HEATHER PRITCHARD (BC)
Chair

Heather Pritchard founded FarmFolk CityFolk, a charity, in 1993 and now leads the development of a provincial land trust, Foodlands Cooperative of BC http://www.foodlands.org/.  While with FarmFolk CityFolk, she set up the BC region of the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Food Security, mentored Young Agrarians and developed the Community Farms Program. She is a resident member of Fraser Common Farm Cooperative, in the Township of Langley, where she has farmed for 35 years. Heather has three children and two grandsons: Gerhardt and Liam. Her commitment to Slow Food started after attending the first Terra Madre in 2004.

BOBBY GRÉGOIRE (QC)

Slow Food International Concillor – Canada

Bobby is a chef and consultant in eco-gastronomy. He co-initiated L’Atelier du Goût : an online school on sustainable food systems and La Transformerie : a nonprofit that aims to eradicate food waste. After joining Slow Food in 2008, he spent eight years as leader of Slow Food Montreal and four years of co-chairing the Slow Food in Canada network. He co-founded the Slow Food Chef’s Alliance in Canada and founded the Slow Wine Montreal event. He is our International Councillor for Canada at Slow Food International Council and he is also actively involved in both international campaigns Slow Fish and Slow Cheese.

KARI MACKNIGHT DEARBORN (ON)
Commissioner, Canadian Ark of Taste

Kari has been an active member of Slow Food for a decade, serving first in Prince Edward County on their board, and now in Toronto. She has twice managed our delegates to Terra Madre and now works primarily with the Ark of Taste, building our list of Canadian protected foods. She is recognized as a local food and wine champion.

 

MORGAN HAMILTON (BC)
Secretary

Morgan Hamilton is a student in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at UBC who studies with a focus on sustainable production practices. Her engagement with food and farming crosses over into her work within hospitality, having worked as a server globally in restaurants that support and champion local purveyors. Her UBC studies, role within the hospitality industry and additional studies through WSET all intersect with her ardour for natural wine.

SHELLEY SPRUIT (ON)
Partnerships

Shelley Spruit is the founder/owner of Against the Grains Farms of Winchester Inc., which focuses on the restoration of heritage grains adaptable to Ontario growing conditions. Shelley has worked closely with the participatory plant breeding program with the University of Manitoba & Food Literacy, Education, Consumer workshops using Ontario grains and product development for value added products made from these unique grains.

She has also been partner/owner of Winchelsea Farms Inc. for 32 years alongside her husband. Together they produce specialty grains for food markets internationally. Before founding Against the Grain, Shelley was the founder and lead chef for 13 years of Winchelsea Farms Banquet Hall, which prepared all food on site using locally sourced ingredients. Shelley is a strong promoter of agri-tourism and food education.

EVA GARAFALO (BC)
Governance

Eva Garofalo is a second generation Canadian from Italy, living in on the WSÁNEĆ (Saanich), Lkwungen (Songhees), Wyomilth (Esquimalt) ancestral territory (Victoria, British Columbia). Eva’s academics focus is on the politics and on-going history of colonization with linkages to sustainability. Since 2013 Eva has been working with various NGOs and community groups. Eva has filled a position as the South Island Provincial Organizer for Dogwood BC, trained with Organize BC, and collaborated with non-profits such as RAVEN Trust. Now Eva has accepted a position in the world’s first Common Law and Indigenous Legal Orders program at a university in British Columbia.

DOUGLAS BARCLAY (ON)
Chef’s Alliance Liaison

Doug is a retired chef who worked in the industry for 40 years. His passions range from food to social justice issues. Aside from promoting Slow Food and the Chef’s Alliance, Doug volunteers with another charity, Days for Girls.

 

 

LAURA WYPER (ON)
Ark of Taste Liaison

Dr. Laura Wyper (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in the Community Economic and Social Development Department at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. She teaches courses on Environmental and Community Resilience, Sustainable Community Development, and is a community-based researcher for NORDIK Institute. As a food activist she has been involved in local Seedy Saturdays, a Fallen Fruit food rescue, and is an ecological hobby farmer and seed saver.

