How can we create a holistic and sustainable food system for KFL&A?
The Community Foundation for Kingston & Area is very pleased to announce the return of our Speaker Series this fall, presented by allCare IT.
Join us on September 22 for “Food Sustains Us: Building a Local Food System that Nourishes Community.” Over a buffet breakfast, guests will hear from local leaders working across our region’s food system and explore the challenges, opportunities, and innovative approaches in creating a holistic, sustainable and healthy food system in our community.
Host: Professor Kristen Lowitt, Director of the Community Food Systems Lab and Assistant Professor at Queen’s University in Environmental Studies.
Panelists:
- Dr. Rupa Patel, Family Physician and Co-Chair Food Policy Council of KFL&A
- Mara Shaw, Former Executive Director, National Farmers Union and Loving Spoonful
- Josh Suppan, Fat Chance Homestead and President, National Farmers Union-Ontario
- Ellen Mortfield, Co-Chair Food Policy Council of KFL&A
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
8:30 to 10:00 a.m.
Grandview Room, Delta Hotel Kingston Waterfront, 1 Johnson St, Kingston
Tickets: $50 per person*
*Includes a buffet breakfast. A $20 dollar tax receipt will be issued per ticket.
Host: Dr. Kristen Lowitt – Kristen is the Director of the Community Food Systems Lab and Assistant Professor in Environmental Studies at Queen’s University, as well as a member of the Food Policy Council for KFLA.
Dr. Rupa Patel - Rupa is a local family physician who also serves as co-chair of the Food Policy Council of KFL&A. She has worked in health care for over 30 years providing care from birth to the end of life. She feels strongly about the importance of the food system as a pillar of health for individuals and communities. Food is medicine.
Mara Shaw - Mara served as the Executive Director of Loving Spoonful in Kingston and later as the ED of the National Farmers Union. She has served on the Board of the national organization, Farmers for Climate Solutions, on a Federal Advisory Panel for climate solutions in agriculture, and on regional and local advisory and governance boards advocating for food sovereignty and local food production.
Josh Suppan - Josh joins us from Fat Chance Farmstead in Harrowsmith, where he harvests grains which he mills into flour, and grows vegetables for his CSA program. He also represents the producer side of the food system in his role as president of the National Farmers Union local 316.
Ellen Mortfield – Currently co-chair of the Food Policy Council of KFL&A, Ellen was formerly Executive Director of EcoSuperior Environmental Programs in Thunder Bay, where she was actively involved in the creation and implementation of the Thunder Bay regional food strategy. Upon returning to Kingston in 2019, she has helped build support for a similar initiative here.
