Press Coverage

IN THE NEWS

Global joined us for our first market harvest to film some footage for a series they are doing on local food! Click on the link below to see the broadcast! 

http://www.globaltv.com/globaltv/ontario/video/index.html?categoryID=115...

Check out the articles in the Mercury about us!

http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/444279

http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/453988

Eco market sells green ideas

Shannon Lee Stirling was selling memberships to a community supported agriculture initiative for her group, Backyard Bounty. It partners with homeowners for use of backyard gardens to grow organic vegetables. Each member gets a box of vegetables every week for a fee at the beginning of the season.

"You're getting local food. You get to know your farmer," said Stirling, the project's co-ordinator.

» Read Full Article (Guelph Mercury, 6 April 2009)
 

New Guelph business to turn backyards into organic farms

This spring, a local Guelph organization, Backyard Bounty, will be converting landowners' yards into organic "micro-farms."

The organization consists of a team of gardeners who, upon being hired by landowners with fertile land, create a "thriving, organic, highly productive, sustainable micro-farm." The landowners receive their share of the produce, while the rest is sold to local markets, grocers and restaurants. The initiative is in part meant to increase awareness about sustainable food and gardening practices.

Fostering economic, environmental, and socially sound farming practices is at the core of Backyard Bounty's existence.

» Read Full Article (The Ontarion, 19 March 2009)
 

Program creates bounty of food

Ian Mason and his wife, Leslie Rye, created their own small garden several years ago, planting cantaloupes, squash, beans and peas.

But they wanted to turn it into a larger garden.

"We aren't super at it," Mason said of gardening. "We just plug away at it."

So when Mason heard about Backyard Bounty, a program designed to reduce fossil fuel use, offer healthy locally grown produce and reduce waste, he wanted to take part.

The program seeks volunteers who will offer up green space to be converted to productive vegetable gardens.

Project coordinator Shannon Lee Stirling said in return, homeowners receive about five to 10 per cent of the food and are alleviated from yardwork.

» Read Full Article (Guelph Mercury, 18 March 2009)
 

Local is better when it comes to food farming

The practice of SPIN (small plot intensive farming) is becoming more popular across North America, as the demand for locally grown, organic food increases. Backyard Bounty, a new Guelph company, plans to bring the concept here, and will sow vegetable crops this spring on a number of under-used garden plots and converted lawns in the city.

City officials are collaborating on the enterprise, helping to find surplus land in the community for an operation that will initially grow a variety of vegetables for sale to local restaurants and markets, according to Shannon Lee Stirling, the project's co-ordinator.

"We have a number of restaurants and chefs who are really interested in the idea," Stirling said. "Local has become such a big issue. We have people going out to restaurants who want to know where their food is coming from. They want local for so many reasons."

» Read Full Article (Guelph Mercury, 24 February 2009)