Guest Blog: Ontario Apple Growers

The Greenbelt Fund invested $49,000 to support Ontario Apple Growers' "Strength in Our Core Value - Ontario Apple Awareness Campaign". We invited OAG to share an update about the project.

Strength in Our Core Value - Ontario Apple Awareness Campaign

The Ontario Apple Growers want to roll up our sleeves and help when it comes to the challenge of building Ontario’s ‘Food Literacy’. ‘Food Literacy’ means understanding where our food comes from, and what implications our food choices have on our health, the environment, and the local economy. It means understanding how food is grown, processed, transported, acquired, prepared, consumed, sustained and disposed of. Lack of food literacy can negatively impact our nutrition levels, our pocketbooks, our health and the environment in which we live.

A Fresh, Local Choice

The old adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” can easily be lost in our fast-paced lives with the rising popularity of conveniently prepared foods. The more we learn about fresh, healthy foods, grown sustainably in our own communities and the more we get into our kitchens and prepare our own foods the more food literate we become.

An Ontario apple has real core strength when it comes to providing a locally fresh, healthy, sustainably grown, affordable and convenient food choice. The Ontario Apple Growers want to share our strengths with our communities. What’s the best way to share right now? Social media, of course.

Food Blogger Program

Keep an eye out for our new food blogger program. Food bloggers are emerging with large and ever-growing followings; why - because they’re not only talented cooks but well informed about the foods they use and blog about. Through our new program a few well-known food bloggers will visit Ontario apple farms and packing facilities where they will learn all about the Ontario apple including; how they are grown, what varieties are grown here, how they are picked, how they are stored over the winter months to provide local fruit throughout the year to Ontarians, and how they are packed fresh or processed, transported, and consumed among many other topics. They, in turn, will go on to educate those that follow them, to share with them what they’ve learned and what they value most about local Ontario apples. And here’s the icing on the cake - they will also be sharing their amazingly delicious recipes!

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Harnessing Social Media

We all love the quick and easy recipes that catch our eye when they pop up on our social media channels. The Ontario Apple Growers love them too; what better way to demonstrate to Ontarian’s how local apples can be a great ingredient in cooking healthy, affordable and nutritious meals for ourselves and our families. Some of our new micro videos will also provide lots of great info you might not know, like how your Ontario apple purchase helps support your local economy and the environment in which you live.

Join the Conversation & Win Prizes

The Ontario Apple Growers will also be running a few fun contests on social media to spice up the fall and winter months. Build your local food literacy, connect with some amazing food bloggers, learn how to make scrumptious recipes and earn a chance to win great prizes – what could be better! Following the Ontario Apple Growers on Facebook (/OntarioAppleGrowers), Twitter (@ontarioapples), Pinterest (/ontarioapples) and Instagram (ontarioapples) is win-win for everyone!

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