Regional Liaisons

SONIA O’KEEFE (NFLD)
Maritimes Liaison

Sonia first became aware of the Slow Food when she was attending Ballymaloe cookery school on a 100 acre farm in Cork, Ireland, 16 years ago. The school emphasized the importance of using quality, local ingredients while also promoting sustainability and caring for the earth.  She attended Slow Food meetings in Ireland where she valued the information that was shared, as well as the tastings involved. The passion shared between people attending Slow Food events had a big impact on her. When Sonia completed cooking school and started her own business, she purchased a snail made by a local potter. She carried it around with her and displayed it on her table at festivals and food events representing what her food stood for. She has carried the Slow Food philosophy with her throughout her 15 years of being passionately involved in the food world.

MARC DESROSIERS (QB)
Quebec Liaison

Proud descendant of farmer-peasant families, Marc is an environmentalist at heart. As a lover of good food and lover of nature, he quickly realized the impacts his food choices had on the environment, the local economy and especially producers.
Marc also enjoys travelling and finds that an excellent way to understand different cultures is to eat like the people and to take an interest in their way of life and food heritage.
He has been a member of Slow Food Montreal for almost 15 years. Since his retirement, he has decided to invest more in promoting the values of the Slow Food movement, to make it accessible to everyone and to contribute to the awareness of consumers about the ecological and economic impacts of their social choices and how they prepare their plate.

BRUCE ABEL (ON)
Ontario Liaison

Bruce is a foodie. When he was a child, his grandmother would serve “fit for royalty” lunches–she was a scullery maid for the Marquis of Carisbrooke, the thirteenth in line to the Throne. When the Marquis held a regal banquet, Bruce’s grandmother would bring home left-overs for him to enjoy. Years later, Bruce joined Slow Food Ontario. Then, he co-founded Slow Food Guelph, the third convivium in Ontario.

 

 

NOELLE CHORNEY (SK)
Prairies Liaison

Noelle Chorney is a serious cook, wine lover and sometime caterer, but mostly she is a writer whose passion is food. She cooks it, thinks about it, reads about it, talks about it, and loves nothing more than to inspire and nourish others. She grew up on a mixed farm in northeast Saskatchewan and provides science writing services for food and agriculture research organizations in Saskatchewan. She has worked as a food critic and currently serves as Saskatoon’s senior food judge at the Great Canadian Kitchen Party and the Canadian Culinary Championships. She is the leader of Slow Food Saskatoon and the Prairie Liaison on the Slow Food Canada Board. She shares her food adventures at amazoninthekitchen.ca and @kitchenamazon on Instagram.

RAINA LUTZ (BC)
BC Liaison

Raina currently runs a private Holistic Nutrition practice online, traveling throughout BC. She founded Experience Kombucha in Penticton BC, the Okanagan’s original organic kombucha. She’s also a wellness podcast host and blog writer. Raina was awarded a Top 40 Under 40 in Penticton in 2014 and nominated in the Penticton & Wine Country Chambers’ Business Excellence Awards for Young Business Leader of the Year in 2018. Raina’s obsessions in the food movement are the revolutionary acts of fermenting and traditional preparation of food – sprouting, soaking and getting real, local, organic foods into people’s lives.

Communications Team

HOPE HICKLI (BC)
Communications Lead

Hope is a strategic communications professional with nearly 20 years’ experience in the public and private sectors. Her lifelong passion for food began at the feet of her American-Italian mama. Equal to her unbridled love of food is a desire to support environmental sustainability and social justice, including women’s rights and the ethical treatment of animals. Discovering an organization that celebrates good, clean, fair food—and in doing so, advances positive solutions to many of the issues we face in Canada and globally—was a happy revelation for Hope. She is delighted and honoured to serve on the Slow Food board.

KAREN PLATT (BC)
Communications Team Member

Karen believes that sharing food and wine lovingly produced is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Long before “local” became a buzzword, she supported small farmers, chefs and producers through her words, wallet, actions and heart. A writer with a deep abiding interest in sustainability, equitability and human, animal and planetary health, she has written about food issues for a variety of publications and in service of various organizations. She has sat on the boards of Lifecycles and CR-FAIR (Capital Regional Food and Agricultural Initiatives Roundtable) and has campaigned with The Land Conservancy to save local farms and protect agricultural land.