Community

ICYMI

August 1, 2018

In case you missed it

The 2018 recipients of the Order of Prince Edward Island were announced in July. The three Islanders selected to receive the honour are: Mark Arendz, Heather Cutcliffe, and Irene Jewell.

First conferred in 1996 as a means of recognizing those Islanders who have shown excellence or outstanding leadership in their community and in their chosen occupation, it is the highest honour that can be given to a citizen of the province.

Irene Jewell is the epitome of the Prince Edward Island farmer, entrepreneur and community citizen. Through passion and personal conviction, Irene’s ‘up-to-your-elbows’ approach as an Island farm woman is exemplary. Farm women have been and continue to be the unsung heroes of the industry. Jewell’s pride was Jewell’s Country Gardens, opening in 1964, it was a must-see for countless tourists. The business was sold in 1976 and Jewell then concentrated on the family farm. She and her family received multiple International Grand Champion awards for farm-grown produce since 1980.

A shout-out to Soleil’s Farm and her CSA customers who donated $1525. Soleil Hutchinson has matched the donation in kind and will be giving $3050 worth of fresh, organic greens to the Upper Room Soup Kitchen in Charlottetown this summer and fall.

Congratulations to Joy Shinn who was presented with the President’s Awards for contributions and advancement to the national and regional sections of the Canadian Institute of Food Science & Technology (CIFST) at their annual conference. Joy Shinn is a staff member of BioFoodTech in Charlottetown.

The PEI Analytical Laboratories (PEIAL) plant diagnostic section has re-opened for the 2018 season and is currently accepting samples. The PEIAL serves all commodity farmers, agricultural representatives, and greenhouse producers. Crop types accepted include potatoes, cereals, fruit crops, and cole crops. Common potato diseases identified routinely include late blight, Fusarium dry rot, leak, pink rot, and bacterial blackleg. The lab will provide a summary report at no charge.

The diagnostic request form can be found at www.princeedwardisland.ca/labservices. Samples can be submitted directly to the lab located at 23 Innovation Way, Charlottetown, or to the Access PEI sites outside of Charlottetown. Please check with the Access PEI site in your area for courier pickup days and times.

When submitting a sample for diagnostic work, please include a diagnostic request form with the sample. The sample collected for submission should be fresh and representative of the problem. For plant material, the sample should be submitted in a plastic bag with a moist paper towel to help keep the integrity of the sample. Potato tuber samples should be submitted in paper bags.

For more information on the proper collection of a sample for testing, please review the information at bit.ly/plantsamples. For more information on this service, contact Marleen Clark at 902-368-5261 or 902-620-3300 or by email at mmclark@gov.pe.ca

Go! Fish Eatery opened in Kensington. Owned and operated by mother-son team Karen and Trent Murphy, the restaurant is located in the old railway blacksmith shop on Commercial Street and is offering gluten-free fish and chips.

The city of Charlottetown announced the members of its Food Council this past month. The council concept was introduced in March, and the past few months have been used to process volunteer applications for the council. Chaired by Karen Murchison, the 14 member council’s general mission will be to improve the food system, acting as a bridge between the public and private sector on food issues. The council members are: Bernard Ploude, Emilee Sorry, Gail Metcalfe, Phil Ferraro, Jennifer Whittaker, Mike MacDonald, Morgan Palmer, Shannon Courtney, Pierre Hajjar, Robert Godfrey, Sarah Donald, Stanley Chaisson, and Travis Cummiskey. They will also direct the creation and implementation of a Food Charter, a statement of values and principles to guide a community’s food policy.

A wide range of new restaurants, cafes, and other gathering spots or food businesses opened this month in PEI. They include Chatime, a tea and cold drinks spot on Queen Street in Charlottetown, and Juice Co who opened its second location just up the street, taking over the old Freshii space. The OpenEats Summerside team branched out with Evermoore Brewing Company in the old train station/library on Water Street in Summerside, Vegabun launched its new vegan bun business at the Downtown Charlottetown Market, pairing up with MellowDough, who are making gourmet donuts, and Glow Juicery opened in Summerside. As well, The Kettle Black launched its second location on Kent Street, Kettle Black Marche, in Charlottetown.

Riverdale Orchards opened its doors in Bonshaw in July. Offering cider that is produced from the apple orchard on site, the cidery is the first of its kind in PEI.

There was a cabinet shuffle in federal politics but MP Lawrence MacAulay held on to his portfolio as Minister of Agriculture. A new Fisheries, Oceans and Coast Guard minister was appointed; from the west coast, Jonathan Wilkinson, a North Vancouver MP takes over that portfolio.

BioFoodTech is now offering ethanol testing in low alcohol beverages and foods at their lab in Charlottetown. This method is ideal for companies that need to verify that they meet provincial and federal regulations for alcohol in products such as kombucha, alcohol-free beer and other fermented and non-fermented products.

ACOA is providing a $500,000 repayable contribution to PEI Brewing Company to help the company renovate its existing facility and purchase new brewing equipment to improve production efficiencies. This project will add almost 1,000 square feet to the company’s production facility for storage and fermentation processes. The Government of Prince Edward Island is providing $754,132 in repayable financing to assist with the expansion. The expansion will result in three new jobs.