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www.gregmonforton.com Volume 4, Issue 11
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
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New local Gleaners group to help feed the hungry
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By Sheila McBrayne Based out of the Leamington/Kingsville area, the Southwestern Ontario Gleaners is the newest not-for-profit charity and is the second of its kind in all Ontario. What do Gleaners do? “The goal is to feed hungry people locally and internationally using leftover fresh produce. Our region is known for agriculture production, especially vegetables. That is why we feel confident that this is the best possible place to start a Gleaning operation,” stated Tina Quiring, one of the organizers and founding members of the Southwestern Ontario Gleaners. Quiring has been involved for many years with the Meat Canning program, which comes to Leamington each spring using the Heinz grading station. After the meat canning session she looked for other ways to send food to the needy. “I started jarring tomato sauce, and my niece pointed out that it was like ‘gleaning’ and she said I think there’s a group that does that – Gleaners,” said Quiring. After an internet search she was soon on her way to gathering the volunteers and community support she would need to create Ontario’s second branch of Gleaners. The first branch is based out of Cambridge. The Cambridge operation produced 7.1 million soup servings in 2012! “With the volume of vegetables that are processed in Essex County each year, we are very confident that we will be meeting or exceeding these numbers in the near future,” stated Quiring. Gleaning is a Biblical concept in which God commanded farmers to allow the poor to gather food from the fields that had been harvested. Today, Gleaners can feed the hungry through gleaning surplus and non-marketable produce that may be too big or small, slightly discoloured, blemished, or too close to the expiry date. The Southwestern Ontario Gleaners are non-denominational. The secondary benefits of gleaning is keeping the excess produce out of landfills. The final product is dried produce such as asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, corn, lentils, onions, peas, peppers, barley, tomatoes, apples, pears, along with salt and noodles are mixed and made into dehydrated vegetable soup mix and fruit snacks. One three-and(Continued on Page 3)
Tall ship festival cancelled for Leamington
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Tina Quiring and guest speaker Vern Toews at the kick-off fundraiser for Southwestern Ontario Gleaners on Friday, April 5. (SUN Photo)
By Bryan Jessop What was expected to be the biggest War of 1812 Bicentennial event of the year for Leamington has been cancelled. The Southwestern Ontario Coastal Trails Sails To See Festival had been reduced from five ports to four, as Leamington municipal council decided not to fund the event during recent budget deliberations. Kingsville, Pelee Island, Amherstburg and Windsor will continue onward with plans for the festival, to take place Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. Ships booked to appear in Leamington — the Pride of Baltimore II of Baltimore, Maryland, Westward of Rockland, Maine and Dreamer of Erie, Pennsylvania will have to dock at one of the other four locations throughout the four-day event. The cancellation of the festival also includes appearances by live musical performers, an Artisans’ Alley, an area set aside for children’s activities and The Admiral’s Table, arranged by St. John’s Anglican Church for visitors to
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dine with the captains and their crews of the three ships who were scheduled to drop anchor in Leamington. The festival was being organized by a committee spanning the five participating Essex County ports, including Leamington Marina manager Ronan Oliver and recreation and culture manager Amanda Smith. In Leamington, Anne Miskovsky and Brenda Fischer were also planning events for the local marina’s role in the event. A sum of $14,000 had originally been budgeted by council for the festival, but with upper level government funding coming in at significantly less than originally indicated, the potential out-of-pocket costs for the municipality escalated significantly. Leamington mayor John Paterson pointed out that if weather conditions such as rain led to a poor turnout, council could have faced losses between $40,000 and $70,000. Although commitments had been established with three U.S. tall ships (Continued on Page 3)
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