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8 a < 2. : & 5 & 2 & : 3 F Fo 3 § Zs C & d & = < °F ood production and Fpreparaii(m will become one this Sunâ€" day when chefs and farmers from â€" across Waterloo Region join up for the first annual Taste Local! Taste Fresh! event. Fresented by Foodlink Waterloo Region, a nonâ€" profit organization dedicatâ€" ed to raising the profile of the local harvest, and and the Perthâ€"Waterlooâ€"Wellingâ€" ton chapter of the Canadian Organic Growers, a leading national organic informaâ€" tion and networking organiâ€" zation that promotes organâ€" ic growing along with the associated environmental, health and social benefits, hungry guests will experiâ€" ence an afternoon tasting of appetizers, prepared by teams of local chefs and farmers, that showcases the local food and farm prodâ€" ucts the region has to offer. Farmers and chefs team up to showcase local food products Guests will also be able to meet the farmers and chefs, take home the recipes, and hear the stories behind the local food. Baileyâ€"Dick put her matchmaking skills to the test, linking 15 farmers who are listed in her organizaâ€" tion‘s Buy Local! Buy Fresh! map of the region, and paired them up with 15 chefs who use their proâ€" duce. "Great local food comes out of the farms in this region," said Nina Baileyâ€" Dick of Foodlink Waterloo Region, who organized the event. "And who knows food best? Chefs and farmers." One of those matches is Hugh Nauman, owner of Pumpkins Galore in St. Clements, and Chris Parent, gelato chef at uptown Waterloo‘s new Whole lotâ€"a gelata. Together the two busiâ€" nessmen will take Nauman‘s freshly farmed raspberries and make one of Parent‘s specialties Raspberry Sor betto "It‘s very refreshing, and dairy Aree," said Parent Ontario‘s new free vaccines will protect kids fammhes by adding these free vacemations to the routine immumzation schedule: Here‘s how it works By Anosea Batey Chronicle Staff Other appetizers on the menu include Lebanese taboulee boats with local garlic and tomatoes, fresh pea hummus dip, sweet potato and turnip croâ€" quettes filled with an artiâ€" choke taponade with local herbs, and New York striploin roulade with basil pesto and prosciutto on garâ€" lic rubbed croustade roastâ€" ed red pepper aioli with local beef. "Farmers are able to tell people about their products; you don‘t always get that at grocery stores," he said. "When you buy from a farmer, you can likely meet the chicken that makes your Nauman said he hopes the event shows people there are great local prodâ€" ucts available to them. Waterloo gelato chef Chris Parent (left) and local farmer Hugh Nauman will collaborate to make fresh raspberry sorbetto for the Taste Local! Taste Fresh! event, Sunday in New Hamâ€" burg. He also hopes the event encourages restaurants to start buying their food from farmers, rather than dealing with wholesaters. Parent said he‘s all for that way of thinking Td love to buy all of my LIFESTYLE products fresh," he said. "It‘s bard to buy bananas and oranges locally, but I defiâ€" nitely want to change my habits." Baileyâ€"Dick agreed the purpose of the tasteâ€"testing is to make a marketing conâ€" nection between the local producers and chefs, as well as raise the profile of local food. "People need to be edu cated and realize that saving money should not be their But that‘s been a difficult task in the past, said Nauâ€" man, because consumers seem to think they‘re getting a better deal buying proâ€" duce from a grocery store. "Farmers aren‘t trying to overprice at all. In fact, they likely should be charging more." â€" Nina Baileyâ€"Dick Foodlink Waterloo Region top priority," he said. "You can‘t get any fresher than buying food right off the farm. The flavour is there and people should be wiliâ€" ing to pay for it. "It‘s funny, people don‘t think it‘s fair that farmers charge $3.75 for strawberâ€" ries, but they don‘t think twice about spending that on a bottle of beer at a restaurant." Baileyâ€"Dick added, "Farmers aren‘t trying to overprice at all. In fact, they likely should be charging more." The event will take place Sunday from 2â€"5 p.m. at the Waterlot restaurant, 17 Huron St., New Hamburg. Tickets are $60 each. "People may look at the price and think twice, but really it works out to be around $2 for each appetizâ€" er, which is less than what you‘d pay in a restaurant," Baileyâ€"Dick said. "And there will be lots of food. It will definitely be worth it." For tickets, call Nina Bai leyâ€"Dick at 578â€"2416. Ao Anyone who lives, works or goes to school in Waterloo Region may borrow any of the over 6,000 teaching kits, books, videos and posters available at the Public Health Resource Centre, 99 Regina St. S., in Waterloo. Topics include: nutrition and food safety, prenatal, child and youth health, parenting, dental health, canâ€" cer prevention, AJIDS education, and more. Last year the resource centre lent out over 4,700 items and distributed over 135,000 pamphilets on variâ€" ous health promotion topics. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is bringing its new green roof design course to Waterloo next Monday, with education credits available to those that want them. Space is limited so people are encouraged to sign up now for the session that will be held at the Waterâ€" loo Memorial Recreation Complex‘s Hauser Haus Room, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. With the adoption of the Canadian Green Building Council LEED standard for public procurement in many municipalities, green roofs promise to play a key role in attaining may LEED credits. Green roofs are becoming an everâ€"increasing comâ€" ponent of the green building industry, delivering benâ€" efits at the development site, operation of the building and in the broader community. in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, Grand River Transit, in coopâ€" eration with the Region of Waterloo public health department, will provide a 2 for 1 Transit Day this Thursday in celebration of International Car Free Day. At this oneâ€"day intensive introductory course, parâ€" ticipants will learn how to determine major functions and components of a green roof, assess various advantages of different green roof systems, utilize an integrated design process for maximum benefit and much more. The objective of the day is to increase public awareness of the link between air quality and making wise transportation choices on an ongoing basis. Motorists are encouraged to leave their vehicles at home and ride transit with a friend, family member or work colleague in an effort to encourage "green" transportation choices. To register online, go to www.greenroofs.org under the "What‘s New"® section. Paid fare that qualify are cash, ticket, monthly pass, school board pass, college pass or corporate pass. The transit day doesn‘t include charters of MobilityPLUS. The 2 for 1 Transit Day is a pilot program for 2004 and the impact will be assessed after the initiative. How it will work is when one customer pays a fare, the second customer can ride for free, Transfers may be issued upon request to both paying and free cus tomers at the time of boarding Public health department opens borrowing bank Learn how to design a green roof Take a ride during 2 for 1 Transit Day