your neighbourhood. You may have already noticed front yards sprouting beds of native plants to help pollinators, or perhaps a small veggie patch. Article content As inoffensive as these landscaping changes seemed, they violated city bylaws. When someone complained, bylaw officers had no choice but to issue warnings and, if no action was taken, fines. Since all bylaw enforcement is complaint driven, some gardeners, like me, got away with law-breaking for years. Meanwhile, others had the heartbreak of having to tear out a carefully designed and beautifully planted front garden. In a time of climate change and biodiversity in crisis, this bylaw enforcement didn't make sense. Article content Article content In 2023, several high-profile bylaw violations and lobbying by local community groups prompted a rethink. The updated bylaw tried to balance gardeners' interests with road safety and the ongoing need to access utilities. Gardeners could now grow wildflowers and herbaceous perennials, but not invasive species, to a maximum height of one metre. Article content Trees and shrubs were still not permitted, as was any food growing and any kind of hardscaping, including containers. Grass was still required around some infrastructure, such as fire hydrants and mailboxes. Article content While these changes were welcomed, they didn't go far enough. The ban on growing food was seen as a step backwards. Advocates were especially concerned for people living in poverty. The Ottawa Food Bank's 2024 Hunger Report found hunger to be a growing problem in our city, affecting one in four households. Food price inflation has been hitting all of us, so it makes sense to try growing at least some of our own food. For people living in poverty, ROWs are often the only land they can access.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Summer food drive returns as food insecurity in Ottawa keeps growing
A charitable effort to keep kids fed throughout the summer break is back, as the Ottawa Food Bank warns of startling levels of food insecurity in the city. Donations to this year's summer food drive, an annual event launched by Khalsa Aid Canada in 2023, totalled nearly 41,000 kilograms. The food was raised through a combination of school donation initiatives, contributions from local businesses and a bulk donation from Khalsa Aid Canada. "We know that many families are struggling right now," Ottawa Food Bank CEO Rachael Wilson said at an event Saturday where the final tally was revealed. "Our donations tend to go down in the summer, so when we know that this food is coming in, it makes a huge difference for our ability to support those kids." Many children depend on their breakfast program throughout the school year, Wilson noted, but that help isn't available to them during the summer vacation. Thirty-seven per cent of all food bank visitors in Ottawa are children, she said. While that number has held steady for years, overall demand is on the rise. Food bank usage in the city is up by 90 per cent since 2019, and the number of Ottawa households that struggle to afford food nearly doubled between 2022 and 2023. "Any donations that we receive make a huge difference," Wilson said. The Ottawa Food Bank has campaigned publicly for Ottawa to declare food insecurity a crisis, saying the declaration would help unlock financial investment from higher orders of government. Toronto and Mississauga, Ont., have both done so. In January, Kingston did the same. Other eastern Ontario municipalities have followed their lead, including Hawkesbury and Smiths Falls. Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who attended the event Saturday, responded to a question about the city's lack of a formal declaration. "For me, it's not about a declaration or a statement — it's about action," he said in an interview. "We need to address the situation and we need to put our efforts behind it, and we'll work with the food bank and other partners in the community to do that." The Ottawa Food Bank is 98 per cent funded by the community, Wilson said. "We don't receive government funding, except for a little bit of city funding. And that just puts more pressure on everyone," she said. Thirty per cent of donations to the summer food drive are set aside for residents in Ottawa Community Housing (OCH), the city's largest social housing provider. "It's actually the number one thing that tenants are asking for our support with," said Traci Spour-Lafrance, executive director of the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation. "We are trying to ensure that they have food in their bellies, and that they can play and grow and enjoy their summer just like their friends." Although Spour-Lafrance is thrilled by the amount of food going to OCH residents, she said it isn't enough to meet demand. "This is one of the ways that we are trying to respond to that need," she said.
CBC
14-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Summer food drive returns as food insecurity in Ottawa keeps growing
A charitable effort to keep kids fed throughout the summer break is back, as the Ottawa Food Bank warns of startling levels of food insecurity in the city. Donations to this year's summer food drive, an annual event launched by Khalsa Aid Canada in 2023, totalled nearly 41,000 kilograms. The food was raised through a combination of school donation initiatives, contributions from local businesses and a bulk donation from Khalsa Aid Canada. "We know that many families are struggling right now," Ottawa Food Bank CEO Rachael Wilson said at an event Saturday where the final tally was revealed. "Our donations tend to go down in the summer, so when we know that this food is coming in, it makes a huge difference for our ability to support those kids." Many children depend on their breakfast program throughout the school year, Wilson noted, but that help isn't available to them during the summer vacation. Thirty-seven per cent of all food bank visitors in Ottawa are children, she said. While that number has held steady for years, overall demand is on the rise. Food bank usage in the city is up by 90 per cent since 2019, and the number of Ottawa households that struggle to afford food nearly doubled between 2022 and 2023. "Any donations that we receive make a huge difference," Wilson said. Food emergency The Ottawa Food Bank has campaigned publicly for Ottawa to declare food insecurity a crisis, saying the declaration would help unlock financial investment from higher orders of government. Toronto and Mississauga, Ont., have both done so. In January, Kingston did the same. Other eastern Ontario municipalities have followed their lead, including Hawkesbury and Smiths Falls. Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who attended the event Saturday, responded to a question about the city's lack of a formal declaration. "For me, it's not about a declaration or a statement — it's about action," he said in an interview. "We need to address the situation and we need to put our efforts behind it, and we'll work with the food bank and other partners in the community to do that." The Ottawa Food Bank is 98 per cent funded by the community, Wilson said. "We don't receive government funding, except for a little bit of city funding. And that just puts more pressure on everyone," she said. Portion goes to OCH residents Thirty per cent of donations to the summer food drive are set aside for residents in Ottawa Community Housing (OCH), the city's largest social housing provider. "It's actually the number one thing that tenants are asking for our support with," said Traci Spour-Lafrance, executive director of the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation. "We are trying to ensure that they have food in their bellies, and that they can play and grow and enjoy their summer just like their friends." Although Spour-Lafrance is thrilled by the amount of food going to OCH residents, she said it isn't enough to meet demand. "This is one of the ways that we are trying to respond to that need," she said.
