ELORA – In honour of the 20th anniversary of Food Day Canada, and its first as a federally recognized day, a celebratory barbecue and party is planned in Downtown Elora later this summer.
Local chefs will be cooking up a storm on the Jack R. MacDonald pedestrian bridge on Aug. 1 to kick-off Food Day Canada, officially being held on Aug. 5.
Jeff Stewart, son of Food Day Canada founder Anita Stewart and Food Day Canada board member, said this kick-off barbecue harkens back to the roots of the day 20 years ago.
During the mad cow disease outbreak in 2003, where one case was reported in Alberta, the United States closed its borders to Canadian beef.
Anita Stewart, a Canadian food advocate and U of G’s first food laureate, encouraged the country to hold the world’s longest barbecue in support of Canadian beef farmers. This turned into a yearly celebration of Canadian food and food producers on the Saturday of the August Civic Holiday.
Earlier this year, the Food Day in Canada Act was passed by the federal government to officially recognize it but Anita Stewart did not get to see this happen as she died in 2020.
“Mom’s dream was to have at least one day in Canada where it’s impossible to ignore the food and agricultural community that we have here,” Stewart said. “She pushed on that for 18 years before she passed and we’re continuing that legacy.”
Stewart said they often kick-off Food Day Canada with a celebration in Elora as his mother was a long-time resident here.
For the Aug. 1 event, he explained nine local chefs and restaurants will be cooking on the bridge in a “big community barbecue” — something Stewart didn’t believe has happened on that pedestrian bridge before — with a nearby beer garden, children’s activities, live music and educational opportunities from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“It’s just meant to be a community event more than anything else,” Stewart said.
Stewart said they’re looking to keep the costs as reasonable as possible and isn’t a fundraiser with food tickets in the $5 range and people encouraged to sample a few different options.
A fundraiser dinner will be held on Aug. 3 in a multi-course meal at the Elora Mill. Proceeds from this dinner will be donated to the Anita Stewart Tribute Fund at the U of G.
Stewart encouraged the public, whether they go to either event, to celebrate Food Day Canada on Aug. 5 and to share on social media.
“When mom started it, it was really to help the agricultural community and it’s grown so much since then,” Stewart said. “We want to think about building strong communities and we build strong communities by supporting each other. Agriculture, food and restaurants are a very important part of our communities.”
