GTA Agricultural Action Committee at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
November 2 to 11, 2007
Our Locavore Was a Hit
Eliane Delettre had an almost constant line-up waiting for the Trivia Wheel. The dress and hat were a big part of the attraction. The dress was designed and sewn by costume designer, Adelle Gaudet (profile of Adelle Gaudet on Internet Movie Database).
Lots of pictures were taken of Eliane, and the Royal made it a point to send the media to our exhibit to get footage and pictures of our Locavore. On the first Saturday, there were back-to-back TV crews taking pictures and interviewing Eliane. The best footage was of one of the TV hosts participating in Farming Trivia.
Farming Trivia Was a Hit
All ages participated in Farming Trivia. It was normal for whole crowds to be listening to the questions as the younger members of the group mused over farming trivia. Often there were crowds waiting for a turn.
The Farming Trivia questions included “easy” or fun question for each of the 20 numbers on the Trivia Wheel and a more challenging one for teens and older visitors. Number 20 became a favourite question for the younger participants:
How much milk does an average cow produce in one day?
a. Enough to fill a medium-sized milk carton.
b. Enough to fill a big milk carton.
c. Enough to fill a shelf in your fridge with cartons of milk.
d. Enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool.
We spun the Trivia Wheel many more times than originally estimated. The initial order of 5,000 buttons was all gone some time on Thursday, November 8. A new printing arrived on Friday.
A number of the questions directed the Trivia players to study our GTA map of where to find locally grown food. That helped our literature “walk off the table.” The amount of literature about locally grown food distributed was much greater than expected. Additional supplies of brochures were obtained from Durham, Peel, Halton and Toronto. Even those additional supplies from Halton and Toronto did not last to the end of the Fair.
Volunteers
A big thank you to all those who volunteered to staff our exhibit. There were 23 volunteers; many of them worked the exhibit for two or more shifts. The exhibit was very successful and beyond expectations.
The exhibit was at its best during the busy time of the day if there were two volunteers plus our Locavore. In the evening, without our Locavore, the exhibit was also at its best with two volunteers. Our staffing was at its best 60% of the time.
List Sign Ups
A significant number of visitors signed up for our distribution lists even though volunteer staff seldom had time to promote these lists. The Trivia Wheel, maps and surveys took precedence.
There were 116 sign ups for the Discover Local Food List.
There were 80 sign ups for the Local Food Idea List.
Survey on Locally Grown Foods
Very few visitors, when asked, declined our survey. The fourth question on the survey caused many to pause: “Do you buy food based on price more than you buy food based on where it is grown or raised?” Quite a few visitors wanted something other than a Yes or No answer. It depends.
The number of surveys completed surpassed expectations. Before the event, we advised our “volunteers” that they could expect to tabulate about 100 surveys per day (total 1,000 for the Fair). This guestimate was based on past experience with surveys at exhibits at the Outdoor Farm Show, Canadian International Farm Equipment Show and the International Plowing Match. At those events, 70 to 80 surveys per day was a good day. Since days at the Royal are longer, we guestimated 100 per day at the Royal. On some days, 200 surveys were completed. Our total was over 1500.
Survey Results
Completed surveys totalled 1,513. Many of the participants were parents as their children participated in spinning the Farm Trivia wheel. A caution, these results are not based on a random sample of the public. The opinions came from a self-selected group of people attending the Royal Agricultural winter Fair in November 2007.
Question |
YES |
NO |
SOMETIMES |
| Is the distance a food product travels a concern to you? | 89.8% |
10.2% |
N/A |
| Should supermarkets create dedicated and visible sections to make it more convenient for you to buy locally grown food? | 97.2% |
2.8% |
N/A |
| Do you support public institutions (schools, hospitals and jails) adopting a policy that commits them to serving a minimum percentage of locally grown food? | 86.9% |
13.1% |
N/A |
| Do you buy food based on price more than you buy food based on where it is grown or raised? | 30.0% |
63.1% |
6.9% |
| As the seasons change and the locally grown products change, do you change your diet based on what is seasonally available? | 78.7% |
21.3% |
N/A |
| Do you live in the Greater Toronto Area? | 69.0% |
31.0% |
N/A |
For more information, please contact:
Janet Horner
Coordinator, GTA AAC Agriculture Action Committee
519-925-5975
janet@whitfieldfarms.com
gtalocalfood@gtalocalfood.ca