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Representatives of the agriculture, food and science sector gathered yesterday at Innovation Place in Saskatoon to celebrate the milestone.
The organization mandate when it was created back in September of 2014 is the same today as it was then, to build public trust in Saskatchewan-produced food and to help consumers make connections between the food they eat and the farms that grow it.
Executive Director Clinton Monchuk says that message is more important today than it was then, as less than two percent of people today have a direct connection to the farm.
He says they need for accessible and credible information about food has never been greater.
"Since we started 10 years ago as an organization, we kept track of all our stats. We were roughly engaging with around 150,000 to 200,000 people every year. We have now surpassed that leaps and bounds. We're over 10 million engagements through our different social media online."
He says over the years farmers have been getting more involved in connecting with consumers by showing and talking about what's happening on their farming operation.
"A lot of farmers and ranchers see the value now. If it's that conversation they need to have with people sitting on the bench at a sporting event, or after a church service or whatever it happens to be, to make sure that we're engaging with the community around us. "
He points out we're also seeing producers reaching out to a wider audience by sharing their stories on social media.
"When we look at the stats across this country, the most trusted source of information about food and how it's grown is farmers and ranchers. So you know that we have a trusted source right from the get go. We just need to get that message out and we need to do it more."
Membership in the organization has grown from about 20 in its first year to 69 today, representing individual farmers, producer organizations, Hutterite colonies, rural municipalities and agribusiness companies.
Over the years FFC SK has worked to get their messaging across in a variety of ways from social media to hosting farm tours for food influencers, students and policy makers.
Monchuk says one of the most significant successes in the last ten years has been the creation of Canadian Food Focus, a national program that now engages with almost a million consumers across the country every month on topics like recipes, what’s in season, sustainable farm practices, and health aspects of Canadian-grown foods.
The first chair for the Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan advisory board Joe Kleinsasser says it's impressive to see how far we've come in ten years.
The event also kicked off Global Biotech Week in Saskatchewan, which celebrates science and biotechnology and highlights Saskatchewan’s leading role in this area.
More information is available:
· farmfoodcaresk.org
· canadianfoodfocus.org
· globalbiotechweeksask.ca