'100 miles' isn't far enough, written by staff National Post ·excerpt use link for full Story. Re-Posted under Fair Use for Educational Purposes by Myson Effa Manager at Pemberton Gateway Village Suites Hotel http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=f58381b9-59ef-451c-9f01-5639173e472f nutrition@nationalpost.com It seems like a perfect storm in the nutritional sense -- a number of separate ideologies and factors coming together all at once to yield a strong force of change: concern about the environment and food scares. People are now turning to their own backyards -- so to speak-- to source their food. Local ingredients are hot. Supporting local farmers not only helps the environment but also allows them to compete against low-cost imports from other countries. And it may be enough to save many farms that have been in the family for generations. Over the past few years, initiatives promoting local food are mushrooming right across the country. Farmers' markets in large urban areas have gone from taking place in venues few and far between and only for the dedicated buyer to being much more easily accessible to the general public. In Toronto, for example, there are several farmers' markets that sell their produce in downtown locations on different days of the week right through the growing season. A new site in the Don Valley, the Evergreen Brick Works, saw the initiation this summer of a regular organic farmers' market along with the planning of a native plant nursery and community programs ranging from gardening workshops, and clay-making to a retail nursery, demonstration gardens and leading-edge green design techniques. Last month, 40 of Toronto's top chefs and Ontario's most respected food-producers-farmers worked side by side to offer up a gastronomic experience at the Picnic at the Brick Works. The event was organized by Slow Food Toronto, Evergreen and chefs such as Jamie Kennedy. At the other end of the country in Whistler, B.C., James Walt, executive chef at Araxi, is using his close ties with the Pemberton, B.C., farming community to produce a 100-mile menu. Beginning yesterday, all the ingredients he uses will be sourced from a 100-mile limit around the restaurant.....